Today, it is well known that part of the success of an e-commerce business is the great investment in resources and manufacturers. Nowadays a lot of the market is made up of many types of merchants and platforms bringing all kinds of products to the consumers.
What is blind shipping?
Blind shipping is one of the shipping methods commonly used in e-commerce.
With this method, the identity of the supplier is hidden from the customer, which means products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer; without revealing the supplier’s information on the packaging or shipping labels, similar to white-label branding.
This practice usually works well for online businesses acting as middlemen because it prevents customers from grabbing supplier’s information and contacting them directly; which would mean a loss for the seller.
Similarly, and taking one step further, Double-blind shipping conceals the customer’s details from the supplier as well.
To use blind shipping, companies partner with freight forwarding companies so that they manage the logistics and hide the information efficiently.
This strategy helps companies to protect their clientele, and ensure customer loyalty. Overall, blind shipping is a smart strategy to implement in the supply chain that can reduce the risk of customers leaving.
This is a very common method nowadays that allows businesses to offer more options while maintaining control of their brand similar to a white-label service.
How does blind shipping work?
Blind shipping involves a third-party merchant who becomes the middleman. Here’s a closer look at how it works:
Order Placement
The e-commerce store is the one acting as a middleman between the client and the manufacturer. They receive an order and proceed to request the supplier to fulfill it.
Supplier Interaction
The store places the order with their supplier without having to disclose the supplier’s information to their customer.
Shipping Label Creation
The store then creates a separate Bill of Lading (BOL) for the manufacturer and the carrier, making sure the supplier’s details remain hidden on the shipping labels. Blind-shipped goods will need three Bills Of Lading (BOL):
- A Bill Of Lading for the shipping company collecting the goods.
- A second Bill Of Lading will be for the customers upon receiving delivery.
- A formal Bill Of Lading that will include all delivery and shipping details, which is the one the courier gets.
Product Shipment
The supplier ships the product to the customer directly. To the customer, it will appear as if the product came directly from the store.
Customer Receipt
The customer receives the order and only the e-commerce store’s information is visible on the packaging, maintaining the supplier information anonymous at all times.
Benefits of using blind shipping
The benefits of using blind shipping are many. It protects supplier relationships, preventing customers from jumping the retailer over and contacting the supplier directly.
It also maintains competitiveness in an already competitive market. Blind shipping makes it harder for competitors to identify and try to steal or copy suppliers.
It helps to streamline operations, as blind shipping eliminates the need to handle inventory and reduces warehousing and shipping costs. These are handled by the supplier instead.
Expands customer options: Blind shipping opens a whole new door of possibilities for companies that don’t have to rely on their shipping and warehousing enabling them to offer products that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to.
What’s the difference between blind shipping and dropshipping?
The main difference between blind shipping and dropshipping is that Blind shipping is when the identity of the supplier is hidden from the customer, the customer then thinks the product is coming directly from the retailer.
But instead, in Drop-shipping the manufacturer ships the product directly to the customer, but the customer is aware of it and knows their product is coming from the supplier, not the retailer.
Overall, blind shipping is a valuable logistics strategy that offers privacy, security, and efficiency benefits for your business.
By implementing blind shipping you will stay competitive and take a step in securing customer loyalty and retention. This strategy allows you to fully control your customers’ experience, preventing them from contacting suppliers directly.
Feel free to contact EP Logistics if your e-commerce could benefit from this approach. With many years of experience in all the main areas of logistics and chain supply services, we can guide you and get an accurate quote for the services your business needs.
