How to Dropship From Multiple Suppliers

Dropshipping is a low-cost business model and the easiest to get started with. It has become a viral order fulfilment method in recent years and is set to reach a market cap of $476 billion by 2026. Why? Because it allows ecommerce store owners to sell products online without having to manage a warehouse, buy or hold an inventory, or worry about shipping products to customers. Usually, a dropshipping partner (supplier) fulfils the order on the retailer’s behalf. 

But, a dropshipping business may face several other challenges, such as finding the right supplier. A recent study found that 84 per cent of online retailers complain that the initial stages of finding a reliable supplier is the biggest obstacle to getting their business going. You’ll need dropshipping suppliers who match your ideals for quality and customer service for the success of your dropshipping store.  

Sometimes, you may have to work with multiple suppliers, especially if you plan to sell different products in your online store. However, the question arises: Can you dropship from more than one supplier? The experts at Dropshipzone are here to answer this question. Read on to find out if you should use different suppliers or just one supplier and how you can dropship from multiple suppliers easily. 

CAN YOU HAVE MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS FOR DROPSHIPPING?     

Yes, you can dropship products from multiple suppliers to sell in your dropshipping store. It makes more sense to dropship products from several suppliers when you want to sell products from different categories or would love to work with suppliers offering the best quotation. However, do your due diligence when selecting suppliers for your dropshipping store. 

In a study by Accenture, 58% of companies said that they had experienced supplier-related disruptions in the past two years, with 10% experiencing a significant impact on their operations. Vetting suppliers helps ensure they’re reliable and easy to work with and mitigate potential supplier-related risks, such as damaged products, understocking, or poor inventory management. The ideal plan would be to have a leading supplier and pre-qualified backup suppliers. Because if things don’t work with leading suppliers as expected, you can turn to other pre-qualified suppliers. It enables you to build a reliable, trusted supplier network. Are you looking for reliable dropshipping suppliers for your dropshipping store? If so, it would be worth checking out our dedicated guide to finding the right dropshipping suppliers for your dropshipping business. 

Finding the right dropshipping supplier is crucial for the success of your online business. In fact, suppliers are the foundation of any business, and that’s why you should think of building strong relationships with your suppliers or wholesalers because this business partnership will eventually benefit both - you and your supplier. A good relationship with wholesale suppliers means increased efficiency. If your supplier enjoys working with you, you’re more likely to gain access to exclusive deals, the first look at new products, long-term contracts, and other cost-cutting opportunities. There’s also a good chance for outsourcing. Your supplier might take over some of your business activities, such as managing inventory levels and some elements of customer service. Maintaining good relationships with your suppliers will also help you build a good reputation for being a great business partner to engage with. So, how do you establish good relationships with your wholesale dropshipping suppliers? In our blog, how to establish & build relationships with wholesale suppliers, the industry experts share tips to help develop good relationships with your suppliers. Read on and hear what the experts at Dropshipzone have to say.    

Managing a dropshipping business with more than one supplier can be tricky, especially when you’re just starting out. So, the industry experts at Dropshipzone advise that you stick to a single supplier in the initial stage as it makes it easier to manage your dropshipping store and learn about the business, and as you grow, consider using multiple dropshipping suppliers. 

SHOULD I DROPSHIP FROM JUST ONE SUPPLIER OR MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS?

Now that you know dropshipping with multiple suppliers is doable and how important dropship suppliers are for your dropshipping business, let’s talk about how many dropshipping suppliers you’ll need to find for your ecommerce store. Essentially, you’ve two options - choose just one supplier or multiple suppliers. Both dropshipping with one or several suppliers has its own pros and cons. But before we get into those, let’s first look at how to do dropshipping with one supplier and multiple suppliers. 

When dropshipping, you don’t have to buy your inventory. You’ll order it from your dropship supplier, so a dropshipper doesn’t have to manage inventory. Dropshipping suppliers own the order fulfilment process, while retailers work directly with customers. If you plan to dropship with just one supplier, then the process is easy to follow. The first step is to connect your supplier’s store to your dropshipping store. This will help you efficiently manage orders and import products from the supplier’s store to your online store. 

The process of dropshipping with a single Supplier on Dropshipzone is simple. Dropshipzone is a B2B2C dropship marketplace that facilitates transactions between Suppliers and Retailers. It’s committed to making your dropshipping experience convenient and hassle-free. 

To get started, it’s recommended that you create a Shopify store and register with Dropshipzone. The next step is to install Sofortig: Australia Dropship, a dropshipping app exclusively developed for Dropshipzone, in your Shopify store. Once you've installed Sofortig, connect to Dropshipzone by inserting your Dropshipzone account details. After your Shopify account is bound to Sofortig, you can start searching and importing products to your Shopify account and setting up your online store. Sofortig makes it easy to dropship products, sync descriptions and imagery, and manage inventory with Dropshipzone.

