Product Inventory link between two businesses

[alinamartin]

My idea is to start an outlet store online using drop shipping for a well established business that have an excess in stock. Im wanting to know if there is a way for me to link our product inventory on the online website to the main business product inventory as our supplier, even if they are not using Shopify.

[Rick]

Hey @alinamartin 

That sounds like a neat idea, I can see how that would work well for certain setups such as yours.

There is functionality built into Shopify that natively allows you to transfer inventory from one location to another. This could be incoming inventory from a supplier, or even another store location. This allows you to keep track of your inventory as you move it between your various locations and it automatically updates your Shopify product inventory. More info on Inventory Transfers here.

From what you have described however, it sounds like you would need to sync inventory from a non-Shopify source, and have that dynamically update your inventory levels on an ongoing basis. For this, you would most likely need to consider installing a third party app from the Shopify App Store, or even hire a developer such as a Shopify Expert to help you implement a custom solution.

I had a look on the app store on your behalf, and found an app called Stock Sync ‑ Inventory Update which looks like it might work for your use case. However, I would recommend contacting the app developers directly with any specific questions you might have before installing. You can reach them by clicking into the Support tab on the app listing.

I realize you will not be dropshipping in the traditional sense of the word, however you might find our ultimate guide to dropshipping helpful! It's full of tips and tricks that you may find relevant to your own store.