Buying a wholesale quantity does not establish that the supplier will send each unit to your individual customers. The product quantity may stay the same while the operating task changes from a consolidated handover to repeated order checks, picking, packing and shipment queries. Discuss that task before treating the original product price as a complete fulfillment offer.

Alibaba.com's October 15, 2026 reseller guide explicitly distinguishes wholesale as a supply relationship from dropshipping as a fulfillment arrangement. Inventory purchasing does not automatically include direct shipment to the customer. That distinction is useful whether you use a marketplace or deal directly with a Chinese supplier; it says nothing about which particular company can provide the service you need.

Define the handoff for each customer order

The supplier needs an instruction linking the recipient to the exact item, quantity and packaging. Agree when you provide that instruction, how a correction is accepted and which version controls before dispatch. A salesperson forwarding fragments from several conversations is not a reliable substitute for an agreed order handoff.

Address changes need a cutoff and an owner. The supplier may be able to amend an unprocessed order while being unable to change an item already handed to the carrier. Ask what the actual workflow permits rather than assuming every change can be applied because the overall wholesale order remains open. Keep each customer shipment identifiable throughout the discussion.

Review packaging for the new route. A bulk pack suitable for a warehouse delivery may not be the pack required for an individual customer shipment. Confirm the actual preparation needed for the goods and service. If you request buyer-branded inserts or the removal of supplier marketing, establish the materials and approved versions rather than assuming the factory has them ready.

Commercial presentation cannot override truthful shipping documentation. Your preference about what a customer sees is distinct from information required for the actual transaction or transport. Do not ask warehouse staff to omit necessary records, understate values or invent a different trading fact to support a presentation request. Resolve a conflict with the appropriate responsible parties before dispatch.

Limit recipient information to the people and providers who need it for the agreed fulfillment task. Identify who receives the details and who checks them. A customer list should not be circulated in unrelated chat groups for convenience, and providing it for delivery should not be treated as permission for the supplier to use it in a separate marketing campaign.

Agree who handles the customer when something changes

Individual dispatch creates individual exceptions. A shipment query, failed delivery, requested correction or return may need attention separately from the rest of the wholesale purchase. Decide whether your team communicates with the end customer throughout or the supplier provides a defined part of that service. Do not leave the first exception to establish the arrangement.

If the supplier will communicate directly with customers, confirm its identity and authority in that conversation. It may be able to provide verified dispatch information without being authorized to approve your refunds or change your retail commitments. Set out what is answered and what is referred back to you, so a routine shipping query does not become an unapproved commercial promise.

Price the changed work without charging twice

Check which service work is already included in the product offer before pricing additions. Existing packaging or documentation should not be charged twice under a new fulfillment label. Identify the changed picking, packing and individual dispatch work. For bulky products, also verify each actual receiving site rather than copying assumptions from the previous consolidated delivery.

Discuss the price of the work as well as the product. Identify recurring shipment-level tasks and any one-time preparation. Direct dispatch is not automatically free, but neither should an unexamined assumption that it always costs more decide the purchase. Ask for the scope and actual conditions, without promising unconfirmed future volumes to absorb today's work.

The supplier may only support consolidated dispatch to your warehouse. That can remain a valid supply option while another party handles individual fulfillment. Accepting the limit is preferable to building your customer promise around a capability that has not been confirmed.

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