In the Pharmacy Dropshipping: what do you need to do for a successful start?

 

What is Pharmacy Dropshipping, and why is this important for us? 

Pharmacy Dropshipping is a business model in which an online pharmacy acts as an intermediary between customers and pharmaceutical suppliers or wholesalers. Instead of stocking medications themselves, the online pharmacy takes orders from customers and forwards them to the supplier, who then directly ships the medications to the customer.

In this model, the online pharmacy does not hold inventory, handle shipping, or manage logistics directly. this is beneficial for online retailers as it allows them to offer a wider range of products without having to deal with the legal and regulatory issues that come with selling prescription medications. Pharmacy Dropshipping also allows customers to easily order medications online and have them delivered directly to their door. This can be particularly important for people living in remote or rural areas or for those with mobility issues Additionally, it can be more cost-effective for customers as it allows them to easily compare prices and find the best deals.          

In the Pharmacy Dropshipping: what do you need to do for a successful start?

 

Step 1. Establish a great relationship with dropshipping suppliers and companies

Choosing Dropshipping (either as a supplier or user) is choosing close collaboration. Dropshipping suppliers deliver items directly to their clients’ end users. For companies using Dropshipment services, it means you depend heavily on your supplier. The opposite is also true. If you’re a supplier, your clients’ choices with regard to things like returns can have a considerable impact on your organization. The same applies to the various parties involved in such processes, such as package services. In theory, dropshipping suppliers and clients are independent. That’s why it’s vital to carefully select your partner and cultivate a strong relationship.

Step 2. Consider product information and product descriptions

It’s great for merchants when a supplier has extensive product information and strong product descriptions. However, if you’re a seller, you should be critical of whether you want to use the information exactly as provided by the supplier, or whether to customize it first. This is particularly pertinent if you want to increase your online visibility. Search engines reward unique content and penalize duplicate content (the exact same content offered in different places). And seeing as you’re probably not the only person using your partner’s drop shipment services, editing the product information is worthwhile.

Step 3: Keep in mind that order volumes change

As a manufacturer or wholesaler, your business is accustomed to high-volume or bulk orders. You have to remember that this will not be the case with drop shipping. Instead of large volume orders – the end customer (via a retailer) typically will order in smaller quantities. Consider leveraging fine-meshed distribution (delivering a single package to an individual address, as opposed to a truck delivery of large orders to multiple locations) as a solution to the case of dropshipping.

Step 4: Decide whether to set a minimum purchase quantity

Consider setting a minimum purchase quantity or order value to keep dropshipping profitable and beneficial. Be aware that when shipping smaller quantities, there are often more handling costs involved. Prepare your business for these smaller orders and make sure you can actually handle them.

Step 5: Determine your pricing

There are a few different ways to price your dropshipping services.

• Based on volume: This is the most common pricing method. A certain amount is charged to customers to cover transportation, packaging, and processing costs; There are a few different ways to price your dropshipping services. Flat-free shipping: This pricing method means that your customer always pays the same amount for delivery. This can be a simple method, that works well for products that have a certain height or weight. But, keep in mind that with this method, you will lose money on high-volume orders.
• Free shipping: This method is a great marketing trick. It can give you a competitive advantage by being the cheapest supplier. However, with this method, your margins will be lower – making this the least popular option for most drop shippers.is total amount is then multiplied by the number of products or the total weight of the order.
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• Step 6: Provide tracking

• As a supplier, if your web store is integrated with your ERP, you can use it to give tracking information to retailers. They can, in turn, pass this information on to the end customer so they can then track the delivery of their package. A tracking link is a must-have for both the end customer and the wholesaler. With this link, the wholesaler doesn’t end up having any unpleasant surprises, like packages getting lost. Providing a tracking link is of great importance to ensure customer satisfaction. Recent research by Forrester showed that 78% of B2B buyers consider having a track and trace code very important to their overall satisfaction.
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• Step 7: Guarantee quick delivery

• Many companies choose to dropship because it’s a cost-effective way of satisfying their customer's rising expectations without needing to worry about overstocking inventory or taking up room in the warehouse. Ultimately, your mission as a drop shipper is to meet the delivery time expectations of the end customer — preferably staying within 24 to 48 hours. How can you meet these expectations? One way is to integrate your web store with your ERP system, as you can with Sana. With an integrated web store, order processing can be handled automatically, with no manual work required. Your customers can also order from your integrated web store 24/7, and get delivery updates post-order.

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• Step 8: Choose a packaging strategy

• As a dropshipping supplier, you’re solely responsible for the delivery of the product to the end consumer. The customer, however, should have such a seamless experience that it should not be apparent that their product is being shipped by anyone other than the retailer through which their order was placed. This means that you, as the supplier, need to be invisible to the end customer. There shouldn’t be any of your own logos on the packaging. Need some help figuring out your packaging strategy?

• There are two different packaging strategies you can choose from: 

• Send the packages without your own logo, to avoid the more popular (but also more expensive) white labeling option.

• Send via white-label delivery (which means you send packages with the retailer’s logo on them).

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• Step 9: Follow through on your dropshipping promises

• As a dropshipping supplier, you have one important task: to ensure that the delivery of the product goes as smoothly as possible. Delivering the product in no time (or what feels like no time) is the main focus. Of course, problems may arise during the delivery of the product. To mitigate these potential issues, make sure that your after-sales service works perfectly. Invest in a good support department, especially since B2B customers expect their customer service complaints to be resolved within 24 hours or less. If delivery doesn’t go as planned, the best thing to do is be transparent and communicate. Make sure your customer service team is fully informed of the situation, so they can in turn inform the end customer.

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Dropshipping: the importance of logistics and inventory management

Drop shipment logistics aren’t always straightforward: inventory management, transport, processing orders…  As a manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor, you have to deal with complex business processes. The last thing you want is for your dropshipping activities to make things even more labyrinthine. The good news is that it doesn’t have to! How can you make sure that you can continue operating smoothly? The answer is in line with what we discussed above: it’s all about the agreements you make. Strong, clear agreements can help you deal with any potential logistics issues caused by dropshipping, such as:

• Returns: should they be sent back to the supplier, or the company selling to end users?
• Shipping costs: are these included in the price, or added as a surcharge?
• Delivery terms: what should the end user expect, and who is responsible for these terms?

Final thoughts on dropshipping

Want to get into dropshipping? Remember, you need to cover three essential matters before you kick off:

Establish a strong relationship with your business partners
Carefully consider your products

Master your logistic processes

An important step for suppliers interested in dropshipping is being able to offer all your products online. This gives your business partners a clear and convenient overview of your catalog. But with the complexity facing many wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers, this is often easier said than done.