How to manage shipments in Drop Shipping

One of the elements that allowed DropShipping systems to spread like wildfire is definitely the simplicity with which it is possible to ship the products to its final customers.

The logistics is really simplified and allows the seller, in a few minutes, to order from his supplier and at the same time send to his customer, without the need to prepare the shipment materially. Really good, isn't it?

In Dropshipping, in fact, shipping can be handled by both the seller and the supplier.

 

• In the first case, the seller will have direct contact with the courier for the management of the triangulation, or will instruct his courier to collect third parties (at the supplier) and deliver to the final user.
• In the second case, on the other hand, the supplier will manage the whole, that is, he will instruct his courier to pick up at his warehouses and deliver to the final user.

In any case, the goods will always start from the warehouses of the goods supplier to arrive directly to the final customers (buyers).

In DropShipping when it is better to manage directly with the couriers?

If you are a small seller, the answer is never!

Maybe it's better if you dedicate yourself to the marketing activity of your store; the relationship with the couriers is not always idyllic and the responsibilities at your expense are manifold.
Moreover, your purchasing power (of individual shipments) is negligible with a consequent high cost of the same shipments. You would end up having very high costs and responsibilities and your business could be affected.

However, if you are committed to searching for exclusive suppliers that are not very common, many of them may not want to manage shipments themselves.

The more the suppliers are "small" and their turnover is contained, the more they will avoid being responsible for delivery; it will be up to you to organize the triangulation.

In this case always evaluate well what you do.
Use reliable and fast couriers, which include free triangulation between their services and offer insurance included to cover the full value of sold products.

A damaged package and / or a shipment lost to you will be a big loss. By law you will be held responsible until the actual delivery and it does not matter if your package has not been delivered for the negligence of others.

The question is quite different, however, if the shipment is managed by the supplier.
The most popular DropShipping providers are able to ship worldwide at very low rates and include insurance on each shipment.

Any problem to you will be enough to interface with your supplier, explain what happened and it will be his concern to contact the courier.

As you can see the management of the logistics varies depending on your business, as you grow you will have different needs and it will be useful to manage everything in detail; for example, you may want to offer cash on delivery to your customers and the only way would be to have a direct relationship with the courier and so on.

What are the best services you could use for your DropShipping for national and European triangulations?

Many are the services of online shipping that we consider very valid as long as the choice of courier is made with criteria. Some sites in fact offer different couriers for the same solution and obviously some carriers are more reliable than others. This does not mean that the online shipping service itself is reliable of its own.