How to Automate Drop shipping

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Dropshipping is a business model where the retailer doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product...

Dropshipping is a business model where the retailer doesn't keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third-party supplier and has it shipped directly to the customer. Automating dropshipping can help streamline the process and improve efficiency. Here are some steps to automate dropshipping:

Choose a dropshipping platform: There are many platforms available, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. Choose the one that best fits your needs.
Choose your suppliers: Select suppliers that have the products you want to sell and that offer dropshipping services.
Integrate your store with your suppliers: Most dropshipping platforms offer integrations with popular suppliers. These integrations will allow you to automatically import product information, inventory levels, and pricing.
Automate order fulfillment: Once a customer places an order, the dropshipping platform can automatically notify the supplier of the order and provide the necessary shipping information.
Automate tracking updates: When the supplier ships the product, the platform can automatically provide the customer with tracking information.
Monitor and manage your inventory: The dropshipping platform can automatically update your inventory levels as products are sold.

Here's an example code snippet in Python that shows how to automate drop shipping using Shopify's API:

python
import requests

# Set up Shopify API credentials
shopify_api_key = 'your_shopify_api_key'
shopify_password = 'your_shopify_password'
shopify_store_url = 'https://your_store_name.myshopify.com'
shopify_version = '2021-01'

# Get list of unfulfilled orders
unfulfilled_orders_url = f'{shopify_store_url}/admin/api/{shopify_version}/orders.json?fulfillment_status=unfulfilled'
response = requests.get(unfulfilled_orders_url, auth=(shopify_api_key, shopify_password))
orders = response.json()['orders']

# Process each unfulfilled order
for order in orders:
    order_id = order['id']
    line_items = order['line_items']
    shipping_address = order['shipping_address']

    # Get product information for each line item
    for line_item in line_items:
        product_id = line_item['product_id']
        variant_id = line_item['variant_id']
        product_url = f'{shopify_store_url}/admin/api/{shopify_version}/products/{product_id}.json'
        response = requests.get(product_url, auth=(shopify_api_key, shopify_password))
        product = response.json()['product']
        variants = product['variants']
        for variant in variants:
            if variant['id'] == variant_id:
                sku = variant['sku']

        # Create a new fulfillment for the order
        fulfillment_url = f'{shopify_store_url}/admin/api/{shopify_version}/orders/{order_id}/fulfillments.json'
        fulfillment_data = {
            "fulfillment": {
                "tracking_number": "1234",
                "line_items": [
                    {
                        "id": line_item['id'],
                        "quantity": line_item['quantity']
                    }
                ],
                "location_id": "1234",
                "notify_customer": "true"
            }
        }
        response = requests.post(fulfillment_url, json=fulfillment_data, auth=(shopify_api_key, shopify_password))
        if response.status_code == 201:
            print(f'Fulfilled order {order_id} for product SKU {sku}')
        else:
            print(f'Error fulfilling order {order_id}: {response.content}')

This code uses the Shopify API to get a list of unfulfilled orders, retrieve product information for each line item, and create a new fulfillment for each order. The code could be further customized to include additional steps such as updating inventory levels or sending shipping notifications to customers.

Choose a dropshipping platform

There are several popular dropshipping platforms to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Here are some of the most popular options:

Shopify: Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms and has a built-in dropshipping feature that allows you to easily connect with suppliers and manage orders.
WooCommerce: WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to turn your website into an e-commerce store. There are several plugins available that allow you to add dropshipping functionality.
BigCommerce: BigCommerce is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that offers a built-in dropshipping feature. It's known for its user-friendly interface and powerful inventory management tools.
Oberlo: Oberlo is a Shopify app that connects you with suppliers and automates the dropshipping process. It's designed to be easy to use and integrates seamlessly with Shopify.
AliExpress: AliExpress is a popular online marketplace that connects buyers with suppliers. It's a popular choice for dropshippers due to its vast selection of products and low prices.

When choosing a dropshipping platform, it's important to consider factors such as ease of use, cost, and the selection of suppliers and products.

Integrate your store with your suppliers

Here's an example code snippet that shows how to integrate your store with your suppliers using the API of a popular dropshipping platform, AliExpress:

python
import requests
import json

# Set up API credentials
APP_KEY = 'your_app_key'
APP_SECRET = 'your_app_secret'
ACCESS_TOKEN = 'your_access_token'

# Set up API endpoint URL
url = 'https://gw.api.alibaba.com/openapi/param2/1/gateway.sandbox.open/dropshipping.' 

# Define function to get product information from supplier
def get_product_info(product_id):
    method = 'aliexpress.solution.product.info.get'
    params = {'productId': product_id}
    headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}'}
    response = requests.post(url + method, headers=headers, params=params)
    return response.json()

