Why Drop Shipping Is Broken (and How to Fix It), with Conduit CEO Rohan Shah

Retail doesn’t break at the register. It breaks upstream.In this episode of Beyond the Register, I sit down with Rohan Shah, Co-Founder & CEO of Conduit Commerce, and former Co-Founder of the unicorn startup Extend, to unpack the biggest blind spot in modern retail: your supply chain.Rohan has built companies at the intersection of retail and infrastructure. His new venture, Conduit, is fixing what most retailers don’t realize is broken: how you access, manage, and fulfill inventory without blowing your margins.We talk about:Why most drop shipping today is low-quality junk (and how that’s about to change)What Amazon actually gets right (it’s not just Prime)The real reason retailers struggle with demand forecastingHow “ghost inventory” lets small retailers sell more without stocking moreWhat to look for in a reliable distributor or supplierAnd why founders need to stop chasing big ideas and start with the ones they’re uniquely suited to buildWhether you’re a boutique owner trying to expand assortment, or a mid-size retailer tired of slow fulfillment and surprise stockouts, this episode is packed with clear takeaways you can apply immediately.⏱️ Timestamps00:00 – Intro and Rohan’s mission to “consolidate the world’s inventory”01:30 – Why drop shipping is broken and how to fix it04:45 – The hidden potential of U.S.-based distributors07:50 – Why legacy systems are the bottleneck in modern supply chains10:15 – What Conduit is building (and why it’s working)13:50 – What makes a reliable supplier or distributor17:10 – Why demand forecasting is getting harder every year20:30 – “Customers are loyal to the product, not the retailer”23:00 – What ghost inventory is and how it helps28:00 – How small retailers can compete with Amazon on service34:20 – Speed, trust, and the future of delivery42:30 – Rohan’s founder advice: why you matter more than the idea46:30 – Building from lived experience vs outsider insight48:45 – Final takeaways for retailers🎧 Listen to the full episode of Beyond the Register wherever you get your podcasts.