David Kuhlen, Technische Hochschule Lubeck, Germany

In the context of e-commerce, the advantages of so-called DropShipments are critically assessed. The present paper addresses the introduction of DropShipment business models against the backdrop of the associated process automation. Process automation plays a critical role in ensuring fast and efficient process execution at high order volumes. Conse quently, the introduction of dropshipping also places extensive demands on the automation of business processes. While full process automation is technically feasible, it is subject to practical limitations. To this end, the dropshipping business model is analyzed in this paper with a focus on the technical implementation of automated business processes. The areas of action necessary for the implementation of automated dropshipping processes are analyzed. The analysis is based on a survey that examines the overall importance of the business model, the contribution of key action areas to developing integration solutions supporting automated processes, and future IT requirements. In the course of the survey, 19 to 21 dual Bachelor students in Computer Science and Business Informatics were asked for their assessments. The majority of respondents have no prior knowledge of DropShipping, so the survey results primarily reflect their spontaneous assessments after receiving an introduction to the topic. The study concludes that the DropShipping business model will gain increasing importance in the future. Furthermore, it became evident that requirements analysis, in particular, rep resents a significant effort while offering high value in developing integration solutions for automated process handling. The data analysis shows that the cost-benefit potential of using artificial intelligence methods to enable automated processes is optimal. Finally, it was found that creating automated DropShipping processes requires, to a particularly high degree, the expertise of software developers.

DropShipping, Process Automation, Software Engineering