The Dropshipping supplier module allows for direct transfer of sales orders to external suppliers that are handling the shipping process. The purchase orders are transmitted to one or more dropshipping partners so that stock keeping and logistics processes do not take place within your own business any more.
Tip
Video tutorial: Your head start on the Dropshipping supplier module
Are you looking for a quick overview on the setup and usage of the Dropshipping supplier module in Xentral? Then, our video tutorial is exactly right for you. Take a look right away!
Dropshipping lets you sell products without having to stock them yourself. Once a customer orders from your shop, you pass the purchase order directly to your supplier, who ships the goods directly to the customer on your behalf, so you don’t have to worry about storage or shipping.
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Example: You run an online fitness equipment store, including high-quality stainless steel drinking bottles. Once a customer orders through your store, you forward the purchase order to your drinking bottle wholesaler, who will take care of shipping and send the drinking bottle directly from their warehouse to the end customer. To the buyer, it looks like the product comes directly from you, even though you don’t need storage space or your own logistics.
By using the Dropshipping supplier module, you have precise control over which products should be delivered directly from the supplier to the customer. To do so, you determine that it is a dropshipping product and which supplier ships it in the product master data.
As soon as a customer orders this product, Xentral registers this automatically and creates a purchase order containing all necessary information, e.g. the delivery note. The supplier then ships the product directly to your customer.
Optionally, the supplier can send you feedback such as tracking data or the delivery status – either manually or automatically via the Transfers module.
Don’t worry: If a sales order contains product from different suppliers as well as products from your own warehouse, Xentral automatically splits the sales order. This way, each shipper receives their own part and your customers profit from a timely delivery.
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Functionalities not included:
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Splitting shipping costs: It is not possible to automatically split the shipping costs (product/sales order position).
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Using multiple shipping methods: It is not possible to automatically use different shipping methods (per product/supplier).
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Importing supplier data: This module does not allow you to import supplier data (items, prices, inventories). Use the Import/Export Center to import item catalogs.
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No return channel from the supplier: no status is sent back to Xentral from the dropshipping supplier. You can use the transfer module to receive tracking numbers.
The first step is to create a dropshipping group, where you set the basic settings for a dropshipping supplier. Later, you can assign all the matching products to be shipped by that supplier in the specified manner.
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Use the Smart Search to open the Dropshipping supplier module.
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Open the Groups tab.
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Click on + Create a new entry on the right.
The group settings are opened.
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Assign a unique Designation to this group, for example, "Dropshipping supplier Müller".
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Select the Supplier by clicking on the magnifying glass icon, and the orders will be created for that supplier later.
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Use the Target project (optional) setting to create your own project for this supplier. This makes it easier to filter by supplier later in the sales order overview – especially convenient for many suppliers. You can create the project in the Project > + Create new module.
Once you have carried out the basic settings, you can select the specific settings for the sales order, purchase order, and actions of this group, which we will review in detail in the following chapters.
In the Sales order settings section, you can specify the dropshipping order settings, such as which receipts are needed and whether they should be created automatically or manually.
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Setting |
Explanation |
|---|---|
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Only if payment is OK |
If you activate this option, a dropshipping order will only be created if the sales order traffic light in the original sales order is set to green for payment (= payment cleared). |
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Calculate delivery date from product |
The function of this field is being revised and is currently not available. |
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Auto dispatch |
Specify here how auto dispatch for the partial dropshipping order should be carried out. The following options are available:
WarningIf the options Delivery note as attachment and as an attachment invoice are activated in the Purchase order section below, this field is overridden and auto-shipping is executed. If you activate the option Differing shipping address, the setting from the customer master data is adopted, which is defined in the tab Payment conditions / Taxation in the field Create receipts in auto-shipping. |
In the Purchase order section, you define whether a purchase order should be sent automatically to the dropshipping supplier, and you can also select which attachments – such as delivery note, invoice or order confirmation – should be sent along with it, and whether the customer address should be adopted.
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Setting |
Explanation |
|---|---|
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create automatically |
A purchase order for the supplier will be automatically created, provided that a purchase price is stored for the dropshipping product(s). |
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Differing shipping address |
The customer address from the main sales order is adopted in the purchase order as Differing delivery address, so you can see directly in the order to which customer the supplier has to send the product(s). |
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As attachment delivery note |
The delivery note for the customer is attached as a PDF file in the purchase order under Files and can be sent directly with it. |
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Including delivery note as CSV |
The delivery note for the customer is attached as a CSV file in the purchase order under Files and can be sent directly with it. |
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as an attachment invoice |
The invoice for the customer is attached as a PDF file in the purchase order under Files and can be sent directly with it. |
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as an attachment sales order |
The order confirmation for the customer is attached as a PDF file in the purchase order under Files and can be sent directly with it. |
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including sales order as CSV |
The order confirmation for the customer is attached as a CSV file in the purchase order under Files and can be sent directly with it. |
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Complete purchase order |
Checking this option will automatically set the purchase order to complete status. |
In the Actions section, you can determine which receipts are automatically emailed to the supplier, and you can also decide which receipts are automatically printed by which printer. This can be useful for speeding up the purchasing process by sending or printing the receipts directly without the need for manual emailing or printing.
