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Got your first order? Congratulations! Doesn’t it feel great to make money on your terms from a computer and a WiFi connection? All that’s left is to fulfill your customers’ orders.
Imagine how high you can scale this business with the right knowledge and tools that helped you up until this point. The skies are the limit, and we are here to make sure it happens, as long as you continue to put in the work!
Now that we got our first order, we need to fulfill it from the source and ship it directly to the buyer.Â
There are a few methods to go about order fulfillment, which we will go over in this guide. Learn about them and choose whichever suits you best.
First, let’s get familiar with the orders page. Every order we get will show up on the orders page of AutoDS, and everything we need is there. Simply click on the ‘Orders’ link on the left menu.
Some of the things that we can see there are which products sold, the dates, order status, the item ID on our shop on the source site, buyer info, buy/sell prices, our profit, and more.
As soon as we get an order, we will see it in ‘Pending’ status:
Before we get into the order fulfillment methods, let’s learn about the order statuses and their meaning.
We know that every order starts in the ‘Pending’ status, as long as we are not using automatic order fulfillment services.
After that, the statuses will change automatically or manually, depending on our ordering preferences, which we will get to soon.Â
Here’s the lifecycle of order statuses from the top:
Now, let’s go over the meaning of each status.
A new order starts in the ‘pending’ status as long as you are not connected to our automated order processing service (explanation on that soon).Â
Once enabling order automation, your orders will start in the ‘In order process’ status.
If you opted into the auto-ordering service after receiving your orders, simply switch from ‘pending’ to ‘Send To Auto Order,’ and the process will begin.
If you’re in the Fulfilled by AutoDS / Auto ordering service, new orders will start in the ‘In Order Progress’ (instead of pending) status and will be automatically fulfilled.Â
Once an order has been fulfilled, we’ll move it to the ‘ordered’ status and fill in the source’s order number. Then, click ‘Update.’
However, if you’re using the Fulfilled by AutoDS / Auto ordering service, there’s no need to worry about changing the order status. This is done automatically by the system, along with the source order number.
As soon as tracking information is available on the source site, we’ll change the order status from ‘ordered’ to ‘shipped,’ as well as provide tracking information.
Furthermore, don’t forget to update the tracking information on the order on your selling channel.Â
We want to maintain a healthy seller account status, and a part of that is providing readable tracking information on time.
Keep in mind that with the Fulfilled by AutoDS / Auto ordering services, there’s no need for human interaction here, as it’s all completely automated. AutoDS will update the order status along with tracking information in the system and also in your store orders.
The last and final order status is ‘Delivered’, for once a fulfilled order has reached its destination.Â
Once again, if we’re not using the Fulfilled by AutoDS / Auto ordering service, we’ll have to check each order and change the status accordingly. Otherwise, it will be checked and automated for you.
If a buyer wishes to cancel an order, simply switch the order status to ‘Canceled.’ Keep in mind that this does not cancel the order and refund the customer, which we have to do ourselves.
Also, for automated orders, switching to ‘canceled’ is only effective before the order is processed. If the order is already sent out, it will not cancel the order. For that, we have the ‘Request to Cancel’ status.
On automated orders, from the ‘Ordered’ status, we have the option to switch the status to ‘Request to Cancel’. This works for orders that were already processed by the system.
AutoDS will request a return label from the source, which will be available automatically next to the order status once it’s ready:
Simply click to download the return label, and send it to your buyer. Once the product returns, your AutoDS auto-order balance will receive a full refund for that order.
If an order fails to process using automated orders, we’ll see a red error message with an exclamation mark which we can hover over to read why the order failed to process.
For help with your specific error, feel free to reach out to our customer support team. They will be more than happy to assist you with anything related to the AutoDS platform.
Finally, we have the ‘Unmonitored Orders’ status. This can show up from the start instead of ‘pending’ / ‘in order process’ and means that this product is not being monitored by AutoDS.
To start monitoring this product, click on the order status, then click on ‘Add Product.’Â
Then, the untracked products screen will show up, where we can add the product information manually or import it from a CSV file to save time with multiple untracked products.
For more information on configuring untracked products, we have a full help guide and a video explaining everything you need to know.
Now that we know about all of the order statuses and what they mean, we’ll cover the three methods to fulfill our dropshipping orders.Â
Processing orders manually is the least recommended method, as it requires a lot of work, making it the most time-consuming method from the rest.Â
To process orders manually, simply login to your supplier’s website and purchase the product directly to your buyer’s address.Â
Also, don’t forget to change the order status on AutoDS accordingly with the order number. The same goes for when the product is shipped with the tracking number.Â
Furthermore, if the buyer wishes to cancel the order after it’s processed, you’ll need to contact your supplier and ask for a return label. It’s crucial to keep a log of all of our return requests to make sure we’re not leaving anything behind.
