Although you have various options available to you when it comes to sourcing stock, there are some major differences in value and price. It is, of course, important to take all of these into consideration – as well as the issue of meeting your demands and that of your customers. Recent years have shown many businesses how fragile their supply chain has been. This could be because of lack of capital or market research. Therefore, being at the top of your market research through venture capital, and having multiple suppliers of different merchandise for your business could be the most profitable way to go.
Content Lists
#1 Buying through wholesalers
A lot of eCommerce businesses start buying their stock through wholesalers. This route has its place when trying to work out if a product is a good idea or whether it should be steered clear of. Wholesalers tend to deal with relatively low amounts of stock going to multiple businesses, so their markup can be quite high per item. This, in turn, means that your profit margins could be quite slim.
#2 Buying straight from the manufacturer
Buying straight from the manufacturer will, of course, bring you more profit simply due to the fact that you are cutting out the wholesaler and therefore getting the products for the same price as they have done. However, as you will quickly find, manufacturers will not be happy to supply you with small orders and instead will look to sell you stock by the pallet load. This means you will require additional storage areas to keep your stock until it sells. Therefore, supplying you with something of a dilemma.
#3 Importing your goods
Of course, to add to this, you have the option of sourcing your products abroad and shipping them back to your business. You will find that it can be far cheaper to do business in this way. This is due to the fact that in some countries, labor is far cheaper than in your own, and the products, too, have a cheaper price tag. What you will have to watch out for is the overall quality of the items you are selling, as in some cases, this too can dwindle.
Getting the merchandise back to your own shores and to the door of your business needn’t be a major cost issue either. This is due to the services of those offering container transport, such as https://www.shiply.com/container-transport. Of course, prices reflect how far the goods will be traveling as well as how much room they will take up in a container. For instance, it will be cheaper to only have a part load over a full container and for your items to go a shorter distance rather than right around the world.
Final thoughts
Your supply chain is vital to your success, so it is definitely worth your time and attention to make it work more effectively. You are likely to be able to make savings while at the same time increasing your profit margins, but you are also likely to require additional storage options. Weighing up the pros and cons of each scenario will provide you with an answer; all you have to do is make sure that it is the right one for your company.