# Define function to place an order with supplier
def place_order(product_id, quantity, shipping_info):
    method = 'aliexpress.solution.order.freight.calculate'
    product_info = get_product_info(product_id)
    product_name = product_info['result']['aeopAeProductSKUs'][0]['skuName']
    params = {
        'productId': product_id,
        'productTitle': product_name,
        'productCount': quantity,
        'address': json.dumps(shipping_info)
    }
    headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}'}
    response = requests.post(url + method, headers=headers, params=params)
    return response.json()

# Example usage
product_id = '12345'
quantity = 5
shipping_info = {
    'fullName': 'John Smith',
    'countryCode': 'US',
    'province': 'California',
    'city': 'Los Angeles',
    'address': '123 Main St',
    'zip': '90001',
    'mobileNo': '555-555-5555'
}
response = place_order(product_id, quantity, shipping_info)
print(response)

Note that this code assumes that you have already obtained your API credentials from AliExpress and have authorized your store to access their API. You will also need to modify the code to suit your specific use case, such as by changing the product_id and shipping_info variables to match the product and shipping information for your own orders.

Automate order fulfillment

Here's an example code snippet that shows how to use Shopify's API to automate order fulfillment:

python
import shopify
from datetime import datetime

# Connect to the Shopify API
shop_url = 'YOUR_SHOP_NAME.myshopify.com'
api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY'
password = 'YOUR_PASSWORD'
shopify.Session.setup(api_key=api_key, secret=password)
shopify_session = shopify.Session(shop_url)
shopify.ShopifyResource.activate_session(shopify_session)

# Retrieve orders with the 'unfulfilled' status
orders = shopify.Order.find(status='unfulfilled')

# Loop through the orders and fulfill them
for order in orders:
    fulfillment = shopify.Fulfillment()
    fulfillment.order_id = order.id
    fulfillment.tracking_company = 'USPS'
    fulfillment.tracking_number = '123456789'
    fulfillment.created_at = datetime.utcnow().strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S')
    fulfillment.line_items = [{'id': item.id, 'quantity': item.quantity} for item in order.line_items]
    fulfillment.save()

This code connects to your Shopify store using your shop's URL, API key, and password. It then retrieves all orders with the 'unfulfilled' status and loops through them, creating a fulfillment object for each order and specifying the tracking information and line items to be fulfilled. Finally, it saves the fulfillment object to Shopify to mark the order as fulfilled. You can customize this code to fit your specific use case and integrate with other platforms and APIs as needed.

Automate tracking updates

Here's an example code snippet that shows how to use the EasyPost API to automate tracking updates:

python
import easypost

# Set your EasyPost API key
easypost.api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'

# Get the shipment ID and tracking number from your database
shipment_id = 'SH123456'
tracking_number = '1234567890'

# Create a tracker object with the tracking number
tracker = easypost.Tracker.create(tracking_code=tracking_number)

# Check the status of the tracker object to see if the package has been delivered
if tracker.status == 'delivered':
    # Update the shipment status in your database
    update_database(shipment_id, 'delivered')
else:
    # Get the estimated delivery date and update the shipment status in your database
    delivery_date = tracker.est_delivery_date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
    update_database(shipment_id, 'in transit', delivery_date)

In this example, the EasyPost API is used to create a tracker object for a given tracking number. The status of the tracker object is then checked to see if the package has been delivered. If it has, the shipment status is updated in the database. If it hasn't, the estimated delivery date is retrieved from the tracker object and used to update the shipment status in the database. This code can be set up to run on a regular schedule to automate the tracking update process.

Monitor and manage your inventory

To monitor and manage your inventory in a dropshipping business, you can use an inventory management software that integrates with your dropshipping platform and supplier's systems. Here's an example code snippet that shows how to use the Inventory API provided by Shopify to retrieve inventory levels for a particular product:

python
import shopify

# Set up Shopify API credentials
shopify.ShopifyResource.set_site('https://your-shop-name.myshopify.com/admin/api/2021-07')
shopify.ShopifyResource.set_user('API_KEY')
shopify.ShopifyResource.set_password('API_PASSWORD')

# Retrieve a product by its ID
product = shopify.Product.find(123456)

# Retrieve inventory levels for the product
inventory_levels = product.inventory_levels()

# Print the inventory levels
for inventory_level in inventory_levels:
    print(f"{inventory_level.location.name}: {inventory_level.available}")

This code snippet uses the Shopify Python API library to connect to the Shopify API, retrieve a product by its ID, and then retrieve the inventory levels for that product. The inventory_levels() method returns a list of ShopifyResource objects, which can be iterated over to print the inventory levels for each location. This can be used to monitor inventory levels and ensure that you have sufficient stock to fulfill orders.