Here’s how the process of dropshipping with a single Supplier on Dropshipzone looks:

• A Retailer listing products from a single supplier via Dropshipzone

• A customer places an order with the Retailer

• The Retailer directs the order to a dropshipping Supplier via Dropshipzone and pays the wholesale price

• The dropshipping Supplier confirms the order, picks, packs, and ships the order directly to the customers. 

• The customer receives products from a single Supplier.

When you’re dropshipping with multiple Suppliers on Dropshipzone, the order fulfilment process will slightly differ. The initial Shopify and Dropshipzone account set-up will remain the same. 

Let’s look at the process of dropshipping with multiple Suppliers on Dropshipzone:

• A Retailer listing products from multiple dropshipping Suppliers via Dropshipzone

• Customers order from the retailer's website

• The Retailer directs the order to different dropshipping Suppliers via Dropshipzone and pays the wholesale prices

• The dropshipping Suppliers confirm the order and pick, pack, and ship the products directly to the customers.

• The customers receive products from multiple dropshipping Suppliers in separate packages 

You can dropship with multiple suppliers in two ways:

• All your suppliers are present on one platform

• Your suppliers are scattered across multiple platforms 

The selection you make will affect your order fulfilment process. If you choose to do dropshipping with multiple suppliers across different ecommerce platforms, it can quickly become a logistical nightmare. You’ll need a sound inventory management system if you have an extensive product catalogue. Additionally, you’ll need to ensure that your product SKUs on your ecommerce store are unique and not overlapping when you add products from different suppliers. Managing and keeping track of products supplied by suppliers and processing customer orders is quite challenging. So, you’ll need to use automation software to streamline the processes. 

Contrarily, dropshipping with multiple suppliers on one platform could be a lot easier. For example, dropshipping with Dropshipzone and buying products from different Suppliers. In this case, you process the orders just like you usually do, but you’ll have to account for extra shipping costs because each Supplier might have a different shopping policy. You’ll also have to indicate to your customers that they might receive products in separate packages. The best way to do it is by highlighting it on your FAQ page and shipping policy. As a dropshipping retailer, try to use Suppliers with roughly the exact shipping times so the customers get their whole order delivered within a few days to prevent disappointment.   

So, let’s now deep dive into what you need to know so you can decide what’s best for your online store.   

Advantages of dropshipping with multiple suppliers

• Supports supply chain continuity: Supply chain disruptions and material shortages are some major problems that many businesses face. Partnering with multiple suppliers reduces the risk of disruption and supports supply chain continuity. For example, even if your primary supplier can't fulfill orders due to stock-outs or some other reason, you can always reach out to other potential suppliers. 

• Increased profits with more competitive pricing: When you’re working with multiple suppliers, you can negotiate better product prices, which can help improve your profit margin. For example, a business works with two suppliers, and one lowers its product prices. Then, the dropshipper can negotiate with the other suppliers to either price match or get additional perks.

• Supports business growth and increases customer base: Collaborating with multiple suppliers enables you to venture into new markets, which can increase your customer base. This means more orders, more sales, and better profits, eventually leading to business growth. 

• Diverse product range: One of the benefits of partnering with multiple suppliers is that they’ll likely be able to offer their customers access to a rich, diverse product range. It can give customers more options to choose from.      

Disadvantages of dropshipping with multiple suppliers 

• Increased inventory management complexity: Working with multiple suppliers mean more suppliers to manage and possible quality control challenges, and inventory management may also become complicated. Over time, it becomes difficult to do all the routine tasks manually. So, you’ll need to use automation software and dropshipping apps to run your business smoothly and efficiently. 

• Customers may get confused: One of the disadvantages of working with multiple suppliers is customer confusion. Your customers may get confused when they receive multiple packages per order from your dropshipping website.

• Higher operational costs: Managing multiple suppliers can be expensive. It’s possible that they work on different channels, meaning you’ll have to pay subscriptions for different ecommerce platforms. Additionally, businesses might have to pay shipping costs for each channel if they plan to cover the shipping costs. 

Advantages of dropshipping with one supplier

• Easier to build and maintain supplier relationships: Businesses that work with single suppliers can develop better and stronger relationships with their suppliers. Additionally, it enables businesses to create a more efficient product line and target their customers. 

• Streamlined business operations: Working with a single supplier makes it easier to manage a dropshipping business. You’ll require less time and fewer resources for efficient inventory management and providing better order fulfillment services.   

• More consistent quality products: Single sourcing or working with just one dropshipping supplier gives you more control over your business operations. You can find suppliers that align with your company values, such as ethically sourcing materials, and have rigorous quality control checks. You can also be confident that your supplier will consistently offer quality products. And in case of any inconsistencies, you can contact your supplier directly. 

