You’ve built a product you’re proud of and created a tribe of customers who flock to your site – so much so that you’ve caught the attention of retailers who want to see your products on their store shelves. First of all, congratulations on your growth and success!
Adding retail options for your customers can be a smart move, as while direct online sales have skyrocketed over the last decade, a perhaps surprising 80% of sales were still purchased through retail stores as of 2021.
So now you’re ready to transition your brand and add a retail channel. Moving from direct-to-customer (DTC) to wholesale or retail fulfillment is a big step.
Before you begin the transition to wholesale, it’s important to ensure you are prepared for this complex and challenging change. As you connect with retailers, you’ll soon discover that they have exacting requirements you likely have not experienced in the past. Orders, routing, labeling, and paperwork, for example, must be flawlessly prepared and executed or you’ll be at risk of fines and other penalties. And each retailer you sell through will have its own set of rules that must be followed.
For instance, whether you will be shipping to big box retailers, mid-level retail chains, or small boutique shops, you will be faced with new, potentially daunting requirements, including:
- Strict delivery windows. Late or early shipments risk fines or rejection.
- Packaging specifications from product ticketing to label placement and bar code format.
- Inventory commitments to meet order fill rates.
- Complex order process integration with EDI protocols.
At QuickBox, we’ve helped numerous companies successfully navigate this daunting – but exciting transition. So, we understand the steps you need to take to:
- Efficiently Manage Vendor Compliance with our strict adherence to your retailers’ routing guides, and quality control measures in place to ensure proper packaging, shipping, labeling, marking, pallet type, specifications, and more.
- Integrate Technology, allowing you to efficiently process your wholesale orders via required EDI formats.
- Properly Package your Products for each retailer per their specifications - and help you stand out and get noticed on the store shelf!
Most importantly, you’ll have your own dedicated account manager who can provide a whole new level of service because they know you, your business, and your goals for growth. We want our team to feel like they’re an extension of yours, which is why we provide direct access to a support team that’s dedicated to your success and is here to help in real-time.
Moving to Multichannel 3PL
Once you have expanded beyond your DTC customers—even if you are focusing on one key retailer—you are now a multichannel company, and you need a fulfillment partner that can correctly, professionally, and efficiently service each customer. That includes providing a consistent and positive experience across channels.
With QuickBox as a partner, you can rest assured your products will make it to your retailers, properly packed, labeled, and shipped. What’s more, you’ll have all aspects of order management, logistics, and fulfillment in one streamlined, easy-to-navigate system, and a customizable dashboard, so you know exactly what’s happening in your business in real-time.
Are you ready for retail? We provide a consultative approach to help you understand the nuances of expanding into new sales channels.
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