Developing a Custom Shopify Dropshipping App (2021)

By: Kevin Gillpatrick, National Account Manager, Chetu, Inc.

If you run a business and want the most profit possible, it’s time to consider your options. Looking at your available choices and coming up with the best possible solutions gives you the results you want and deserve.

Introduction to the Dropshipping Model

If you are not familiar with dropshipping, it’s a great model if you know what you are doing. When you run a standard business, you have a lot to track, monitor, and maintain. You have to track your inventory and see how many products you have to order. You then ship your products after your customers place an order.

With the dropshipping model, you don’t have to worry about that. You take orders and send them to a dropshipping center that fulfills them. You never have to touch the inventory. The dropshipping company stores the products and ships them when you get an order.

It might be hard for some organizations to add delivery seamlessly into their offering. Here, we are going to look at some of the things that you should consider when you start to offer a delivery service within your family business. Even once the lockdown is over and life returns to something resembling normal, there will still be a high demand for gourmet food delivery service. Check some essential points right away to know why the food ordering and delivery business is the best choice for startups to begin.

Once you learn this business model, it won’t take much effort to move forward. You don’t have to manage your inventory or worry about shipping products. You save a lot of time and money over the long run.

What Exactly Is a Shopify Dropshipping App?

Let’s explore what a Shopify dropshipping app is and what it does. Shopify is a retail outlet businesses use to market their products and services. You upload pictures of your products and design your online store’s layout. On its own, Shopify offers an easy-to-use interface that empowers anyone to sell their products. But you might not get all the features you want right away.

Many people turn to Shopify apps to get a better experience. These apps offer enhanced features and make your life that much better. You upload the products you would like to provide, and you will have no trouble reaching the outcome you had in mind. From your customers’ point of view, it will look like you are selling the products. But the order goes to a dropshipping facility. You never need to touch your products, and you still get the benefits of having a Shopify business.

What’s New in Shopify Dropshipping 2021

Shopify has always been an excellent place for entrepreneurs to sell their products or services. But 2021 has been even better than ever, and it won’t take you long to know why. One of the best new features is enhanced performance. Shopify has refined its code and upgraded its system to give your store improved loading speeds.

Since your loading speed impacts the number of people who buy from you, it’s a factor you don’t want to overlook. You now have access to performance reports that let you know how long it takes your website to load, and you will be pleased with the outcome.

• Besides popular dropshipping providers like Shopmaster or Oberlo, new dropshipping providers like Doba and SaleHoo have also sign up for the Shopify platform.
• Shopify also allows developers to create extensions for dropshipping with high reputation brands like eBay or Amazon.
• Moreover, with Shopify labels, your API can provide easiness for merchants to fulfil orders with just a click and generate shipping labels on mobile devices like for example DHL or FedEx. This will also make the whole shipping process and order fulfillment easier and faster.

What Problems Does Shopify Solve?

Running an online store is not always an easy task. You have to set up and manage your website, and you have to track your inventory. These things take time and effort to achieve, and you will have no trouble reaching the outcome you want if you solve it. Having an online shop with Shopify makes your life that much easier.

You don’t have to track your inventory or manage shipments. Even when you use dropshipping with your website, you have to set up and manage your site. With Shopify, everything is done for you. You don’t have to do anything, and designing your website is easier than you once thought possible.

Some of the problems Shopify merchants might face, and will definitely need assistance are:

• Compliance policies prepared by the dropshipping provider does not fit with merchant.
• Few profit margins since the dropshipping model is adding multiple layers of different costs to the product price like shipping cost, dropshipping platform, and retailer’s profit.
• Aliexpress for example has already several wholesalers available, and getting any product listed as well as selected on Shopify might be a hassle.
• Commission rates are pre-decided by the dropshipping platform and developing a custom one can help merchants.

The Development Approach

If you want a Shopify app that makes the most sense for you and your business, you might have to use a custom approach. You use the development approach if you can’t find an app that makes sense for you and your business. This approach allows you to get an app that benefits your business more than the rest. You might want a feature that standard apps don’t have. Or you could want something that stands apart from the rest in ways you did not expect. If that is the case, the custom development approach is right for you.

Critical Features of Shopify Dropship Integration

If you are looking for a custom Shopify app, you need to ask yourself what you need. You are looking for something that stands apart from the rest in ways you might not expect. It would be best if you had something that meets the exact needs of your business. When you can’t find what you are looking for, get a custom Shopify app.

You want something easy to use, and that is designed to meet your exact needs. When the right app combines with the right products and services, your sales go through the roof. You will know you made the best choice when you see the improvements in your bottom line.

1. Helping enabler suppliers to set their products properly using Shopify functionalities in the dropshipping app (below see an example of a custom APP) The Shopify inventory updates directly and syncs with the app and allows retailers to manage everything using just the app in their Shopify stores.
   
2. Enabled suppliers to use any default Shopify admin interface for managing and receiving orders. The orders will automatically sync and be created depending on orders received by retailers using the app in their Shopify eStores.
   

Challenges when Developing Payments (Adaptive) in Shopify

Since Shopify does not provide support for adaptive payments an easier way to integrate adaptive payments to enable transactions between suppliers and retailers using Stripe payment integration can be of great help. Through custom codes, retailers can create customer accounts on Stripe for payment transactions.

Shopify as an Inventory Management Tool

Shopify is also a great inventory management system. With Shopify, you track the number of products you have left not to run out. Even if you use a dropshipping API, you can still sell other products from your shop.

Use Shopify to monitor and manage your inventory so that you know where you stand. You can use Shopify tools to get alerts when your stock is running low. You never have to worry about running out of your most popular products.

Final Thoughts

Make the most of your business with Shopify dropshipping integration. You grow your business, expand your reach and achieve your long-term business goals without trouble. With dropshipping, you pay for products in advance and leave them at the warehouse. When you get orders, you forward them to the warehouse for shipping. You never have to touch the products you sell when you take this approach. Dropshipping, though, is much work unless you know what you are doing.

When you use the right app, customers visit your Shopify store and buy your products. They get their products like normal, but you never worry about inventory. Also, the dropshipping app makes everything even more manageable. Find one that makes sense for you. If you can’t find an app that fits your needs, look into a custom application development team for your bottom line.

If you are looking for a team of experts for Shopify dropshipping app development, Chetu developers can help! Contact us to learn more about in what ways we can help you develop that unique app!

About Kevin – Kevin Gillpatrick is an industry expert within the e-commerce landscape. He works at Chetu Inc., Plantation, Fla., a custom software development provider and thought-leader within the IT community.