For wholesalers and brands who want retailers to sell their range

Becoming a Dropship Supplier: Feeds, Orders and Fulfilment Retailers Can Rely On

Retailers and online resellers will happily list your range without holding it, provided three things are true: your product and stock data arrives in a form they can load without rework, their orders reach you without phone calls, and their customers receive the parcel quickly with tracking flowing back. Get any one wrong and the reseller quietly delists you, usually without saying why.

This page is written from the supplier’s side of the arrangement. It covers what to put in the outbound feed and what to leave out, how to deliver it to different resellers without exposing one trade price list to another, how to accept dropship orders through several channels, blind shipping, invoicing the retailer rather than the consumer, returns where the consumer’s rights sit with the retailer, and how to onboard and monitor each reseller. If you have two resellers today, a shared spreadsheet and emailed orders may genuinely be enough, and we say where that line sits.

Plan Your Reseller Program (03) 9003 0111

The Shape of a Supplier Program

1 feed, many views

Same catalogue, filtered per reseller

Range, price list and stock rules applied per reseller from one source

4 order channels

API, EDI, portal and email PO

Most suppliers end up supporting at least two, normalised into one queue

2 invoices

Per dropship sale, never in the box

You invoice the retailer, the retailer invoices or receipts the consumer

3 to 5 checks

Before a new reseller goes live

Agreement, credentials, data mapping, test orders and a tracking round trip

Why Reseller Programs Stall

Suppliers usually blame resellers for slow uptake. In our experience the causes sit on the supplier side and are fixable.

The feed is an export, not a product

Many supplier feeds are whatever the ERP can export: internal SKU codes, abbreviated descriptions written for the warehouse, no images, no barcodes and a raw stock number. Every reseller then spends days cleaning it, and repeats the work whenever you add lines. A feed designed for resellers carries consumer ready titles, full descriptions, image URLs that stay stable, GTINs, dimensions and weights, RRP and trade price as separate fields, and a clear status per line. Resellers onboard faster and list more of your range because the work is done once, by you.

Trade prices leak between resellers

A single public feed URL or a shared spreadsheet with every price list in it is common, and it means each reseller can see what the others pay. That damages negotiations and relationships quickly. Price visibility should be decided per reseller: which price list they are on, whether they see RRP only or trade as well, and which ranges they are authorised to sell. The feed is then generated or filtered per reseller, behind their own credentials, so the file one reseller downloads never contains another reseller’s terms.

Orders arrive in five shapes

One reseller posts to an API, a department store sends EDI, a smaller site emails a PDF purchase order, another keys orders into your portal, and a marketplace seller pastes addresses into a spreadsheet. If each shape is handled by a different person, dropship orders sit unprocessed while someone is on leave. The fix is to normalise every channel into the same order record in your ERP or order system, tagged with the reseller, their PO number and the end customer delivery details, with validation applied before anyone picks.

Tracking returns too slowly

The retailer’s customer emails the retailer, not you, asking where the parcel is. If your despatch confirmation and tracking number only reach the retailer in a nightly batch or a weekly invoice, the retailer answers that question by phoning your office. Retailers judge dropship suppliers mostly on despatch speed and tracking latency. Sending the carrier, consignment number and despatched lines back within minutes of manifest, against the retailer’s own PO and line references, removes most of the support load on both sides.

How a Supplier Side Reseller Integration Works

Six parts, from the catalogue you publish to the monitoring you run per reseller. Small programs can start with the first two and handle orders by email.

A feed resellers can load as is

Outbound feed design

The feed is built from your ERP or product system with fields chosen for resellers: SKU, GTIN, brand, title, long description, bullet features, attributes such as size, colour and material, image URLs, weights and carton dimensions, RRP, trade price, availability, lead time and a lifecycle flag for new, active, discontinued and replaced by. Availability is usually shown as a band or a capped quantity rather than your real on hand figure, so a reseller sees ‘10+’ or ‘Low’ and you do not oversell or reveal stock depth.

Right file, right reseller, right price

Formats, delivery and access

The same catalogue is delivered as a scheduled CSV over SFTP, as an API endpoint, or mapped into a retailer’s own template where a large retailer insists on one. Each reseller has their own credentials, an assigned price list and an authorised range, and the feed is filtered accordingly. Stock and price usually refresh more often than content: perhaps hourly for availability and daily for full product data. Credentials can be revoked when a reseller relationship ends, which a shared link never allows.

One validated order queue

Dropship order intake

API, EDI, portal and emailed purchase orders are normalised into the same order record. Each order carries the reseller account, their PO number, line references, the end customer’s name, delivery address and phone, and any delivery instructions. Validation runs before release: unknown SKUs, discontinued lines, prices that do not match the reseller’s price list, PO boxes for couriers that will not deliver to them, and duplicate PO numbers. Failures go back to the reseller with a specific reason, not a generic rejection.

