OPAL is the first and only smart platform that combines all of the needed drop ship automation capabilities into one place.  It , requires no human intervention, works 365×24, automates and enhances your ERP order processing capability, is fully compliant with all on-line marketplace requirements, provides document data translation and transmission without errors at zero cost, and works with your 3PL or warehouse to provide all labels and information needed to pick, pack, ship and track an order. And, best of all, it will process those drop ship orders in less than 8 seconds.

This kind of automation has become a necessity.  On-line marketplaces (Wayfair.com, Overstock.com, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, etc. etc.) all have increasingly high expectations.  After all, they need to enhance their brand, move ahead of their competition and reduce their order cost to a minimum.  More and more, they want their suppliers to drop ship from their own warehouse rather than one of their fulfillment centers, provide acknowledgement, tracking number, ship it in three (3) days maximum, provide accurate invoicing and provide them with accurate item inventory updates.

Unfortunately the tools they give you to do this are cumbersome and labor intensive, causing most suppliers to cobble a variety of technologies together to ease that labor intensity – all of which usually still requires some level of dedicated staff and time to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Consumer expectations, as well, are getting higher almost every day.  If they order something at 3:00am Saturday morning, they want to see an acknowledgement, tracking number and expected delivery date right away.  They also expect to receive that order in a few days at most.

Drop Shipping is difficult, costly and all too often not as profitable as it should be. A big part of that comes from everything required to meet your customer’s expectations.  You need process management and automation to succeed. There IS a better way to do this!  OPAL can do this!

Drop Shipping is difficult, costly and all too often not as profitable as it should be.  That is a universal truth.  A big part of that comes from everything required to meet your customer’s expectations.  And by “customer” I mean not only the end consumer that you’re shipping to, but also the retail marketplace that you are using to reach the consumer.

Consumer expectations are getting higher almost every day.  If they order something at 3:00am Saturday morning, they want to see an acknowledgement, tracking number and expected delivery date very quickly.  They also expect to receive that order in a few days at most.

Marketplaces also have increasingly high expectations.  After all, they need to enhance their brand, move ahead of their competition and reduce their order cost to a minimum.  More and more, they want their suppliers to drop ship from their own warehouse rather than one of their fulfillment centers, provide acknowledgement, tracking number, ship it in three (3) days maximum, provide accurate invoicing and provide them with accurate item inventory updates.

Unfortunately the tools they give you to do this are cumbersome and labor intensive, causing most suppliers to cobble disparate technologies together to ease some of that labor intensity.  This usually includes things like an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP system), a method to translate, send and receive data to / from the marketplace, software to automate management of that data and software to communicate with shipping carriers – all of which usually still requires some level of dedicated staff and time to ensure everything goes smoothly.

In 2014, a drop ship supplier experiencing these growing customer expectations and technology challenges, came to us, Cityon Systems, a software development company, and said “there has to be a better way to do this!”  

This led to the birth of OPAL, the first and only smart platform that combines all of the needed capabilities into one place for drop shipping.  It automates and enhances your ERP order processing capability, requires no human intervention, works 365×24, is fully compliant with all marketplace requirements, provides document data translation and transmission without errors at zero cost, and works with your 3PL or warehouse to provide all labels and information needed to pick, pack, ship and track an order.

And, best of all, it will process those drop ship orders in less than 8 seconds.

You receive an order, pick it, pack it and ship it to the consumer.  That is simple drop shipping.  Unfortunately, reality is never that simple.  To be cost efficient you need automation.  And by that I mean DROP SHIPPING AUTOMATION THAT DOES EVERYTHING FOR YOU WITHOUT THE INTERVENTION OF ORDER PROCESSING PERSONNEL.  For example, does your software AUTOMATICALLY:

ü  Retrieve the order (EDI 850) from the Retailer?

ü  Acknowledge the order (EDI 997) to the Retailer?

ü  Notify you if there’s an exception?

ü  Finalize the order requirements?

ü  Determine packaging requirements for the shipment?

ü  Create a Sales Order or Invoice in your accounting system?

ü  Generate and print a Pick List?

ü  Generate and print Shipping Labels?

ü  Generate and print 3^rd party Packing Slips?

ü  Send the order confirmation (EDI 855) to the Retailer?

ü  Send the ASN to Retailer (EDI 856)?

ü  Invoice the Retailer (EDI 810)

ü  Send item inventory to the Retailer (EDI 846)

You may think you are automated because you have a sophisticated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system or you may simply be using QuickBooks for accounting and inventory.  You may also have software applications that help manage shipping and labels. 

The problem is that this automation still requires trained order processing personnel to manage each step or, even worse, they may have to duplicate the entry of information into each software application opening the door for human error.

And then, of course, there’s EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) when it’s required to do business with a particular customer.  This can take two basic forms:  First the EDI provider you’re working with may be simply providing a secure translation and data exchange for you, such as a Value Added Network (VAN) or they may be a full service EDI provider that has integrated with your business processes and help you manage order processing.  In either case, it just means more complexity and cost.

Automation, real automation, is a necessary part of growing your business.  When your business is seamlessly connected the possibilities for growth become evident and easy to achieve.  OPAL can help you do this by knowing the business compliance requirements of every retailer, processing your drop ship orders in less than 8 seconds, 24 hours a day, with 100% EDI compliance and zero EDI document costs.  Please visit us at www.opal-llc.com or call us at 469-661-2407 to schedule a 15 minute demonstration and see what it can do for you.