Disadvantages of dropshipping with one supplier

• Missed opportunities: Having a scalable dropshipping model is quite essential. One supplier can offer a limited scope of product varieties. Customers appreciate variety, and providing a wide range of products can help businesses convert prospects into customers. So you may want to work with multiple suppliers offering different categories of products. Additionally, dropshippers who rely on a single supplier for dropshipping may miss out on potential opportunities, such as innovative products, lower prices, or even better quality products.   

• Creates dependency: Working with just one supplier creates dependency. It can be risky. For example, if your current supplier shuts down, it can affect your business. In this case, it's of utmost importance to have an additional supplier you can turn to when your primary supplier becomes unavailable. 

• Limited flexibility: Dropshipping with one supplier can offer little to no flexibility to businesses, for example, when adapting to disruptions in the supply chain. Additionally, it can limit the retailers to meet future changes in requirements.  

Confused and can’t decide the best strategy for your dropshipping online store yet? The experts at Dropshipzone have got your back. Here are some tips to help you understand when you should use multiple dropshipping suppliers.  

• Diverse product offering: Customers appreciate when an ecommerce store offers a wide selection of products that they can compare prices and choose from. So it makes sense to partner with multiple dropship suppliers to source products. For example, if you dropship clothing, different suppliers will offer different sizes, styles, and fabrics. However, make sure you create unique SKUs so you can quickly identify a stock item and prevent incorrect product delivery. Offering a broad range of products in your dropshipping stores can help boost sales and increase traffic. 

• Low stock levels for popular and in-demand products: Doing business with multiple suppliers is way better than working with just a single supplier. As your business grows, your sales will also increase. In this case, your primary supplier may not have enough inventory to fulfill orders or become overwhelmed by increased customer order volume, resulting in longer delivery times. So, it's ideal to work with other backup suppliers to keep up with your orders. 

• Limited order fulfillment services: Want to scale your dropshipping business? If so, you may want to venture into new markets. In this case, you’ll need to work with various suppliers if your current supplier has strict policies pertaining to fulfilling orders within specific regions. 

• Competitive pricing: Different suppliers quote varied prices for the same product. When you partner with multiple dropship suppliers, you can negotiate and re-evaluate their pricing to bag the best deal with a high-quality product.        

When you’re working with multiple suppliers, supplier relationship management becomes extremely crucial. It can help reduce business costs, optimise the value chain, improve the quality of your products and make technological advancements that place you ahead of the competition. Supplier relationship management is a way for suppliers and retailers to grow and develop alongside each other in order to get the most out of the supply chain, but how do you do it effectively? In order to know how you can maintain a great relationship with your suppliers, check out our blog.  

WHAT AUTOMATION SOFTWARE CAN YOU USE TO MANAGE MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS?

In the past, businesses have hesitated to work with more than one supplier because of the fear of customers' orders not arriving on time or inefficiency in managing and maintaining relationships with multiple suppliers. But with automation software and shipping consolidation apps, this fear is lessening, and businesses are now looking into expanding their business and engaging with multiple suppliers. 

Automating your dropshipping processes eliminates manual work, which reduces errors and saves money. Are you looking for automation software for your dropshipping business? We've compiled some of the best automation software to help you efficiently manage and run your dropshipping business.

Sofortig: Australia Dropship

Sofortig is a dropshipping automation software exclusively developed for Dropshipzone. It’s built to help dropshippers and make the dropshipping experience smooth and easy. You can install Sofortig on Shopify for free. Sofortig offers access to over 40,000 SKUs on Dropshipzone. You can easily search and import products to your Shopify store. It also allows you to filter products by free shipping and international delivery. Other premium features include instant product and inventory sync, quick and efficient order processing, and an automatic shipping fee calculator. With Sofortig, work smarter, not hard. It automates manual tasks and frees you up to focus on growing your business. Launch your online store and sign up for free with Dropshipzone today.    

AutoDS All-In-One Dropshipping

AutoDS helps you start and grow your dropshipping business. It’s an all-in-one dropshipping solution that helps automate your dropshipping journey. AutoDS brings you bestselling and trending products from reliable and big US and China suppliers. You can choose products for your dropshipping store, comparing the product prices, shipping time, and customer reviews. It enables you to import products to your store with just one click. AutoDS also monitors product prices and stock levels and automatically updates your inventory. 

Duoplane

Duoplane is a dropship automation software tailored for multi-supplier and multi-channel ecommerce. It automates the manual tasks that bog you down, leaving you more time to focus on your business. Duoplane is easy to set up and integrates with your existing systems. You can customise it to suit your needs. It provides tools for start-to-end order management, inventory syncing, and accounting automation.  