Lastly, be sure to order products in gift packaging/without source logos, receipts, etc. If there are no gift options available, reach out to your seller and let them know that the product should be sent without the source price, logos, etc.
Our number one recommendation for order processing is to use the Fulfilled By AutoDSÂ service.Â
With the Fulfilled By AutoDS service, all of your orders will be processed automatically. There’s no need for any interaction on your side. Suppliers such as Amazon, Home Depot, AliExpress, and Walmart are all supported for the automated ordering service.
Not only will the orders process automatically, but tracking information will also update automatically on AutoDs and your store, along with Bluecare Express tracking conversions for tracking numbers not supported by your selling channel.
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One-click returns are also a massive benefit from this service, as all we have to do is switch the order status to ‘Request to Cancel,’ as explained above in the order statuses section.
Best of all, we don’t need to create any personal accounts on any of the supported suppliers’ sites! AutoDS will use its buyer accounts to fulfill your orders, so you won’t have to deal with locked accounts, verifications, and so forth.
On top of that, your cash flow will remain smooth since you can fill your auto-order balance directly from PayPal – the same way you’re getting paid. This means that you won’t need to use your credit card to process each order, and you won’t have to bother your bank for higher credit limits!
Every time you get an order, the system will deduct the source price from your auto-order balance and fulfill the order automatically.
But first, before the fun begins, we need to opt-in for the auto-ordering system.
To opt-in for automatic order fulfillment, click on ‘Settings’ on the left menu, then on the ‘Plans & Add-ons’ column on top.
Next, scroll down to the ‘Addons’ section, where you will find the ‘Orders Processor.’
Activate it by clicking on ‘Enable’ on the right. The auto-ordering service costs an additional $8 per month and includes auto-ordering, automatic tracking updates, and automated messages to your buyers.Â
Once we purchase the orders processor package, we need to activate the ‘Fulfilled By AutoDS’ service for each supplier that we want our orders processed automatically.
On AutoDS, navigate to Settings > Store Settings > Orders.Â
Then, click on the supplier on the left menu to edit their order settings.Â
Finally, click on the ‘Process orders using the ‘Fulfilled by AutoDS’ Service’ to activate automatic order processing using that supplier.
If you want new orders to process automatically instead of waiting for your action, check-in ‘Automatic Orders.’ Otherwise, new orders will start in ‘Pending’ status, and you will have to move them to ‘In Order Process’ to begin the order process.
We also have the option to ‘Override customer’s phone number’ if we do not want the shipping carriers to send our buyers SMSs, although for AliExpress orders it’s best to not override it. This way, our buyers will know once the package arrives at their location.
We can also set a maximum purchase order price to avoid order automation on expensive orders, and a maximum loss to avoid automating orders at a certain loss in profit.Â
Great, that was easy. Our accounts are now able to manage automatic orders. All we need is to add auto-order credits and balance to fulfill our orders.Â
Auto-ordering credits are like tokens for using an arcade machine. Each auto-order costs one credit, and the more we buy, the cheaper each auto-order credit costs.
Every new AutoDS account gets 5 free auto-order credits, so you can try before you buy. Once we use all of them, we can purchase additional credits by clicking on the ‘Buy Credit’ button on the top right of the orders page:
Then, we can choose which credits package suits us best. Click on the credits package you want, then click ‘Buy Now’ on the bottom, and we’re good to go!
Now that we have automatic orders on our subscription and we’re full of auto-order credits, the last thing that we need is to add balance to pay for our orders.
Next to the ‘Buy Credit’ button, you’ll notice a clipboard/lightning icon on the orders page’s top right.Â
Hover over that icon to see your current account balance, view your purchase history, or download invoices for any order in case you need it.Â
Click on ‘Load’ to load balance into your account. You can pay for it using PayPal (4% fee) or Payoneer (3% fee). Once the payment goes through successfully, your balance would load and show up instantly.
And that’s all there is to it – our auto-ordering accounts are active, we have auto-order credits, and we filled up our ‘Fulfilled By AutoDS’ balance to pay for the orders.Â
Our business is ready for order automation, and we have no stress or worries since we are not using our credit cards or personal accounts to issue the orders and returns. Plus, our buyers will receive their packages at blazing-fast speeds.Â
Additionally, we have an automatic ordering method that automates your orders using your purchase accounts and payment methods.Â
In other words, instead of loading your order balance and allowing AutoDS to fulfill orders using its purchase accounts (Fulfilled by AutoDS), AutoDS will use your purchase accounts with your payment methods to automatically fulfill your orders. You will also have to take care of returns and refunds through your suppliers.
