Guide · China fulfillment
How to fulfill orders from China
Fulfilling orders from China means the goods leave a Chinese supplier or warehouse only after a customer has ordered, and someone must run the physical chain in between: receiving from the supplier, quality evidence, any prep or consolidation, packing, export dispatch, and tracking to the customer’s door. There are three workable models — buying through a dropshipping platform, committing inventory to a 3PL, or keeping your own suppliers and using an operated coordination layer — and the right one depends on who you want choosing your suppliers and how much cash you can tie up in stock.
Last updated: 2026-07-31 · Regional tax and customs notes describe mechanisms, not advice; the destination authority prevails.
The three models, honestly compared
| Model | How it works and what it costs you | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Dropshipping platform | The platform sources the product, holds it, and ships when you forward an order. Fastest to start; you give up supplier choice, price negotiation and quality continuity. | New sellers testing demand without existing supplier relationships. |
| Inventory 3PL | You buy stock upfront and ship it into the 3PL’s warehouse; they pick, pack and dispatch. Fast fulfillment; every SKU must earn its stock commitment before it has sold. | Proven sellers with steady volume on known SKUs. |
| Coordination layer over your own suppliers | You keep buying from your own suppliers; an operator receives each parcel in China, records evidence, consolidates, packs, quotes from measurement and dispatches. Stocking is optional per SKU. | Stores that already have suppliers and want to test without stock, or mix stocked bestsellers with forwarded long-tail items. |
All three are legitimate models. The deeper comparison — including where an inventory 3PL is still the right answer — is in Coordination layer vs agent vs 3PL.
The six steps every China-origin order goes through
- 1Choose the model per SKU, not per storeA bestseller can justify stock while a test SKU rides supplier forwarding. Locking the whole store into one model is the most common early mistake.
- 2Route the order the moment it is paidEach order line is checked against what is actually available: stocked lines reserve inventory; unstocked lines wait for the supplier parcel; mixed orders need an explicit decision, not a guess.
- 3Receive with evidenceEvery supplier parcel is scanned, photographed and measured at intake, so disputes are settled by records instead of memory.
- 4Prep and consolidate deliberatelyLabeling, bagging, repacking and combining parcels are declared services executed before dispatch — the cheapest place to fix a problem is before the goods fly.
- 5Quote from measurement, then dispatchInternational freight is priced from packed weight and dimensions against a live rate table. A quote produced before measurement is an estimate, and the two should never be confused.
- 6Track both legs in one timelineChina-leg events and international carrier events belong in one record, with changed tracking numbers re-registered automatically, so “where is my order” has one answer.
What changes by destination region
European Union
Consignments up to €150 can use IOSS so VAT is collected at sale instead of at the border; above that, import VAT and duty are assessed at clearance. Some member states add their own handling: Romania, for example, charges a fixed fee on IOSS-cleared low-value parcels. Whether IOSS applies changes who collects what — get this wrong and customers meet surprise charges at the door.
United States & Canada
The US de minimis regime that let sub-$800 parcels clear informally was eliminated in 2025, so China-origin shipments face formal entry and duties regardless of value — factor brokerage into landed cost. Canada assesses GST/HST and duty above its low thresholds; both markets are strict on product compliance and labeling.
Australia & New Zealand
Australia collects 10% GST on low-value imported goods at the point of sale once a seller passes the A$75,000 turnover threshold, and screens parcels for biosecurity risks — undeclared organic materials cause holds. New Zealand works similarly: 15% GST collected by sellers or platforms above NZ$60,000 turnover. Both destinations verify details with the customs authority before you promise landed prices.
Common questions
Is dropshipping from China still viable?
The model where a platform ships single parcels straight from China is squeezed by customs changes (notably the end of US de minimis) and long delivery times. What replaces it for serious stores is usually a hybrid: keep your own suppliers, forward supplier parcels for long-tail SKUs, and stock only what has proven demand.
Do I need to hold inventory in China to fulfill from there?
No. In a coordination model your supplier ships each batch to a China warehouse address after the customer orders; the parcel is received, recorded, packed and forwarded. Stocking is a per-SKU optimization, not an entry requirement.
How long does fulfillment from China take?
It depends on the route, service level, destination and customs — which is why this page does not quote transit days. A provider who promises a fixed number regardless of those variables is quoting marketing, not operations.
Who pays duties and taxes?
The destination country sets them and they are not part of a shipping quote. The operational question is who collects: IOSS/GST-style schemes collect at sale, otherwise the customer or importer pays at clearance. Decide deliberately per market.
Go deeper
Already buying from suppliers in China?
WooliiPorter operates the coordination model on this page: your suppliers, our warehouse execution, one auditable record. A workflow review scopes it against your real parcel pattern.