Shopify Collective is a powerful feature that enables merchants and suppliers on Shopify to collaborate, allowing retailers (merchants) to import and sell products from other Shopify stores (suppliers) directly through their storefronts, without handling inventory or fulfillment.
Through the Shopify Collective:
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Retailers can expand their product offerings by importing items from supplier stores and listing them in their storefronts.
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Suppliers benefit by gaining broader visibility and selling their products through multiple retail channels.
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The retailer handles the customer experience, while the supplier fulfills the order and receives payouts directly.
The Shopify-NetSuite integration app supports Shopify Collective workflows for both retailers and suppliers. With the right item setup and flow configuration, merchants can streamline their operations without directly managing physical inventory or fulfillment. This integration ensures accurate, automated data sync between Shopify and NetSuite, allowing retailers and suppliers to operate efficiently and eliminate manual intervention in their Collective order processes.
The workflows for retailers and suppliers are explained in detail below.
Fulfilling orders from retailers
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Orders from Shopify Collective appear as standard orders in your Shopify store.
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Fulfill them as normal in NetSuite.
If you're using a third-party fulfillment app:
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Ensure the app does not email customers directly with shipment or pricing details.
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This avoids confusing the customer with pricing differences between you and the retailer.
Syncing fulfillment to Shopify
Use the NetSuite fulfillment to Shopify fulfillment (add) flow to sync shipment details back to Shopify. Shopify will notify the Retailer once fulfillment is complete.
Payout Reconciliation
Shopify marks supplier transactions in the Payout report as:
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Shopify Collective Credit
Note
These transactions are currently posted to the variance account in NetSuite after reconciliation.
Syncing products to NetSuite
Import products to your store:
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Post accepting a supplier’s invite on Shopify Collective and importing their products into your Shopify store, activate the product in your store.
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Manually create these supplier items in NetSuite as DropShip inventory items, as explained below.
Steps in NetSuite:
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When creating an item manually:
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Mark the item as a Drop Ship Item, as it will be procured from the supplier.
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Assign the vendor to the item and mark it as Preferred, as shown in the screenshot below.
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Assign the Purchase Price for the item, as shown in the screenshot below. You can obtain the cost per item from Shopify.
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Under eTail > Shopify, select the appropriate Shopify store and specify the desired product visibility settings for where the products should be displayed.
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Save the item.
Once saved, run the Shopify product ID to NetSuite item (mass update) flow. This creates a mapping entry in Item > eTail > Celigo Shopify Item ID Map, syncing:
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Shopify Variant ID
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Product ID
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Inventory ID
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Store mapping details
Syncing orders and fulfillment
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When an order containing DropShip items is placed, the Shopify order to NetSuite order (cash sale or sales order) flows in the integration app and syncs it to NetSuite as a Sales Order.
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NetSuite automatically generates a Purchase Order (PO) linked to the DropShip item.
Once the supplier ships the item to the customer, Shopify will update the shipment details in the Order. Then:
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Run Shopify fulfillment to NetSuite fulfillment (add) to sync the supplier's fulfillment back to NetSuite
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Or manually create a dummy shipment in NetSuite to complete fulfillment.
No special handling is required in the integration app.
Payout Reconciliation
Shopify marks Collective transactions in the Payout report as:
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Shopify Collective Debit
Note
Currently, these transactions post to the variance account in NetSuite during reconciliation.
Q1. As a Retailer, do I need to create imported Collective products in NetSuite?
A1: Yes. You must manually create Collective products in NetSuite as either DropShip or Non-inventory items. This setup is mandatory, as orders containing Collective items will not sync to NetSuite without a corresponding item record.
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Can products be created in bulk?
While items need to be created manually, you can do CSV imports to facilitate bulk creation. -
What happens if products are not created in NetSuite?
If the products are not set up in NetSuite, orders containing Collective items will not sync, as the integration app requires a matching NetSuite item to process the order. Therefore, product setup is mandatory for order integration.
Q2. Do I need to set up locations for Supplier items?
A2: Yes, set up a dropshipper location in NetSuite and map it via the Shopify-NetSuite integration app.
Q3. How do I identify Shopify Collective transactions in NetSuite?
A3: Shopify Collective transactions appear differently in NetSuite depending on whether you're a supplier or a retailer. Here's how you can identify them:
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For Suppliers, Shopify Collective transactions are synced as standard sales orders in NetSuite.
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For Retailers, since Collective items are typically marked as DropShip, a corresponding Purchase Order can be found under the order-related records section for each item.
If you’re using the Shopify Payout Add-on in the Shopify-NetSuite integration app, you can review the Shopify Payout reports. Any associated Collective debit or credit transactions will currently be posted to the Variance account.
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Shopify Collective Debit
* For Retailer transactions. -
Shopify Collective Credit
* For Supplier transactions.
Reconciling Shopify Collective Debit/Credit: Currently, these amounts are posted to the Variance account. In the future, once the integration app supports mapping to specific Adjustment or Fee accounts, having the items available in NetSuite will be essential for accurate financial reconciliation.
Q4. Do I need a special configuration in the integration app for these orders?
A4: No. As long as items are set up correctly in NetSuite, the integration app handles the sync correctly.
Q5. How do I avoid customers seeing supplier prices?
A5: Disable automatic customer emails from any third-party fulfillment apps.