Spocket

Spocket is a dropshipping automation solution that allows you to choose best-selling products from various categories from dropshipping suppliers across the world. You can order product samples to test the products, allowing you to provide your customers with good quality goods. Additionally, you can easily connect it with your online store and fulfill your orders. Spocket can be integrated with Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, and WooCommerce.  

Dropified

Dropified makes dropshipping easy. It’s an automation solution enabling you to find, import, and sell profitable products from AliExpress, eBay, Alibaba, and other ecommerce platforms. You can track, manage, and customise orders without any hassles. It also provides training to promote and drive traffic to your dropshipping store. Dropified offers everything you need to run a dropshipping business. You can automate your entire dropshipping process, from order management to fulfillment.  

DROPSHIPZONE MAKES DROPSHIPPING WITH MULTIPLE SUPPLIERS EASY AND CONVENIENT  

Dropshippers often get mixed with the two terms - dropshipping suppliers and dropshipping agents. Technically speaking, a dropshipping supplier sells you inventory. They don't necessarily take care of anything, such as warehousing, pick-and-pack products, or shipping. On the other hand, a dropshipping agent is more than a dropshipping supplier. You can think of a dropshipping agent as a business partner (or an intermediary between you and your suppliers) who consolidates your backend operations, helps with data synchronisation, and takes care of everything, from warehousing to shipping. Usually, a dropshipping agent will help you find reliable suppliers to do business with and pick, pack, and deliver products to the customers, leaving you with more time to focus on improving your marketing strategies to reach more customers and run a successful business. 

For your dropshipping stores to thrive, partner with the trusted and reliable dropship marketplace, Dropshipzone. When you partner with Dropshipzone, you don't need to hire a dropshipping agent for your business. We'll help you find reliable Suppliers to do business with and pick, pack, and deliver products to the customers. We're dedicated to providing Aussie Retailers with the best dropshipping experience. Are you worried about managing and dropshipping with two or more Suppliers? Dropshipzone is your solution when it comes to dropshipping with multiple Suppliers. We can help you dropship with not one or two Suppliers but multiple Suppliers at a time. 

Dropshipzone is Australia’s leading B2B2C marketplace that connects Suppliers and Retailers. It’s a solution for Suppliers wanting to extend their customer base, and it's a solution for Retailers looking to start an ecommerce business without inventory management or dealing with the hassles of running an ecommerce business. With Dropshipzone, dropshipping with multiple Suppliers is quite easy. We take care of everything for Retailers. The Retailers simply have to choose and import products they wish to sell in their ecommerce store from the product categories listed on our dropshipping platform. We've developed Sofortig, a dropshipping app, to automate the processes. We work with dropshipping Suppliers directly. This means your customers’ orders will be seamlessly handled. We also ensure every Supplier holds their stock locally in Australia, resulting in short delivery times and happy and satisfied customers.

Partner with Dropshipzone to curb risks, boost margins, enhance customer service, and improve overall business efficiency. There are no registration or subscription fees or minimum order quantities. Additionally, you get access to multiple product categories available for resale. So, start dropshipping with Dropshipzone today.  

FAQS:

Should I tell my customers that the products are from multiple suppliers?

The main disadvantage of working with multiple suppliers is that each supplier has their own order processing and shipping process. As a result, the products may arrive at the customer’s address in different packages and on different days. Some customers may find this inconvenient. But, thanks to big marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, customers are becoming more familiar with receiving multiple deliveries in separate packages and on different days. 

You could use this to your advantage as a USP. Make sure to communicate with your customers and let them know that you deal with multiple suppliers and are not dependent on any single supplier. Your goal is to offer your customers quality products at the best price. You can highlight it in your FAQs or shipping policy to keep your customers aware of it. Or when you receive an order that includes products from different suppliers, reach out to the customer and let them know that they may be provided with more than one tracking number and receive some products slightly later than others as the products are from different suppliers.  

Is there a way to ship items from multiple suppliers together? 

We get this question quite often. However, generally speaking, shipping products from different suppliers together is impossible. Because most suppliers don’t work together or ship their products from the same warehouse, for example, when you order products from Gucci and Louis Vuitton, you won’t get them together in the same package. 

But, if you want to ship all the products from different dropship suppliers together, you could consider working with a dropshipping agent. Usually, dropshipping agents serve as an intermediary between suppliers and retailers, delivering products from their warehouses directly to customers. Once you request a particular product, they will start finding and contacting the right suppliers and checking product availability, prices, and product quality. After both parties (retailer and supplier) agree to work together, the supplier will first send products from their warehouse to dropshipping agent’s warehouse, from where they will be shipped to your customers. However, you won’t require a dropshipping agent unless you’re dropshipping from China. Contacting Chinese suppliers/manufacturers is something that most dropshippers can’t do easily, for which you’ll require dropshipping agents based in China.