The ease of using Dropshipping with Shopify

 Introduction

In eCommerce, a major concern is the fulfillment of a large number of customer orders. The standard eCommerce model required maintaining a large centralized inventory so that the business is always ready to fulfill incoming orders. The concept of Dropshipping emerged as a solution to this issue. Dropshipping eases the retailer's operations by promptly fulfilling the customer’s demands with less capital. Dropshipping is a money multiplier concept but it does need a directory of suppliers ready to fulfill orders.

Dropshipping with Shopify

Dropshipping is a method of order fulfillment where the store is not required to accumulate a large quantity of inventory in its stock. This model can be used in eCommerce and lends itself very well to Shopify. Every enterprise functions with the motive of increasing its sales turnover, but that goal becomes very difficult as the cost of keeping inventory takes away from your marketing budget. By combining dropshipping with Shopify, you can eliminate various costs such as manufacturing, storage, packaging, and delivery while at the same time using your online Shopify store to increase sales. The use of this model enables you to gain success in the long term. There are major advantages that are achieved by operating with Shopify which are given below:

·         Increase in sales: Shopify and its associated marketing tools help to greatly increase sales and store visibility. The Shopify app store has apps for every marketing channel from email, to google ads to even SMS ads.

·         In Shopify has a lion’s share of the eCommerce market making it a very popular platform. This popularity means that it has integrations for all types of suppliers, marketing tools, and search engines.

·         Shopify also has integrations with logistics providers (both for Dropshipping and without). This helps you reduce the expenditure incurred on purchasing and paying rent for the warehouse to handle the carrying cost. You can minimize the carrying and handling cost of inventory.

·         Dropshipping with Shopify lets your team focus on the marketing operations rather than deal with inventory issues and acquire more products. This renewed emphasis on marketing lets you build strong relationships with customers.

·         Besides, profits earned through Shopify are legally secure. Shopify is a well-known big business and any money earned through them is sure to come back to you. There is no question about the trust and reliability that Shopify offers.

·         The integration of different applications allows you to perform Dropshipping activities in a single place and you don’t have to assemble different sources for conducting the e-commerce activities.

The above graph represents the Global dropshipping market size in 2020 and our team has forecasted the market size for next six years.

Procedure for Dropshipping on Shopify

Every new concept requires a critical evaluation regarding the sequence to be followed starting with Shopify. The description of the process for Dropshipping on Shopify is explained below:

Step 1: Research – The first step is researching the existing market which to identify the target audience and the products best suited for the audience. You must follow this step if you want to generate significant turnover. It is quite a tough task to identify winning Dropshipping products.

Step 2: Finding supplier- another step you have to consider to complete the process of Dropshipping is finding a supplier who is reliable and efficient in conducting the various operations required in delivering the product. You must ask some vital questions to the suppliers such as the amount of the Drop fee and minimum order quantity (MOQ). If you can find suppliers that put no restriction on the quantity ordered, it will be a good deal.

Step: 3 creating a simple Shopify store: Then another task is to create a Shopify store and then buy and connect a domain directly to Shopify. I recommend connecting your Shopify store to a supplier directory such as Oberlo from the Shopify store and showcasing products from the suppliers on your Shopify store. A short and clear description of the product is mandatory and so is showcasing the images of the product with its effective uses. Lastly don’t forget to set the payment methods. You can also add a simple logo for branding purposes.

Step 4: Start running Ads: The final stage is to promote the product which boosts the return on investment on your product. You can invest in the many ad tools available online like Google ads.

Pros and cons of dropshipping

There are various pros and cons of the Dropshipping which can be described as given below:

Pros:

●     It is user user-friendly that enables it to run within hours or days instead of months.

●     The functionality is entirely online which allows it to operate anywhere and anytime.

Cons:

●     The dependence on the suppliers is very high. There is a lack of control over the quality of the goods, packaging, and delivery. The supplier is the major contributor to the Dropshipping business.

●     It is difficult to create brand value with Dropshipping, the products can be promoted by anyone.

Dropshipping suppliers

Suppliers are the key assets that contribute to the success and failure of the business. There are numerous resources online but there are certain criteria that are required to be considered when choosing suppliers:

Ø  Type of product:  Firstly, you can analyze the nature of the product which means checking the availability of the product with the suppliers.

Ø  Quality of the product:  Consider two alternative methods to check the quality of the product. Either conduct research regarding the quality and judge it by other people's experience and reviews. On the other hand, you can simply buy the products to get comprehensive knowledge about the product.

Ø  Policies relating to return and sales:   Customer satisfaction is the primary goal for any enterprise. Make sure you have flexible return policies both in your store and with your suppliers.

Ø  Transaction fees:  Our main motive behind starting this business is to make money. So we need to make sure we’re making a decent margin on every product sale. The business needs to be viable.

Ø  Updated technology:  Before contracting with the supplier, make sure that your supplier is using updated technology to manage the transaction. Managing transactions manually will increase unnecessary costs and eat into your profits.

Conclusion

The new trend of Dropshipping helps us reach a large number of customers in with less investment and time and gain a competitive advantage over other firms. I highly recommend Shopify as it makes integrating with the supplier a breeze. The experience with Shopify provides you an advantage in terms of cost, efficiency in conducting operations, and fostering relationships with suppliers.