Quivers Overview
This article introduces what Quivers is, the key terms you'll see throughout the platform, and how an order travels from a shopper's cart to your shipping label.
In This Article
- What Is Quivers?
- Three Ways to Work with a Brand
- Key Terms
- How an Order Flows to You
- What You Can Do as a Retailer
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Quivers?
Quivers is a distributed order management platform that connects brands (Sellers) with local Retailers (also called Fulfillers) so that orders placed on a brand's website can be fulfilled from nearby retail locations instead of shipping everything from a single warehouse.
In practice, that means: a customer buys a product on a brand's site, Quivers identifies which of that brand's connected Retailers can fulfill it — based on inventory and, often, distance to the customer — and routes the order to one or more of them. You claim the order in your Quivers Retailer Panel, fulfill it the way you would any other sale, and get paid on a regular settlement schedule.
Best Practice: One Quivers account can connect with any number of brands. If you fulfill for several brands, you don't need a separate login for each — all their orders land in the same Orders queue.
Three Ways to Work with a Brand
Fulfilling online orders is only one way to participate — it's not all-or-nothing. Depending on what a specific brand has enabled, your relationship with them on Quivers can include any combination of the following, and it's worth knowing about all three even if you're only using one today:
1. Store / Dealer Locator listing — your store appears on the brand's locator map so local shoppers can find you. This often requires no setup on your part: your listing is typically built from information the brand already has on file. Once you create a Quivers account, that listing becomes yours to manage — updates to your address, phone, hours, or website made in your Quivers settings reflect on the map automatically.
2. Find Local + Live Inventory — on a brand's product pages, shoppers can click a "Find Local" (or similarly named) button, enter their location, and see nearby participating Retailers. If you've connected inventory, your live stock position for that item shows right on your listing. If you haven't, shoppers may see "Contact for Availability" instead — see the note below on why that's still valuable.
3. Order Fulfillment — the most active form of participation: the brand routes online orders directly to you to fulfill, via ship-from-store or in-store pickup. This is the path covered in How an Order Flows to You, below.
Which of these three apply to you depends entirely on what the brand has set up — some offer only a locator listing, others add live inventory, and others enable full order fulfillment. Check with your brand contact, or look for these features live on their site, to see what's available to you today!
Note: Your store hours specifically drive the Open/Closed status shown on your locator map pin. That status updates automatically based on the hours you've entered in Settings — there's nothing to manually toggle. Keep your hours and address accurate: an out-of-date address can land your pin in the wrong spot, and stale hours can make you look closed when you're actually open — both cost you a sale that was otherwise ready to happen.
Best Practice: "Contact for Availability" still works in your favor — as long as your contact info is current, you're notified the moment a shopper clicks it, which is a real lead you'd otherwise never see. But connected inventory gets you more: the shopper sees you're in stock right now and can act immediately, instead of waiting to hear back from you. Connecting your inventory early also puts you in position to take advantage of order fulfillment and any other capabilities a brand rolls out later.
Key Terms
|
Term |
What It Means |
|---|---|
|
Seller / Brand |
The company whose products are sold and who invites Retailers to fulfill their orders. |
|
Retailer / Fulfiller |
You — the business that receives, claims, and fulfills orders on behalf of a Seller. Fulfiller is Quivers' own platform term for this role (you'll see it inside the product and in some articles); Retailer is the term this hub and most brands use for the same role — see the FAQ below. |
|
Dealer / Store Locator |
A brand's map of participating Retailers. You can appear here even if you don't fulfill online orders for that brand. |
|
Find Local |
A button on a brand's product pages that shows shoppers nearby Retailers carrying that item — with live stock shown if you've connected inventory. |
|
Storefront |
The specific website or sales channel an order originated from. |
|
Claim |
The action of taking ownership of an order or item so you're responsible for fulfilling it. |
|
Ship-from-Store |
Fulfilling an order by shipping it to the customer directly from your retail location. |
|
In-Store Pickup (BOPIS) |
Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store — the customer collects their order at your location. |
|
Settlement |
The scheduled payout you receive for orders you've shipped or handed off, via Paylution. |
How an Order Flows to You
1. A customer places an order on a brand's website (the Storefront).
2. Quivers identifies eligible Retailers for that order, based on who has the item in stock and, in many cases, proximity to the customer.
3. The order becomes available to you in your Orders queue — either for you to claim manually, or automatically if you have Auto-Claim turned on and inventory for the item.
4. You fulfill the order by shipping it or preparing it for in-store pickup, using your existing shipping process.
5. You get paid on the next scheduled settlement after the order is marked Shipped or Picked Up.
For the full step-by-step on claiming, shipping, and processing returns, see Orders Overview.
What You Can Do as a Retailer
- Get discovered locally through a brand's Dealer Locator and Find Local button — even before, or without ever, fulfilling online orders.
- Fulfill orders from any brand you're connected with, all from one account.
- Reach new customers in your local market without building or maintaining your own e-commerce site.
- Connect your existing inventory system (POS, CSV, or one of our supported apps) so orders you can fill find you automatically.
- Manage your team by adding users with different permission levels.
- Track performance with built-in analytics and reporting on sell-through and local demand.
- Get paid on a predictable schedule with automatic weekly settlement through Paylution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a cost to join Quivers?
There's no signup fee or account-maintenance fee. Quivers does apply a fulfillment fee and/or a payment-processing fee to orders you fulfill, and your specific rate can vary by brand — contact support@quivers.com for your rate.
Is "Retailer" the same thing as "Fulfiller"?
Yes. Fulfiller is Quivers' official platform term for this role — it's what the product itself and much of the platform documentation call you. Retailer is the term used throughout this hub (and by many brands) for the same role. You may also hear brand-specific variations like "Dealer." All of them describe the same account and the same job: receiving, claiming, and fulfilling orders on behalf of a Seller.
Can I fulfill for more than one brand?
Yes. A single Quivers account can connect with multiple Sellers at once. Each brand's orders show up in the same Orders queue, distinguished by Storefront.
Do I have to accept every order sent to me?
No. You choose which available orders to claim (unless you've enabled Auto-Claim for items you stock, in which case eligible orders are claimed automatically on your behalf).
What if I don't have a website or online store of my own?
You don't need one. Quivers routes orders from the brand's website to you — you fulfill through the Quivers Retailer Panel, not through a storefront of your own.
Do I have to fulfill online orders to appear on a brand's Dealer Locator?
No. Some brands list your store on their locator, or enable Find Local, without expecting you to fulfill online orders at all. Whether you're also set up for order fulfillment is a separate decision — check with your brand contact for what's available to you.
What's the real difference between "Contact for Availability" and having inventory connected?
Both get you found by local shoppers. "Contact for Availability" gets you a lead — you're notified when someone clicks to reach you, as long as your contact info is current. Connected inventory gets you the sale on the spot, since the shopper can see you're in stock right now instead of waiting to hear back.
Need Help?
Our support team is here to help you get the most out of Quivers.