How Blind-Drop Shipping and Private Labelling Benefits Resellers
Blind-drop and private-label shipping are distribution services for pushing product faster between warehouse and end-user. The distributor sends all packages direct on behalf of its resellers, meaning the reseller’s return address, logo and other branding materials get stamped onto the package instead of the distributor’s. In effect, the distributor becomes an invisible third party. But how exactly does such an arrangement benefit the reseller?
Streamlined Shipping Strategies with Minimal Investment Risk
Blind shipping’s most obvious benefit is simplicity: the reseller doesn’t get involved in the logistics, allowing a more straightforward process. Rather than first shipping from the warehouse to the reseller, the distributor preps the package appropriately and cuts out that second leg of the journey. Consequently, the reseller saves time and money, which also translates into better customer service.
Interestingly, because blind shipping keeps all product in the warehouse until an order comes in, the reseller never invests in the product. No sales still means no revenue, but there are no assets either putting the business into a deficit.
Traditionally, a reseller would maintain a stock to provide more responsive shipping. With blind shipping, resellers can offer the same responsiveness without any risk. Plus, they can scale their offerings easier by expanding catalogues and fulfilling orders of any size painlessly.
Customer Confidence and Confidentiality
Keeping the distributor secret from the customer ensures two things:
The customer will never know the source of the product;
The customer will never receive marketing information from the distributor.
Not knowing the source protects the reseller from having their margins potentially exposed (as one example). Customers tend to feel more confident in direct shipping arrangements, too. Inventory lends an air of legitimacy because the customer needn’t worry about complications with returns and warranties. While resellers can settle such things with the supplier behind the scenes, drop shipping at least alleviates these concerns at face value.
Location Flexibility
Most distributors maintain shipping networks bigger than any reseller could never build directly (or access cheaply elsewhere). For that reason, partnering with a distributor offering multiple shipping options not only comes with financial benefits, but also geographical ones. Resellers can leverage the distributor’s infrastructure and service customers in more areas around the country.