Sourcing materials for business purposes and reselling has been in trend especially during this online world that has been thriving on and above online businesses only. A lot of business owners have been importing materials from Alibaba, China and selling them over Amazon, India. Alibaba was founded by Jack Ma and it is the most widespread e-commerce in China. Amazon is known for its presence across the globe and predominantly in India as well. The idea here that is being followed by Indian sellers is to source materials from Alibaba and resell the same on Amazon with a higher margin.
Sourcing materials from China and India is very common in world trade. China is the biggest manufacturing hub for all sorts of materials whereas India is known for certain categories of manufacturers only. Businessmen over the world have different views over sourcing materials from India and China and have their own benefits and losses when it comes to dealing with both the countries. Some of them are enlisted here :
Communication : Indian communications have been easier for everyone around because we are aware of the English language. China has major issues when it comes to English communication and it creates serious concerns for the same. Issues with language become a barrier in doing smooth business.
First Expectation : India has been better in terms of delivering the first experience to the businesses sourcing materials in the international market, while China is not the preferred one when it comes to sourcing materials.
Diversity : China leads India when it comes to manufacturing diversity as China has the biggest manufacturing hub for all industrial requirements. India on the other hand, deals with the abundant manufacturing of certain categories only.
Labour : Chinese people are easier to stretch their work hours for more and more output when it comes to increasing productivity. However, in India, people are inclined towards having a work life balance and prefer maintaining the same over and above other things and industry requirements.
Sourcing materials from China is widely done from Alibaba, which is the biggest e-commerce for China dealing with millions of sellers and having wholesale markets and products for businesses across the globe. Indians have been sourcing materials from Alibaba for the actual reasons of better revenues. Low cost market actually allows them to resell the products on Amazon with higher margins. Alibaba offers heavy discounts on the wholesale purchases which enables Indians to have bulk purchase of inventory and keep products available as and when required. Also, you get to choose from a million sellers on Alibaba, making an opportunity to get the lowest fare possible and increase the selling price here at Amazon so that the profits can be made twice or thrice the actual price of the commodity.
How to source from Alibaba?
It is very important to understand and know that sourcing from Alibaba and reselling on Amazon can be tricky and it is more difficult than it appears. Here are a few basics to keep in mind before sourcing the materials from Alibaba :
Product Research : Study the product and its market in India before sourcing it. If it's innovative but not required here, it will only hurt your pocket.
Seller Choice : Ensure that you are choosing the right seller before doing the bulk purchase. There are millions of sellers on Alibaba, and if not chosen properly, it can affect your margins adversely.
Market : Indian market behaviour is very different from China. Sourcing materials just for the sake of it won't do any good to your business on Amazon. Listing products will only help if the product is in demand with the market.
Price : While sourcing a material, calculate the actual price, import price and then pricing on Amazon should be decided after keeping a margin of at least 15℅ on the overall cost of the material.
Reliable : Just sourcing materials won't justify the resell on Amazon, until and unless Alibaba is entrusted with the product quality and reliability.
After understanding the market trend for Alibaba and Amazon, one thing is clear that sourcing materials can be streamlined if the right approach is taken up. China has been the biggest manufacturing country over the years but the Indian market and its demand has been growing gradually as well. Amazon has made it possible for natives to rethink the idea of sourcing and business in such a way that maximum profit can be generated and then sourcing has been made really easy thanks to the product research and information that is available with respect to Alibaba and its commodities.
Amazon allows reselling the sourced materials easily in order to increase its presence in the market as well. People who have been doing so, have followed the below pipeline :
Creating Account : Have a proper Amazon seller account and give it a personalised outlook to ensure traffic.
Business Plan : A flowchart makes it easier to execute so that business unfolds in the right manner.
Product Listing : Ensure the recommended products are properly charted in order to have the best of the customers.
Price Parity : Keeping in mind the market standards and ensuring optimum profit is a must.
Market Competition : Knowing the market competition is important to understand the business game and how to excel in it.
These simple methods allow the sourcing materials to have a best return and then Amazon definitely brings across the high widespread market and its abundance of potential customers. Sourcing materials is not the only way of doing business but it is definitely one of the finest ways to upscale your business and Amazon has made it possible for a lot of business owners to come up with their creative approach across its platform and get the best value for the products. Alibaba has its own giant growth in the Chinese hub. The pricing and bulk purchase power remains with them across many categories. Amazon has just made it possible for the Indian sellers to learn and make a market from a proper sourcing hub in order to enhance their business and market competition as well.
