A lot of people have been talking about it lately, and I'll tell you right now. LIKE.. For those who do not know what I am talking about, the Dropshipping is an e-commerce particular, where the seller makes absolutely no inventory (or in some rare cases very little) and sells products from other companies, passing them off as his own (re-branding) or simply reselling them as any other merchant, with the advantage that it will be directly the parent company that will ship the product to the end customer, thus freeing the online entrepreneur from any logistical tasks. Said like that may sound silly, but if we take a closer look at the whole operation, the advantages are many, for everyone. I'll mention just the first three that come to mind:
- No storage. You said nothing--in addition to the problems of storage and logistics, think of the upfront outlay that usually has to be made to procure. In this case, a strategy borrowed from the Japanese industry is used: Just In Time.
- No use of shipping resources. Your supplier does it all, and he does it gladly because he will ship only after you pay him. And these days.
- Focus your resources. You only get the best of the business, which is customer care, marketing, product selection, managing your e-commerce platform And, uh, earnings.
Beware, however, that it is not easy; there are definite steps you absolutely must fulfill to be successful. Dropshipping is nothing new, but the market has changed, the players have changed, the consumers have changed, so before you move, always do careful planning.
What about for businesses? The benefits are huge for them as well. I call it Affiliate Marketing Evolved. For the company, there are comparable advantages to affiliations, such as having an extra sales force paid only on results. With the Dropshipping you add the benefits derived from higher earnings for its affiliated vendor (who, unlike affiliates, can be more incentivized to do stronger promotions) and at the same time being able to get rid of those products that, on their own, they would no longer sell: old seasons (fashion), old models (technology, tools), parallel imports, production surpluses, etc...
Have you ever thought that you could start such a business?
It is easier than you think....