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Setting |
Function |
|---|---|
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Purchase order email to supplier |
Activate this option if you want the purchase order to be sent automatically to your dropshipping supplier. |
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Print purchase order directly |
If the purchase order should be printed directly, you can select a document printer from the drop-down menu here. |
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Delivery note email to supplier |
Activate this option if you want the delivery note to be sent automatically to your dropshipping supplier. |
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Print delivery note directly |
If the delivery note should be printed directly, you can select a document printer from the drop-down menu here. |
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Invoice email to customer |
Activate this option if you want the invoice to be sent automatically to your dropshipping supplier. |
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Print invoice directly |
If the invoice should be printed directly, you can select a document printer from the drop-down menu here. |
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Feedback to the shop |
If the dropshipping order has been transferred from the online shop to Xentral and you activate this option, the order status in the shop is automatically set to “shipped”. |
Once you have carried out the basic settings for the product group, you can add products to that group.
There are various possibilities for this:
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Entering products manually
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Uploading a product list
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Using the assistant
Proceed as follows to manually add products to the dropshipping group.
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In the Dropshipping supplier module, open the Product tab.
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Click on + New entry to the right.
A new menu opens.
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Select the dropshipping group to which you want to assign the product by clicking on the Search icon in the Group field. All existing groups are displayed.
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Select the item that you want to add to the group by clicking on the Search icon in the Product field.
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Click on Save.
The product is added to the group.
Proceed as follows to upload a list of products that should be added to the dropshipping group.
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In the Dropshipping supplier module, open the Groups tab.
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Click on the arrow icon next to the desired group.
A menu for uploading a CSV file opens.
Tip
If the upload window does not open, try with working with a different browser.
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The CSV file must have the following format:
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The first line is identified as the heading (e.g. product number).
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The only content that is required are the item numbers in column A
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Click on Upload. Xentral shows you a preview of the product numbers that are added to the group in the next step.
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Does everything fit? Then click on Import. If you spot any errors, click Cancel. Correct your CSV file and repeat the steps.
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After clicking on Import, Xentral will confirm how many products have been imported, or you can check that all products have been correctly assigned to your group under Dropshipping supplier > Product.
Alternatively, you can add all products from a specific manufacturer to a group by preparing two things:
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The Manufacturer field in the product master data must be filled.
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In the Dropshipping supplier module, a group must be created that is exactly the same as the entry in the Manufacturer field in the product.
Navigate to Dropshipping Supplier > Product and click onAssistant button on the right. If you confirm with Save, Xentral will link all products to a group whose content matches a dropshipping group name that is identical to the contents of the Manufacturer field.
Tip
Unassigning products
Was a product incorrectly linked? Or did your product assignment to a group change? No problem. Click onDelete all entries under Dropshipping supplier > Product to unlink all products. If you want to remove only a single product link, you can click on the X icon in the overview here. Don't worry, your product master date will be preserved. This will only delete the link to the dropshipping module.
If the Dropshipping supplier module is set up, there are two ways in which sales order processing is carried out:
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Importing sales order from online shop
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Manually creating a sales order
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Xentral automatically detects dropshipping products in the sales order and creates a separate partial order for each dropshipping group.
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Optionally, a purchase order is created for the supplier as a draft (depending on the setting).
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One invoice per partial order is created and linked.
When you create a new sales order that contains dropshipping products, the Create dropshipping order button appears after the sales order is approved. With a click on this button, the sales order is automatically split into partial orders.
Caution
The product must not have any stock - otherwise no dropshipping order will be created.
Note the following special features of dropshipping orders:
Note
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Postage items: If a postage item is included in the sales order along with a dropshipping product, the sales order is not split. Instead, the main sales order becomes a dropshipping order, and the project of the receipt is changed to the dropshipping group setting named Project. This way, sales orders that only contain postage items are not displayed – the sales order overview remains clear.
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Different dropshipping projects in one sales order: If a sales order contains dropshipping products from different projects, a separate partial is created for each project.
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Stock for dropshipping products: If the dropshipping product is fully available in-house, no dropshipping order is created.
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Internet number: An existing Internet number (sales order number from the respective online shop) is also adopted into the partial dropshipping orders.
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Tracking: You can import the tracking numbers using the Transfers module. A practical example can be found here.