Tips for Managing Order Fulfillment with Dropshipping

What Is Order Fulfillment?

Order fulfillment is the process of getting your product from your supplier to the customer’s door. It involves picking, packing, and shipping your products so that customers can receive them on time.

Most dropshippers use a third-party logistics company to handle order fulfillment. These are manufacturers, wholesalers, and other retail businesses that will package, ship, slap on your custom branding, and handle any potential returns. The better the order fulfillment supplier, the stronger your dropshipping model becomes.

To have the best dropshipping company possible, you need to find quick and reliable order fulfillment specialists. Here are some top tips to ensure this collaboration.

Top Tips for Dropshipping Order Fulfillment

1 – Automate Where Possible

Automating everything you can is the most critical aspect of managing order fulfillment. The more tasks you can get done before a customer places an order, the more time and energy you’ll have left to focus on customer service (which will make or break your business). 

Luckily there are some fantastic tools out there that can do this for you.

WooCommerce offers fantastic customizations to attract customers and the opportunity to add plugins that automate your processes. We recommend checking out the WooCommerce Dropshipping plugin we at OPMC have created to successfully build out ecommerce business owners. This way, your foundational processes are done for you, so you can focus more on customer relationships and marketing.

2 – Customize Packaging

Personalizing packaging is an effective way to stand out from the competition and attract new customers. The best way to do this is by using your branding elements on the outside of your boxes, such as your logo, colours, and fonts.

You want an order fulfillment partner who allows for custom branding on their products. When a buyer purchases from your dropshipping business, you don’t want a different company to be on the packaging, receipt, or return paperwork. It needs to be a universal brand appearance that you dictate.

3 – Stay on Top of Shipping Costs

Shipping costs are one of the most important factors to consider when you’re dropshipping. If you aren’t careful, they can add up and cost you more than you want, cutting away your profit margin potential.

You need to constantly check with your supplier for any promotions or increases in pricing. It makes sense to pay a little extra for reliability, so you don’t have to deal with customer complaints, but there is a fine line between that and competitive pricing. Don’t be afraid to do some research for competitive order fulfillment companies in case something you’re currently using falls through.

4 – Only Work with Reliable Suppliers

When you’re looking for a supplier, do your research and make sure you find a reliable one. You should check the supplier’s website, social media accounts, and reviews—including those from other dropshippers.

Before you start working with a new supplier, ask them to provide references of other companies that have used their services in the past so that you can be sure they deliver on time and offer high-quality products. These collaborations make or break your ability to scale and profit.

5 – Set Clear Customer Expectations

The last thing you want is for a customer to be unhappy with the way your company handles their order. To avoid this, ensure you have clear and concise expectations for your customers about what to expect during the fulfillment process.

Let them know how many days it will take for their package to arrive after placing an order, as well as any holidays or other events that may delay shipping.

Be upfront and tell them how long they have for returns and refunds, what items are eligible for returns and refunds, where they can send returns or refunds once approved by your team, and if there are any fees associated with returned items.

Finally, include all appropriate contact information so customers can reach out directly if they need help with anything else not covered above!

6 – Have Clear Return Policies

If a customer has an issue with their order, you want to take care of it as quickly as possible. The best way to do this is by having a clear return policy and ensuring that your customers know your policy. Also, ensure this is aligned with your current order fulfillment suppliers, as they will probably handle most of these return requests.

7 – Provide 24/7 Customer Service for Orders

Your customers should be able to get in touch with you at any time, which is why providing 24/7 customer service is essential. If they have questions about their order or an issue with a product, they’ll want to be able to reach you right away.

Additionally, it’s also helpful if your customer service team can provide assistance on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This way, fans can engage with them about products and promotions without waiting for an email response or call into the company line.

8 – Make Sure to Have Delivery Tracking

Delivery tracking is an essential part of a sound order fulfillment system. It’s crucial to ensure that your customers know when their items will be delivered, so they can plan their days accordingly.

You’ll want order fulfillment that automatically emails an order confirmation with links that connect directly to the shipping carrier’s tracking pages. This way, your customer can see exactly where their package is at any given moment from day one until it arrives on their doorstep!

9 – Use Local “Last-Mile” Shipping

The last step in the shipping process is delivering your package to your customer. It’s also the most critical step, as this is where you have control over how quickly and reliably a product arrives at its destination.

When you work with a fulfillment company, see if you can negotiate for the last-mile services you prefer based on local order conditions. The reason is these providers often understand the unique nature of the area they cover and typically have the knowledge and experience to work around any extenuating circumstances that would prevent a national delivery company like UPS, FedEx, or others.

Customer Experience is Linked to Better Sales

Your customer experience is inextricably linked to your order fulfillment process, which means you need to be vigilant about how you manage it. The most important aspect of this management is shipping and logistics. 

A lot of dropshippers struggle with this part. They don’t have the budget or expertise necessary to make sure that orders are shipped quickly and efficiently, often resulting in lost customers.

Supplier management is also crucial for managing order fulfillment with dropshipping—you’ll want a reliable supplier network that can help you keep costs low while providing high-quality products at competitive prices. This will ensure that both merchants and customers stay happy with the results of their orders.

Finally, you need automation. Our WooCommerce Dropshipping Plugin uses a simplified dashboard to quickly show you the necessary details like the number of orders, out-of-stock products, pending orders, affiliate products, and more. It makes it easy to import or export products as you scale and automate many tasks you would otherwise waste time and money doing manually. Download a copy of our plugin and boost your dropshipping business’s capabilities today!

Conclusion

If you want to avoid the pitfalls of order fulfillment, you must ensure that your process is as streamlined and efficient as possible. You can keep costs down by automating where possible and only working with reliable suppliers while still providing a great customer experience. Don’t forget to set clear expectations for both yourself and your customers, and everything should run smoothly from start to finish!