Managing Dropshipping Relationships

[mandy]

The benefits of drop shipping—a program in which a third party, often the manufacturer of a product, owns the goods that a company sells and ships them to the consumer on behalf of the e-retailer—are enticing indeed. There are the obvious: the ability to offer more inventory without additional financial risk, zero warehouse costs and less staff to pay as the drop shipper takes care of running and staffing the shipment and fulfillment center.

And, there are the not-so-obvious: the ability to constantly test or gauge interest in different products and the capacity to offer niche goods and truly become a one-stop-shop retailer.

Elbow grease

But merchants who dig a little deeper and evaluate what it takes to launch a successful drop shipping program will learn that the rewards don’t come without a bit of elbow grease. Drop shipping, retailers and consultants say, requires a lot. A lot of time. A lot of preparation. And, in many cases, a lot of money...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=26590