Everything else stays the same – automatic tracking updates, messages to buyers, and order automation.
Just like opting in for the ‘Fulfilled by AutoDS’ service, we need to start by activating the ‘Automatic orders’ on our subscription.
Click on ‘Settings’ on the left menu, then on the ‘Plans & Add-ons’ column on top.
Next, scroll down to the ‘Addons’ section, where you will find the ‘Orders Processor.’
Activate it by clicking on ‘Enable’ on the right. The auto-ordering service costs an additional $8 per month and includes auto-ordering, automatic tracking updates, and automated messages to your buyers. Next, we need to add a purchase account to fulfill our orders.
On AutoDS, navigate to Settings > Buy Accounts. Then, click on ‘Add Account.’
Next, fill in all of the required fields like the image above, starting with the supplier (AliExpress is our example). Make sure that the email and password correspond with your account information through the chosen supplier. Then, click on ‘Next.’
Now, we need to enter our payment method for fulfilling orders through that supplier.
From the payment method drop-down menu, choose ‘Credit Card,’ click ‘Add Credit Card,’ and enter your credit card information.Â
Finally, click on ‘Next’ to enter our final settings for this buyer account.
Here, we can limit our maximum orders we allow in ‘pending’ status (if we chose not to automate the order processing as soon as the orders come in).Â
Additionally, we can limit the price limit of our daily orders if we do not wish to exceed a certain daily limit. Since in this automatic ordering method we’re using our credit line to process the orders, this can be relevant for those who have a limited daily credit limit.
Auto-ordering credits are like tokens for using an arcade machine. Each auto-order costs one credit, and the more we buy, the cheaper each auto-order credit costs.
Every new AutoDS account gets 30 free auto-order credits, so you can try before you buy. Once we use all of them, we can purchase additional credits by clicking on the ‘Buy Credit’ button on the top right of the orders page:
Then, we can choose which credits package suits us best. Click on the credits package you want, then click ‘Buy’ on the bottom right, and you’re good to go!
Finally, we’ll click on ‘Auto order / Auto-tracking numbers’ to enable automatic ordering and automatic tracking updates for this supplier.
Once we finish adding our purchase accounts, we need to activate the ‘Automatic Orders’ service for each supplier we want orders fulfilled automatically for (to start with the ‘In Order Process’ status instead of ‘Pending.)
On AutoDS, navigate to Settings > Store Settings > Orders.Â
Then, click on the supplier on the left menu to edit their order settings.Â
Finally, click on the ‘Automatic Orders’ to activate automatic order processing using that supplier.
We also have the option to ‘Override customer’s phone number’ if we do not want the shipping carriers to send our buyers SMSs, although for AliExpress orders it’s best to not override it. This way, our buyers will know once the package arrives at their location.
We can also set a maximum purchase order price to avoid order automation on expensive orders, and a maximum loss to avoid automating orders at a certain loss in profit.Â
And that is all there is to it! Now we have full order automation, whether using the Fulfilled By AutoDS service without using our buy accounts or Automatic Orders with using our buyer accounts, we can count on the system to take care of all of our orders.
These methods leave no room for human error, our customers will receive their packages fast, and we have more time on our hands to invest in growing our dropshipping business. Enjoy the freedom!
There is also the Product Sourcing Quotes service that transforms order fulfillment and addresses common pain points dropshippers face. It simplifies and optimizes the order fulfillment process, particularly when dealing with Chinese suppliers.
Here is how it works:
1. When you receive an order from a Chinese supplier or an unmonitored source, you can request a quote from AutoDS.
2. Our team swiftly processes your request, typically within 48 hours.
3. After processing, you’ll receive a range of options to choose from, including product variations, shipping methods, and associated costs.
4. Once you decide to source a product, its status changes to “linked.” You can connect only your product to the chosen AutoDS-sourced item (for future orders) or link existing pending orders.
The Product Sourcing Quotes service can offer faster shipping options, possibly cheaper products, and ensure product quality. Here is why dropshippers should use this feature:
Are you tired of the challenges of fulfilling orders and want to avoid long delivery times, quality concerns, and communication hurdles with suppliers? If yes, then Product Sourcing Quotes is the solution!
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