Introduction

This article details how you can onboard vendors to Onport that either use custom systems or platforms that are not currently supported.

Onport can integrate with multiple types of e-commerce platforms (see the list of our supported platforms at the end of the article). However, if your vendor is using a custom system or isn't on one of our supported platforms, there is an alternative way to effectively onboard them as a vendor on Onport.

It is important to note that Onport cannot automate order routing and inventory sync directly to the stores of vendors from unsupported platforms. Instead, the following will take place:

• Vendors will operate through a web-based Vendor portal. When you add them to Onport, they will receive a login URL to the portal.
• The vendors will receive email notifications whenever an order including their items is placed in your store
• They will be able to view the orders directly from their portal
• They will mark the orders as fulfilled and add tracking details from the portal

You can learn more about how vendors view their portals and orders from this article.

This article will show you how to onboard such a vendor.

Create the vendor

Your first step will be to create the vendor in Onport. This is the same as what you would do for any other vendor. Go to your Contacts tab and click on New Dropship Provider. When setting up your Order automation under the Orders tab, select the option “Email/Portal” under Partial Order Automation.

For more on setting up your vendor, you can read this article.

Syncing the inventory

Next, you will need to pull the inventory feed of the vendor. Having the feed in Onport will allow you to easily decide what items to publish, and make any changes needed from your end. You will need to navigate to the Inventory Feeds tab under the vendor settings, and click on New Inventory Feed.

The most effective way to import the inventory is by your vendor creating a file that includes the items. It should include the name of the item, SKU, price, and any other information you would need. There are two different types of files they can create:

CSV: Read here how to import inventory from a CSV file to Onport 

Google Drive: Read here how to import inventory from a Google Drive file to Onport 

VIDEO TUTORIAL: How to share data from a Google Sheet

Based on what you prefer, choose the preferred inventory automation. 

How will the vendors view orders?

Once you have pulled in the inventory and decided which items to publish, your customers should be able to place orders. When you selected Email/Portal in the Orders settings, your vendor was sent an invitation to their own vendor portal. This is where they will be able to view and track orders, as well as access their settings.

To learn more about the vendor portal and how they can view their orders, read this.

Could Onport build a connector to a platform?

The most common reason that we don’t have a connector to a platform is that the platform doesn’t currently have an API Onport could connect with. If you would like Onport to consider building a connector for a platform that can support an API, get in touch with us at support@onport.com.

As mentioned, Onport already supports a number of platforms:

• https://jetti.io/integrations/Dropship