Ever considered a career in reselling or wholesale? If you’ve heard anything about it, you know that it’s a fast-paced and exciting way to turn profits on popular retail goods. Top resellers run their own businesses, set their own hours, and call the shots. Plus, it’s not all that difficult to break into a career in the industry. Once you find the right distributors, you’re well on your way. Here’s how to purchase returned merchandise pallets to kickstart your career as a reseller.
Finding the right distributor
When it comes to reselling, your industry relationships are incredibly important. Whether you’re working with a sole distributor or you’re trying to build an entire network that your business can rely on, surrounding yourself with the right colleagues is an essential component of your overall success. It’s important to remember that just because what someone’s offering you might seem like a good deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a good deal. For every quality distributor working these days, plenty more are all too willing to take advantage of newer resellers for their own gain.
Deciding on a distributor requires patience, perseverance, and some solid interpersonal skills. As with any retail business, reselling relies heavily on the relationships you forge. If you’re unsure of how to go about finding a distributor, a good place to start is requesting referrals from industry peers.
Another good tactic is to reach out to the manufacturers of products you intend to stock. If they’re not willing to sell to you directly, they may consider parting with their list of trusted distributors. For example, if you’re interested in purchasing returned Amazon pallets, reaching out to Amazon might yield greater rewards than simply asking around to find the right distributors.
Ask about the auction houses
No one can deny that auctions are fairly intimidating, especially if you’re new to the reselling business. They’re incredibly fast-paced, they require a keen eye, and you have to be able to make snap judgments. To put it bluntly, the auction scene isn’t for every business owner. However, if you have a true sense of what you’re looking for and understand the value of the returned pallets you’re purchasing, you’re one step ahead of many auction attendees.
Although in-person auctions are the most common, especially with the vast number of trade shows that take place every year across the nation, digital auctions are only growing in popularity. Some of them are invite-only, which means you’ll need to establish a relationship with the specific manufacturer before you’re allowed to attend. However, many others are public and are a great starting point for acquiring returned merchandise pallets. Ask around about upcoming public auctions and try to gain a bit of insight as to how they work. After all, you wouldn’t want to waste your valuable time at a venue that won’t help propel your business.
Preferred vendors are essential
When all else fails, see whether your desired manufacturer works exclusively with preferred vendors. These distributors are sometimes the sole resale point of contact for top retailers and might be your only shot at acquiring the returned pallets you’re interested in stocking. A major benefit to using preferred vendors is that many of them extend the same warranties, guarantees, and return policies as their parent manufacturers, which means that you’re able to buy merchandise with a peace of mind that returned products don’t typically afford you.
Whether you’re an industry veteran or a reselling rookie looking to break into the scene, learning more about where your products come from is crucial to your business’ success. Finding the right returned merchandise distributor takes time, but once you’ve crafted a solid business relationship, you’re in a great position to start growing and expanding.
Manufacturing competition creates a cutthroat environment on the global stage, and there are only so many cuts you can make when you’re dealing with direct competition for clients. What can manufacturers do to set themselves apart, and to find cost-saving measures that will help lead to a more efficient workforce?
Here are a few ideas on how you can deal with your competition effectively, without the dramatic and obvious cuts.
Cut Down on Waste
A.J. Weller manufacturers use wear plates, devices that are fit over machinery that experiences heavy friction. The plates, made of environmentally friendly materials, wear down over time and typically before the machinery wears down but are easy to replace.
Modular thinking in engineering is enabling more of this kind of re-use in manufacturing, where small parts made of environmentally friendly materials are regularly replaced to allow for the larger pieces to remain intact.
This waste reduction also translates to the production line, where improved technology means less downtime for machinery. CNC machinery, for instance, requires computers to render and execute a design. This operation requires a great deal of computing power and tends to run on technology that may be decades behind modern standards. Upgrading that infrastructure reduces system crashes and processing downtime that are often passed onto the customer, resulting in a leaner operation that provides better value.
Standardize Parts
Standardizing parts is another method used to reduce costs. Screws or housings are a good example, where clients may require two pieces held together with screws. Standardizing sizes, and having a selection to fit multiple spaces (down to the millimeter), allows manufacturers to meet client specs with improved fulfillment.
It’s helpful to maintain good communication with your client to see what their needs might be. If you work with them on the design, you can incorporate your standards into their work early on, which can also help solve some of the more irksome problems that come with designing a new product.
Another helpful benefit to parts standardization is inventory maintenance. If you don’t need to order special parts, you’re not at the mercy of supply chains who manufacture and deliver specialized parts or materials. You save on shipping costs and, since you order in bulk, and you can pass those savings on to customers while still adding to your profit margins.
Automate Strategically
Factory automation is a useful strategy for improving production efficiency, but it requires its own infrastructure. Especially when deployed at scale. A factory that is entirely automated can do interesting things with its space, but it requires an IT backbone full of techs and engineers constantly maintaining and supporting it.
Instead, start small. Improve the time it takes to process a design, or automate some of the simpler tasks associated with manufacturing. Create requirements up front that reduce the amount of input on your end. If the client can prepare specs that align better with your systems, you can promise faster fulfillment.
Automating strategically cuts costs in your workforce, but not in the ways you might think. You can reduce overtime costs with some process optimization, and reduce wasted hours by training certain members on multiple tasks. A small increase in pay is usually less than the cost of hiring a new worker.
Final Thoughts
Today, there are multiple options companies can use to reduce the cost of operating a factory. Some of those methods require an upfront cost but have ample downstream savings. Changing to LED bulbs, for example, might carry a high upfront cost but will result in lower energy bills. Less ambient heat also means a cooler factory floor.
Prioritizing sustainability is better for your company in every area of your business. It will help you reduce costs, better serve your clients, and improve your profit margin. If you haven’t started to make the shift toward sustainability, now is the time to change that!
