Getting started

Onboarding is fairly quick. Here is exactly what is involved, what we need from you, and what we take care of — so there are no surprises.

What we need from you

The bulk of onboarding is getting your product information into our system. Once that is in, everything else moves quickly.

  • Product info — names, descriptions and photos.
  • Pricing — your retail prices, and a wholesale price list if you sell to stockists.
  • SKUs and barcodes — one unique code per product variant.

Never used SKUs before? Plenty of our vendors hadn't. A SKU is just a short code that uniquely identifies one version of one product — so Rose Balm 50ml and Rose Balm 100ml each get their own. It is what lets us tell your stock apart on the shelf and on a picking slip. If you don't have them yet, we will help you set them up sensibly. It is not a blocker.

How it runs

1
Send us your products

Photos, prices, SKUs and barcodes. We load them into Celium, or update what is already there.

2
Get your login

We set you up on your Celium profile and walk you through it. Anyone on your team who needs to see orders or stock can have their own login.

3
Join your Slack channel

All our day-to-day communication happens on Slack rather than email. You get your own channel, and we are in it.

4
Connect your store

You add us as a collaborator on your Shopify store so orders reach us automatically. We also work with Wix, WooCommerce and Takealot. Nothing goes live until you say so.

5
Drop off your stock

Bring it in or send it through. We book it in, check it against your products and put it on the shelf.

6
Agree the terms

Have a read through our terms of service. You will be asked to accept them the first time you sign in.

7
We press play

When you are ready for us to start fulfilling from your store, we switch it on. Orders come through to us and we pick, pack and ship them.

A couple of things to decide

Neither is urgent, and neither is permanent — but they are worth thinking about while you get set up.

  • Dropshipping. You can let other stores in the Celium network list and sell your products, with us fulfilling on your behalf. Extra reach, no extra admin on your side. More on the vendor network.
  • How your orders are packed. Tell us about any inserts, tissue, or special handling. Worth knowing that simpler packing usually means better margins, so we are happy to help you strip it back if that is what you are after.

Things you can add later

None of this is part of onboarding. It is here so you know it exists when you need it.

  • Bookkeeping and accounting — we work with an accountant who already handles the returns for several Celium businesses, and can keep the whole thing streamlined.
  • Customer support — email, live chat and WhatsApp handled on your behalf, on a retainer, per ticket, or a percentage of orders with a cap.
  • Takealot — there is real setup involved, so most vendors get onboarded first and take this on afterwards.
  • Manufacturing — we can take on the final stages of production. More on manufacturing.

Ready to start?

Fill in the onboarding form and we will get straight back to you. If you would rather talk it through first, get in touch.

Once you are set up, help.celium.eco has guides for everything — adding products, connecting your store, booking stock in, and understanding fees and payouts.