Benefits Of Drop Shipping

By Author: Ann Hoskins
Total Articles: 30
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Many retailers and wholesalers alike are turning more and more to the every popular practice of drop shipping merchandise. Many of your wholesale sources are starting to turn to the use of drop shipping merchandise as a way of saving money for both the wholesaler and retailer. With the practice of drop shipping the wholesaler will ship directly to the store and not to a centralized warehouse. This helps to reduce the size of warehouse that is needed for the retailer and reduce the amount of times a product is taken on and off of trucks.

In the past drop ships have been limited to food products, and close dated merchandise. However with the ever increasing cost of transportation and of the retailer housing the merchandise at a warehouse it is no wonder that more and more products are now being drop shipped. Often with the practice of drop shipping the wholesale company will have route drivers who go to the same locations every week, while there they will be place orders for the next week based ...
... on the current stock. In some cases the wholesalers will make more than one trip to the location in a week.

There are many benefits to drop shipping merchandise directly to the store. This scenario will reduce labor cost for both parties, as the wholesaler will not need a salaried sales person to call on the buyer, a route driver makes far less than an experienced sales person. The cost of warehousing product and carrying inventory of goods that are not on the sales floor will decrease and transportation cost will decrease as well. Often for the retailer you will have a decrease in stocking cost as some companies will stock the merchandise on the floor for you and straighten displays as well.

Drop shipping will continue to rise as companies continue to try and find ways to save money on cost. Many of your big box retailers are learning from the smaller mom and pops and convenience stores in that it is better to have inventory arrive at the location just in time, instead of investing in merchandise that sits in a warehouse or back room till you have space on the sales floor for it.

Drop shipping is not a new thing for wholesalers, many of your larger wholesale companies have been doing it for years. It is fast becoming the norm in the industry. Many wholesale news agencies have been reporting on the benefits of drop shipping for some time now. As the news increases and as more and more companies look for ways to cut cost, there will be an expected increase in the number of drop ships to a given location.


Ann Hoskins has been writing and publishing articles about wholesale and drop shipping. She is a business consultant and has been specializing in logistics management and shipping for more than 10 years.