Drop Shippers Name Inventory Management and EDI as Best Investments for New Retail Channel

SPS Commerce Surveyed More Than 100 Direct-to-Consumer Leaders for Advice and Insight to New Drop-Ship Suppliers

MINNEAPOLIS, May 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPS Commerce, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPSC), a leader in retail cloud services, today released its latest research report, The Direct-to-Consumer Journey From First Order Through Automation. In late 2018, SPS Commerce asked more than 100 of its experienced drop-ship customers about their first orders, as well as how they’ve evolved and automated their drop-ship fulfillment since that time. This research report presents their insight and their advice to those just starting the journey or at a turning point and considering how to automate, including how and when to select a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

“Drop shipping is a growing retail segment and an opportunity for both retailers and suppliers to reach more consumers,” said Mark O’Leary, Chief Marketing Officer at SPS Commerce. “At SPS, our experts work alongside businesses daily to advance their drop-ship initiatives. This new research brings advice from our team and direct insight from experienced drop-ship suppliers to those anticipating their first direct-to-consumer order from a major retailer or considering automating their manual processes.”

Key findings on drop-ship initiatives:

• Frequent inventory updates to retailers were identified as the most troublesome part of initial drop-ship operations, followed by understanding trading partner requirements.
• Anticipated growth and signing with a retailer having complex requirements were the top two reasons given for automating the drop-ship process.
• EDI and improved inventory management ranked as best investments related to drop shipping.
• Less than one percent of drop shippers have suspended their program, while more than half of respondents report adding new online retailers.

The complimentary retail industry report, including direct advice from suppliers and articles from experts at Oracle NetSuite and ShipStation, is available from SPS Commerce.

About SPS Commerce 
SPS Commerce perfects the power of trading partner relationships with the industry's most broadly adopted, retail cloud services platform. As a leader in cloud-based supply chain management solutions, we provide proven integrations and comprehensive retail performance analytics to thousands of customers worldwide. SPS Commerce has achieved 73 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and is headquartered in Minneapolis. For additional information, please contact SPS Commerce at 866-245-8100 or visit www.spscommerce.com.

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Source: SPS Commerce, Inc.