Starting your own ecommerce site poses a lot of challenges. One of the first you will encounter is the product that you will be selling. You could say that you have your own product to sell, but you will always end up needing more; more products and more help. So if you choose to sell a physical product, you will need a good source and network of suppliers to help you meet your needs.
If you live in a community that has the materials, manpower, and products that you need, lucky you! But many are not as lucky; there are some that need more than a local business can provide. That’s okay. There are many online sites that offer you the opportunity to find all sorts of manufacturers and suppliers to help you get what you want. Finding suppliers is easy, but finding suppliers who are willing to give you a discount or customize the products to your liking is a little bit trickier. If you don’t know where to look.
What You Need
-
A wholesaler/ manufacturer/ supplier. One popular place to find one is at Alibaba.
Setup Steps
-
Create a product description and specification.
-
Make a list of materials you need.
-
Identify the type of supplier you’re looking for.
-
Do research on businesses with similar products and find out who their supplier is or what makes up their product.
-
Create a schedule for you finding a supplier, negotiations, lead time, and more.
-
Come up with a budget and stick to it.
-
Try out sites like Alibaba, IndiaMart, and Bambify. They are well- known manufacturers that could provide for your business needs.
-
Go to their website and sign up.
-
Go through their list of products or suppliers. Alibaba has a drop-down menu on the search bar. Click that then pick from Products, Suppliers, Buyers. Hover over the categories to reveal a selection of topics related to the category.
-
Click on the product names to get redirected to its page filled with details on the product, the company, and shipping details. Click Contact Supplier or Start Order.
-
By choosing the latter, you will be redirected to a page for you to fill in the details such as quantity, offer, requirements, and shipping method.
If you don’t find the one you want, make a request. Alibaba makes it simple:
-
Post a buying request.
-
Click Get Quotations Now from the homepage.
-
Fill in the Buying Request Form with the required details and post the request
-
Collect and organize the replies you get from your quotation request.
-
Weed out those who didn’t follow instructions or do not meet your criteria.
-
Make an Excel document to make finding your suppliers and their replies easier.
-
Ask for factory and facility photos.
-
Communicate with them through email.
-
Ask for documents such as CE, FDA, ISO9001, RoHS, and files on packaging and instruction manual.
-
Analyze who among the suppliers negotiates the best price.
-
Once negotiations are made, make the payment through bank transfer, Western Union, Paypal, Letter of Credit or Escrow.
Marketing Setup
-
Create a site and post about what your product is, when it’s going to be released, what they can expect, etc.
-
Have pre-launch promos like “First 50 customers get free shipping” and the like.
Timeframe
Time to do: 5 weeks
Time to see results: 2 months
Additional Tips
Customize and have your logo on the products. Branding gives it a prestigious look.
Provide great product shots.
Focus on providing good customer service.
Build good relationships with your suppliers.
Potential Results
Starting your e-commerce site will take several months. Finding the right suppliers alone will take up to a month. The time it will take to produce the products and have them shipped to you can possibly take up to six months. But with the right products and proper marketing, you could generate an income of up to $100, 000 in monthly sales after another six months.