Parcel looks like the retailer sent it

Blind shipping and despatch

Dropship orders are picked like any other but packed differently. The packing slip is unbranded or carries the retailer’s name and logo, prices are left off, and your own invoice and marketing inserts never go in the box. The carrier label sender name and return address are set per reseller according to your agreement, and the despatch notice and tracking number are sent back to the reseller against their PO within minutes of manifest, including partial despatches when a line is backordered.

One tax invoice per order to the retailer

Retailer invoicing

You sell to the retailer, so the tax invoice goes to the retailer’s ABN at their trade price, with GST shown as your accountant advises, the retailer’s PO number quoted, and freight and any dropship handling fee as separate lines. Invoices are raised on despatch, not on order, so partial shipments are invoiced only for what left. Where a retailer prefers consolidated invoicing or a statement, the same data is grouped by period. The consumer never sees your invoice.

Clear RMA path and per reseller health

Returns, faults and monitoring

Returns and faulty goods follow an agreed RMA process between you and the retailer: the retailer requests an authorisation, you issue an RMA number and a return label, the goods come back to you, and a credit note is raised to the retailer. Alongside that, each reseller has a simple health view: when they last pulled the feed, how many orders failed validation, average time from order to despatch, tracking latency and returns rate, so problems are found before the reseller raises them.

Supplier Tasks, Before and After

Task	Traditional	Done Properly	Notes
Launching a new range	Spreadsheet emailed to each reseller	Appears in every authorised feed	With images, GTINs and attributes, so resellers can list the range in days rather than weeks.
Line goes out of stock	Resellers keep selling it	Availability band drops to zero	On the next stock refresh, typically within the hour, with an expected date if a lead time is known.
Discontinuing a product	Orders keep arriving for months	Flagged with a replacement SKU	Resellers see the end of life status in advance and the order validation rejects it after the agreed date.
Reseller emails a PO	Retyped by customer service	Read, validated and queued	Anything ambiguous, such as an unknown SKU or missing phone number, is held for a person to check.
Price list change	New file sent, old one still used	Effective date applied per price list	Orders at the old price after the effective date are flagged rather than silently accepted.
Customer asks where parcel is	Retailer phones your office	Tracking already in retailer’s system	Sent against the retailer’s PO and line references at manifest, not in the evening batch.
Faulty item returned	Arrives unannounced at the warehouse	RMA issued, label sent, credit raised	The RMA number links the return to the original order, retailer and invoice for the credit note.
Reseller relationship ends	Old feed link still works	Credentials revoked same day	Their access to trade prices and stock data stops, and any open orders are handled by agreement.

What to Get Right

Handling the retailer’s customer data

Every dropship order gives you a consumer’s name, address and phone number that belong to the retailer’s relationship. If you are covered by the Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Privacy Principles apply to how you collect, use, secure and retain it, and your agreement may add obligations. Use it only to fulfil and support that order, never for your own marketing, restrict who can see it, and set a retention period. Confirm your obligations with a privacy adviser.

Who the consumer’s rights are against

Under the Australian Consumer Law the consumer’s guarantee rights are generally against the retailer who sold to them, not against you. The retailer may in turn have rights to recover certain costs from the manufacturer or importer, and your supply agreement will usually add warranty and indemnity terms. Write the RMA process, timeframes and who pays freight into the agreement, and have it reviewed by a lawyer. This is general information only.

Recommended prices, not minimums

Resale price maintenance is prohibited under the Competition and Consumer Act, so as a supplier you generally cannot require resellers to sell at or above a minimum price, or withhold supply because they discount. You can publish an RRP and say it is recommended. Advertised price policies sit close to this line and the details matter, so get competition law advice before writing one into a reseller agreement or onboarding pack.

Exposing real stock levels

Publishing your exact on hand quantity tells every reseller, and anyone they share the file with, how deep your stock is, and it invites overselling when several resellers sell the last units at once. Bands such as ‘In stock’, ‘Low’ and ‘Out’, or a quantity capped at a sensible ceiling with a safety buffer held back, protect you while giving resellers what they need to decide whether to show the product.

Branding leaks in the parcel

One supplier invoice, catalogue or branded tape in a box can break a retailer’s trust in the whole program, especially if the consumer then contacts you directly. Make dropship packing a distinct pick and pack profile in the warehouse or 3PL, with its own packing slip template per reseller and a checklist, and test it by sending real orders to staff addresses before launch.

Building before there is demand

With two or three resellers, a well structured spreadsheet feed shared per reseller and orders received by email into a monitored inbox may be perfectly adequate. Many ecommerce platforms and ERPs also have reseller or wholesale features that cover the basics. Automate when order volume, the number of resellers, or the cost of mistakes makes the manual process the bottleneck, not before.

