Placing an order with a dropshipping supplier: Principle and means

Dropshipping is based on a relationship of trust between the merchant and the supplier to satisfy the needs of the customers. All orders placed by the customer will then be transferred to the supplier in order to serve the requested products within a short time. We explain the principle of order placement.

The principle of dropshipping orders

In principle, the main actors in the dropshipping supply chain are: merchants, suppliers and carriers. The customer will therefore not be aware that the products do not come directly from the seller. They will only be choosing products from a site and the rest of the logistics should then be handled by the dropshipping business. 

If the customer is interested in a product, he will place the order with the seller. The latter will be the intermediary who will, in turn, place the order with his suppliers in order to finally deliver the product to the customer. Obviously, the type of order placed with a dropshipping supplier will be different from that of the customer, in terms of price, but also in terms of the different modalities. The relationship between the merchant and the supplier must then be established in advance to plan a long partnership in order to satisfy the customers and at the same time benefit from a profitable service on both sides. 

How to place the order with a dropshipping supplier and send it to the customer?

Basically, the customer puts all the products he or she wants to buy into the shopping basket from the list proposed by the site. With a simple click, the order will be sent to the merchant who, in turn, will provide the list of products requested to his supplier for delivery. Check that these products are available in the supplier's database. The supplier's delivery time should be taken into account, which should be fixed well before the product is put online. In this way, the customer could be satisfied with the sales service. 

For those who do not know how to place an order with a dropshipping supplier, it is important to establish a contract with the supplier so that there are no misunderstandings about the supply. This can actually harm your business and cause you to lose potential customers. Then, it is up to the supplier to take care of the delivery to the customer according to the list and the recommendations of the merchant. 

How do I send my customers' orders to the dropshipping supplier?

There are different ways to place an order with your dropshipping supplier: 

• Order forms

In most cases, suppliers provide merchants with order forms that can be filled out directly to facilitate the procurement of products. The order can be placed on their website or directly with them.

• By post

If the supplier does not have a pre-printed order form, you can send a letter to place the order. Despite the cost, the time lost and the possibility of misplacement, sending orders by mail is less and less used.

• By mail

This is the most common method of placing an order with a supplier. The merchant should then send an email to forward the customer's purchase order, so that the supplier can send the invoice for the order in return. You will find many examples of order emails to dropshipping suppliers on the internet. The email must be precise and must include the conditions required by the customer concerning the delivery time and address.

• Automatic order forms

The automation of e-procurement is nowadays more exploited. In addition to being faster, it is more efficient in managing many orders and even many suppliers at the same time. With the click of a button, the relationship between the merchant and the supplier can be established using the tools and platforms available. There are many platforms available to you to start your dropshipping business. For example, you can manage your daily operations and centralise your dropshipping supplier orders on Shopify. 

Instructions to put on dropshipping orders for suppliers

To ensure that the customer's request is met, the merchant should indicate in the purchase order the various conditions and necessary information that the supplier must follow. This should be highlighted:

• Information on the product requested

The merchant must specify the information about the product the customer wants. The model, colour, design, materials used, serial number... Everything that could define the product must be written in the order form

• Customer information

The supplier must also have important information about the customer in order to deliver the product to the person concerned. This includes name, address, telephone number and other information that may be useful.

• The order number

This is the element that will allow the order to be tracked.

• The date of order and delivery 

The date of order and delivery will be fixed beforehand by the supplier and the merchant in order to satisfy the customers as much as possible.

Conclusion

Placing a customer order with a dropshipping supplier is becoming increasingly easy with the help of existing platforms on the market. However, you need to provide your supplier with the necessary information for the order. To find a product niche, you can use platforms like Minea.