Onport and Inventory Source dropshipping contrasted and compared.

Dropshipping is becoming increasingly popular, with more and more people trying their hand at the practice, quite often as a side hustle to supplement their primary income.

A name well known throughout the dropshipping market is that of Inventory Source. They offer an effective drop shipping solution, particularly for those who wish to source directly from predetermined suppliers. However, as a dropshipping solution, it is one that lacks the depth of functionality and support of Onport. Throughout this article, we will examine how both platforms measure up when it comes to selecting the right dropship management software for your needs.

Integrations

Inventory Source offers a number of integrations - such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, and BigCommerce as well as several others. These are good integrations with major platforms, allowing your dropship operations to run more efficiently. However, while Inventory Source does offer a decent variety of supported platforms, Onport offers more and allows for a more custom setup if needed.

An example of Onport’s dropshipping integrations includes - Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, TradeGecko, and many more. You can check out the full list of dropshipping integrations supported by Onport here, keep in mind you can also do a custom migration if you feel the need to.

Features

When it comes to dropshipping, having systems in place which can simplify your operations and generally make your life easier is a must. Not physically holding the goods yourself can create problems in terms of inventory management as well as areas such as pricing and keeping an up-to-date product sync.

A core selling point of Inventory Source is the availability of direct sourcing, being able to get products from pre-determined suppliers and sell them at a profit on your store. This is something that Onport does not offer and maybe a big advantage of Inventory Source for those who wish to pursue that particular business model.

Inventory Source offers a service known as US-Direct which allows them to connect US-based suppliers with drop shippers. Depending on which approach you wish to take for your dropshipping business, this may be something you might wish to investigate further.

However, in other areas, Inventory Source lacks the depth of features compared to Onport. While you can sync inventory and onboard 3rd party vendors, order routing is limited as is SKU mapping.

When it comes to Onport, you can count on a number of useful features that are designed to help automate your drop ship operations. One such example is the ability to monitor your inventory feeds which solves the contentious issue of ensuring that you can ultimately supply what your customers order from your website. The scenario of having to email a customer, to let them know that their order cannot be fulfilled is a surefire way to ensure they never return to your site

Thanks to this feature, you can help keep your inventory in sync with that on your site. Other features include Advanced Warehousing, giving you greater access to the advanced setting of your in-house warehousing, giving you greater control over how it's all managed.

Other features, such as automated commission rates can help keep you and your vendors on the same page when it comes to margins. A more in-depth list of Onport’s dropshipping features can be found here.

Verdict

Depending on your needs, Inventory Source may be a perfectly suitable solution for your dropshipping operations, however, when it comes to scaling quickly, Onport may be the more applicable solution for your needs.

Onport empowers users to create their own curated marketplace, scaling at your own pace and without needing to compromise on your particular business goals. Choose what brands are presented in your store, in line with your particular brand vision and how your customers interact with your marketplace.

One Solution For Dropshipping - Onport

Onport is a multi-vendor marketplace and dropshipping platform. Onport enables product marketplaces to streamline and automate their inventory, orders, payments, and shipping operations. Designed to be flexible, Onport can accommodate both those seeking an out-the-box solution and through our API, those who require a more bespoke implementation. From growing SMEs to well-established Enterprises, Onport’s infrastructure is designed to be a reliable partner for growth.

With Onport, our customers can scale with confidence, streamline their daily operations as well as create truly unique marketplaces. Onport is trusted by brands such as Bombinate, Ad Hoc Atelier, and Naduvi as well as over 200+ other companies.