How Yes AI Approaches Supplier Programs

Program and data review

We review your catalogue data, price lists, warehouse process and current reseller arrangements, then tell you plainly what a reseller ready feed needs, what can stay manual for now, and where your ERP or platform already does the job.

Feeds and order intake built

Per reseller feeds, credentials, order normalisation and validation run on a managed cloud automation layer we operate, connected to your ERP, warehouse or 3PL and carriers, with every feed pull, rejected order and tracking update logged so disputes can be checked quickly.

Monitored per reseller

We watch feed pulls, validation failures, despatch times and tracking latency for each reseller, alert your team when something drifts, and send a monthly summary so you can see which resellers are working and which are not.

Handover your team can run

Your team gets documented onboarding steps for new resellers, field mapping notes, a test order checklist and the ability to add or revoke a reseller without calling us, plus support when a large retailer asks for something new.

From First Reseller to a Scalable Program

Five steps. A first reseller feed with order intake and tracking is typically live in four to eight weeks, depending on catalogue data quality.

Audit catalogue and terms

Check product data completeness, GTINs, images and price lists, and agree the commercial and privacy terms each reseller will sign.

Design the feed and access

Field list, availability bands, refresh frequency, formats, and which reseller sees which range and price list.

Connect order intake

Normalise API, EDI, portal and email orders into one validated queue in your ERP or order system.

Set up blind shipping and returns

Packing slip templates, carrier sender details, tracking back to the reseller, invoicing and the RMA process.

Onboard, test and monitor

Test orders end to end with each new reseller, then track feed pulls, failures and despatch times per reseller.

FAQ

What do retailers expect from a dropship supplier in Australia?

In our experience, four things: a product feed they can load without cleaning, reasonably fresh stock availability, a reliable way to send orders, and despatch with tracking returned quickly, usually within one to two business days of order. Many also expect blind shipping, a clear returns process and an invoice that quotes their PO number. Larger retailers add their own templates, EDI requirements or supplier portals, and will often send a supplier manual setting out their specific requirements before onboarding.

Should we show resellers our real stock quantity?

Usually not. Exact on hand figures reveal your stock depth and encourage overselling when several resellers sell the last units at the same time. Most suppliers publish availability bands such as in stock, low and out, or a quantity capped at a ceiling with a buffer held back for your own channels. Show a lead time or expected date for out of stock lines where you have one, because it lets resellers keep the product listed as available to order.

How do we stop resellers seeing each other’s trade prices?

Give each reseller their own credentials and generate or filter their feed by the price list and range assigned to them. A single public link or shared spreadsheet containing every price list cannot do that. Decide whether each reseller sees RRP only, trade price, or both, and keep the price list assignment in your ERP or customer record so it changes when terms change. Revoke credentials promptly when a relationship ends.

Can we set the price resellers sell our products at?

Generally no. Resale price maintenance is prohibited under the Competition and Consumer Act, which means a supplier cannot usually require a reseller to sell at or above a minimum price, or stop supplying because they discount. You can publish a recommended retail price. Some suppliers use advertised price policies, but these carry real risk if poorly drafted. This is general information only; get competition law advice before setting any pricing policy for resellers.

Who handles a faulty product sold through a reseller?

The consumer’s Australian Consumer Law rights are generally against the retailer who sold to them, so the consumer deals with the retailer. The retailer then returns the item to you under your agreed RMA process, and may have rights to recover certain costs from the manufacturer or importer. Your supply agreement should set out authorisation steps, timeframes, who pays return freight and how credits are raised. Have the agreement reviewed by a lawyer.

How should we invoice a dropship order?

You sell to the retailer, so you issue a tax invoice to the retailer’s business at their trade price, quoting their PO number, with freight and any dropship fee as separate lines and GST treated as your accountant advises. Raise it on despatch so partial shipments are invoiced only for what was sent. Your invoice never goes in the parcel, because the consumer’s receipt or invoice comes from the retailer. Confirm invoicing details with your accountant.

Do we need an integration if we only have a couple of resellers?

Often not yet. With two or three resellers and modest volume, a well structured spreadsheet feed per reseller, refreshed on a schedule, and orders emailed to a monitored shared inbox can work well. Your ERP or ecommerce platform may also have wholesale or reseller features that cover it. The signals to automate are rekeying errors, slow tracking complaints, more resellers asking for API or EDI connections, and staff time spent answering where is my order calls.

Make Your Range Easy for Resellers to Sell

Book a call. We look at your catalogue data, price lists, order channels and despatch process, tell you honestly whether you need an integration yet, and give you a priced plan for a reseller program that scales without leaking trade prices or customer data.

Book a Reseller Program Review (03) 9003 0111

All discussions held in confidence. Australian-based consultants.