AliExpress Dropshipping with Odoo: Automating the Entire Supply Chain

Dropshipping from AliExpress remains one of the most accessible eCommerce business models, but scaling beyond a few dozen daily orders requires serious operational infrastructure. Manual order placement on AliExpress, tracking number collection, and customer communication consume hours daily and limit growth.

Integrating AliExpress with Odoo ERP automates the entire dropshipping workflow from customer order to delivery confirmation.

The Dropshipping Automation Challenge

A typical manual dropshipping workflow:

1. Customer orders on your Shopify/Amazon/eBay store
2. You log into AliExpress and manually place the order with the supplier
3. Wait for the supplier to ship and provide a tracking number
4. Copy the tracking number to your selling platform
5. Customer receives the item (hopefully)
6. Handle any disputes, refunds, or lost packages manually

At 10 orders per day, this is manageable. At 100+ orders per day, it is a full-time job for multiple people.

The Automated Workflow with Odoo

With Odoo as the central hub:

1. Customer orders arrive in Odoo from all selling channels (via marketplace modules)
2. Odoo automatically creates a Purchase Order to the AliExpress supplier
3. AliExpress order placed via API with customer's shipping address
4. Supplier ships and tracking number syncs back to Odoo
5. Odoo pushes tracking to the original selling platform
6. Customer sees tracking updates on their marketplace order
7. Financial reconciliation happens automatically in Odoo Accounting

Human intervention: zero for standard orders.

Key Features for Dropshippers

Supplier Management

Odoo's Purchase module handles multi-supplier management:

• Primary and backup suppliers per product — If your main AliExpress supplier is out of stock, automatically route to the backup
• Supplier lead times — Track average shipping times per supplier for accurate delivery estimates
• Cost tracking — Monitor supplier pricing changes and their impact on your margins
• Supplier scorecard — Rate suppliers on delivery time, quality, and communication

Profit Margin Tracking

The most important metric for dropshippers is margin per order:

| Component | Tracked In | |---|---| | Selling price | Odoo Sales Order | | Product cost (AliExpress) | Odoo Purchase Order | | Marketplace fees | Automated fee import | | Shipping cost | Carrier rate calculation | | Payment processing | Accounting journal entries | | Net margin | Odoo P&L by product |

Real-time margin visibility helps you quickly identify products where margins have eroded due to supplier price increases or marketplace fee changes.

Multi-Channel Selling

Most dropshippers sell on multiple platforms simultaneously. The ECOSIRE AliExpress Store Management module works alongside other marketplace modules:

• Shopify orders → Odoo → AliExpress supplier
• Amazon orders → Odoo → AliExpress supplier
• eBay orders → Odoo → AliExpress supplier

All from one Odoo instance with unified supplier management and financial tracking.

Returns and Disputes

Dropshipping returns are complex because you did not physically handle the product:

• Customer return requests tracked in Odoo
• Dispute management with AliExpress suppliers
• Refund processing across the correct marketplace
• Lost package claims with tracking evidence

Scaling Considerations

Moving Beyond AliExpress

As your dropshipping business grows, you may transition to:

• Direct supplier relationships in China (Alibaba 1688, factory direct)
• Local warehousing for your best sellers (hybrid dropship + fulfillment)
• Private label products with your own branding

Odoo supports all these transitions without changing your core system. Add the Manufacturing module for private label, expand Inventory for warehousing, and continue using marketplace modules for selling.

Compliance and Taxes

Dropshippers face specific tax challenges:

• Import duties — Products shipped from China may incur customs duties
• Sales tax/VAT nexus — Selling on marketplaces in multiple countries creates tax obligations
• Product safety compliance — Responsibility for product safety rests with the seller, not the manufacturer

Odoo's Accounting module handles multi-country tax compliance with fiscal positions and automated tax calculation.

Getting Started

1. Install marketplace modules for your selling channels
2. Install the AliExpress Store Management module
3. Set up supplier records for your AliExpress vendors
4. Map products to supplier SKUs
5. Configure automated purchase order creation rules
6. Enable tracking sync between AliExpress and your selling platforms

Next Steps

Whether you are starting a dropshipping business or scaling an existing one, connecting AliExpress to Odoo eliminates the manual work that limits growth. Explore our marketplace modules or contact us for a dropshipping automation consultation.