The steps below represent the typical flow of dropship data through Rithum. Starting with the supplier sending inventory and ending with the retailer receiving an invoice for an ordered item, these steps highlight the process that inventory, orders, and invoices follow through Rithum.

Rithum dropship workflow

1. Supplier sends inventory

Using their chosen integration method, suppliers send inventory updates to Rithum to either create new items or update existing items with new quantities. That inventory information can be uploaded through the web application or automatically loaded using an automated job. Suppliers must provide a unique identifier for each item and include it in the SKU field. Suppliers can store both their version of the SKU and a retailer version of the SKU. 

2. Retailer receives the inventory

Once the updates have been added to Rithum, retailers will receive those updates through their chosen integration method. Depending on the integration type, the information can be sent immediately using an API webhook, hourly via an automated export, or downloaded manually from the web application. 

If suppliers have added a partner SKUs to their items, retailers will receive their partner (retailer) SKU for each item along with the supplier's normal SKU. 

3. Retailer sends an order

When a customer places an order, retailers should send that order to Rithum with the appropriate information included. Rithum will import that order, matching the SKU on the order to a supplier's SKU in Rithum. 

Each order must have a unique PO number, per retailer account. Each SKU included on the order must also exist in Rithum or the PO will be rejected. Orders can be placed for in-stock and out-of-stock items. 

4. Supplier receives the order

If suppliers have chosen an automated integration method, Rithum will automatically export that order to the supplier based on the supplier's export schedule. Orders can also be manually downloaded or acknowledged directly through the web application.

Rithum computes SLA performance based on the requested delivery date supplied by the retailer on the order. Rithum also notifies suppliers on each order that misses SLA requirements. 

5. Supplier sends a tracking number or cancels the order

If the order is going to be shipped then suppliers should send the shipment info, including the tracking number, to Rithum. Rithum will import that information and update the order with the tracking number, carrier, method, and other details from the shipment.

Rithum validates each tracking code and notifies suppliers when a tracking code appears to be invalid. Rithum also does not allow more tracking codes to be added than the number of items on the order. 

If instead the order is going to be cancelled then a cancellation notice will be sent to Rithum. Rithum will update the status of the order to cancelled. 

If an item has already been updated to shipped or cancelled in Rithum, the status cannot be changed by sending in another update for the order. The shipped and cancelled statuses are considered final and cannot be changed by either supplier or retailer. 

6. Retailer receives the tracking number or cancellation

If the order has been shipped, then Rithum will export the tracking number and shipment information to the retailer. Retailers can see the status of the order updated in the web application as soon as the supplier updates the order. 

If the supplier ends up cancelling the order then a cancellation notice will be exported from Rithum and sent to the retailer. 

7. Supplier sends an invoice

After Rithum receives the tracking number for the shipment, the supplier should send an invoice using an automated method or create an invoice directly in the web application. As an alternative to sending the tracking number and invoice separately, if a supplier includes the shipping info for the order with the invoice, then Rithum will use that shipping info instead to update the order. 

Suppliers cannot invoice for a higher quantity than what was shipped on the order. The quantity being invoiced must match the quantity being shipped or Rithum will reject the invoice. 

8. Retailer receives the invoice

Once the invoice has been imported to Rithum, the retailer can access that invoice and view it's details. If the retailer has an automated connection to Rithum then the invoice will be automatically exported to the retailer. 

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