Dropshipping
direct delivery · drop ship · supplier direct
Dropshipping is the arrangement in which the supplier ships goods directly to the end customer while the distributor remains the seller and commercial contact. The part never physically passes through the distributor's warehouses, yet the distributor stays responsible for the order towards the workshop.
Director of publication : Florian Précigout
In the aftermarket it mainly serves heavy, bulky or zero-rotation parts — a bumper, a windscreen, a complete exhaust — that it would be absurd to move twice. It also opens ranges no local stock could justify.
What it shifts is control over information. The distributor no longer sees the parcel: it depends on what the supplier reports back to announce a lead time, confirm a shipment or handle damage. Without reliable feedback, it ends up saying "let me check" to a workshop with a vehicle on the lift.
Responsibility does not shift: to the workshop, the seller is still the distributor. That imbalance — accountable without controlling the flow — is what makes dropshipping demanding on supplier integration quality.
The trap
Passing on a supplier lead time as if it were your own. Until the supplier confirms dispatch, the commitment made at the counter is backed by nothing.
Frequently asked
Who handles the return of a directly delivered part?
Commercially the distributor, who remains the seller. Physically it depends on the agreement with the supplier — and that is the point to settle before opening the flow, not at the first dispute.
Is dropshipping faster?
Often, since it removes a transit step. It is less predictable though, because the distributor controls neither the picking nor the carrier.