With coronavirus affecting everything and our daily life being disrupted, it gets difficult to know which road to take in dropshipping business. As a dropshipper, you don’t know what action would be the best. Do you hit pause on your store? Or do you continue to take orders and try to fulfil them? Whichever you choose, you must get in contact with your supplier.

Suppliers have always been a vital part of the dropshipping process, remember they are the ones to handle some of the dropshipping processes. So, it just became critical to work with them effectively and ensure proper communication, especially at a time of pandemic like this. Read more on how to work with dropship suppliers during the pandemic. This article contains everything you need to know, from shipping to communication.

Contact or Check-In With Your Dropshipping Suppliers

Ensure you check in on your supplier at least once per week. Coronavirus has made a lot of suppliers to stop dealing. It’s necessary to check-in and makes sure they have started working after quarantine, or if there’s another supplier, they can refer you to.

This pandemic has put the sales of some products on the low side; you can discuss this with the suppliers. You can also talk about which of your products are selling well, and how satisfied you are working with them, appreciation goes a long way in building a strong relationship.

Pay Your Supplier Promptly

Just like you need money, your suppliers need to make money too. This is what keeps their business up and running and why they could do the production and shipping. Therefore, to be seen as a responsible partner, you must always pay your suppliers promptly. In case anything happens that may delay payment, ensure you let them know of the situation.

Give Your Supplier Ample Time to Deliver Goods

While it’s important for all suppliers to deliver products on time, rushing your suppliers sometimes comes at a high price. This is why you need to avoid last-minute orders as a dropshipper; it causes stress on both your end and your supplier.

By not giving them enough time to fulfil your orders, they might try to cut corners to avoid disappointing you, and the end of actions like this is not always good.

Share Insights With Them

You’re the one selling what they are making, sharing insights with your supplier is a good way of maintaining a good relationship. Keep them up to date with the status of your store, changes, new products you’d like to try out, products that are not selling very fast again, special promotions you’d like to do, and many more.

Ask if The Order Is Received And Will Be Fulfilled

If a customer places an order, and nothing is being done at the end of the supplier who’ll supply the order, the results could be terrible. This is why you need to get your supplier to confirm that they’ve received your order and that they’ll do accordingly as expected of them.

Understand The Lead Time

As a dropshipper,  you need to understand the lead time it takes your supplier to ship items.  Some dropshippers will try and cut out a day or two off the supplier’s lead time, but this doesn’t seem right. If your supplier states 6-9 days, you can expect the items to be delivered in 6 to 9 days, and not sooner.

Get Product Tracking From Your Supplier

In your engagement with suppliers, always ensure you get all there’s to get about the product tracking. If your supplier will be sending via ePacket, then tracking is very simple. You could track your item via EMS if your item has been sent out and still in China, or you could use USPS to track if the item is already in the United States. You could also use third-party tracking services like Package Mapping, 17TRACK, AfterShip, and PackageTrackr.

Be Friendly

Talk about small things that add up. Being friendly with your supplier and their representatives is a good thing that helps in maintaining a strong relationship. You don’t just go straight placing an order, take an extra second to ask about them, how they’ve been coping during this trying time. These little things actually add up and could mean a lot.

Chances are a rep you are friendly with today will be in charge of you getting your products tomorrow, and they are going to make sure you get it fast because you’re warm and friendly to them. Also, if there’s going to be a change in their products line n a month, chances are you’re going to know before some people.

There you go! From checking in on them to making prompt payment to sharing insights, and even to the point of being friendly with their representatives. These tips have all you need to know on how to work with dropship suppliers during a pandemic.

In case you will like to know more about our services, contact us today at Fulfillman. We specialize in providing excellent and top class Dropshipping Services, Warehouse Fulfillment, China Sourcing, Third Party Logistics, and so forth. Our dedicated team will be available to speak with you. We will provide suitable answers to your questions and concerns. An amazing experience awaits you.