Blind Shipping
What is Blind Shipping?
Blind Shipping is a shipping arrangement where the actual origin of the goods is hidden from the end customer. In this setup, the shipping documents and labels display the intermediary or third party’s address instead of the sender’s details.
This method is often used to protect supplier confidentiality or when drop shipping products directly from a supplier to a customer without revealing the supplier’s identity.
Benefits of Blind Shipping
The main benefits of Blind Shipping include maintaining privacy over supplier details, enhancing trust in the supply chain, and potentially increasing customer satisfaction by simplifying the delivery process.
It also allows retailers to brand themselves effectively by presenting the goods as coming directly from them rather than an external supplier.
Examples of Blind Shipping
A practical example of Blind Shipping is an online retailer that dropships products from a manufacturer directly to the customer.
By using Blind Shipping, the retailer ensures that the customer receives the product with the retailer’s branding and address, without any indication of the manufacturer’s involvement.
Another example is a company that uses Blind Shipping to send a gift to a client without revealing the original source, thus keeping the focus on the company’s gesture.
Why use Blind or Double-Blind Shipping?
Let’s say you sell customized notebooks and your supplier is in China. If your packaging contains the supplier’s information, your customer may try to place their next order directly from the supplier, circumventing you.
Blind shipping means you avoid this– and keep your customers.
What if you also don’t want your supplier to reach out directly to your customers and offer them the goods you sell at better prices? That’s when double-blind shipping could be a great option for you.
When do I use Blind Shipping?
Blind Shipping is used when it’s essential to keep the identity of the original supplier hidden from the end customer. This is particularly useful in dropshipping scenarios where a retailer wants to maintain brand integrity by ensuring that products appear to come directly from them, rather than an external supplier. It’s also applicable in situations where revealing the supplier’s details could lead to business complications or competitive disadvantages.
How does Blind Shipping work?
To arrange a blind or double-blind shipment, a shipper coordinates with their freight forwarder to remove the original Bill of Lading after the shipment clears customs. That means the supplier’s information does not appear in the delivery.
In a double-blind shipment, the freight forwarder also needs to provide an incorrect final address to the supplier. Only the freight forwarder (and the shipper) know where the shipment originates, and where it ends up.
Blind Shipping vs. Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a shipping method used by shippers who do not store their own inventory. They ship directly from the supplier to the customer.
Blind shipping is a type of drop shipping– where not only is the shipment sent directly to the customer, but that customer does not know the identity of the supplier.
