Well, you have just started your new small business and are now looking to source products. This is where a wholesale supplier can prove to be a boon. Buying wholesale for reselling is an old business standard but is still preferred today due to its sustained success stories.
Unlike in the olden days, the major change is perhaps the ease of finding small business wholesale suppliers due to globalization and the internet. So, who are these suppliers, why they are genuinely beneficial for small businesses, and where to find them are the main milestones in this post.
Who Are Wholesale Suppliers for Small Businesses?
A wholesale supplier is a company that purchases products directly from the maker in bulk quantities at a discounted rate and sells them to retailers in return for a profit. Thus, it buys and sells products in bulk to a small business owner like you.
It essentially acts as a middleman between the producers and retailers without whom manufacturers would be responsible for promoting their products to retailers, which would be troublesome.
Despite a higher upfront cost, a small business owner ends up giving less money than purchasing each item separately. Although the price is negotiable, retailers such as dropshippers usually pay 60% to 70% of the retail price. This is how you collect a large amount of inventory at a reasonable price.
Retailers then repackage the wholesale items for profitable sales. Wholesale suppliers usually have a product license, and their products are generally not for regular customers or not at the same price at least, which they offer to the retailers. Small business wholesale suppliers consistently enforce a minimum order to be placed to which small businesses need to adhere.
Why Your Business Needs Wholesale Suppliers?
This is because these suppliers provide a couple of benefits, such as purchasing as much as required stock without giving costly storage rental, quick restock possibility if all items get sold out, and products at a discounted rate for reselling at a good margin. Some more benefits include:
- Competitive advantage in the niche, as buying products wholesale makes each resulting item cheaper for your customers.
- Less shipping cost for bulk products
- Access to a myriad of varieties
- Less frequently and fewer orders, making inventory stocks more manageable
- Evasion of the development process, saving much time and money
For wholesale businesses, selecting and gathering the best products for customers is the aim while simultaneously handling the customer support and promotion services.
However, there should be some sources to procure these products. Otherwise, just one business has to develop products as well as the supply chain. The latter is something that wholesale suppliers completely take care of.
Where to Look for Small business Wholesale Suppliers?
Yes, there are many wholesale suppliers out there. If you have just started, finding the most suitable supplier for your business can be overwhelming. Still, the fact is that regardless of where you reside, you will come across multiple wholesale suppliers near you, one reason being the well-connected network.
However, there are different types of wholesale suppliers. As per the supply chain in your niche, you may select a specific type of supplier. Here are some sources to check out to make this task easy for you!
Manufacturers
They are wholesale vendors to try to get better profit margins. Consider contacting the manufacturers directly and see if they can sell on your behalf. If not, do ask them to recommend distributors.
Distribution Channels
Knowing the distribution channel in your niche is essential for finding and selecting the right wholesaler for your business. As per your niche, several parties may be involved in the supply chain, such as importers, state-based wholesalers, and elite distributors.
As a small business owner, start by assessing the different distribution channels in detail to gain more insights. This analysis can help you easily reach the next negotiator from which you can buy. However, this may not be a wholesale supplier.
Online Databases
Searching on an online database can be a comprehensive way to find products, importers, customers, and small business wholesale suppliers. Such an online database is what you will find at importdoor.com.
Unlike other providers such as Etsy and eBay, offering distributors and merchandise details, this is where you will also be able to find by product, supplier, importer, exporter, port of entry, port of origin, Bill of Lading, notify party, and HS Code and save additional details easily in .pdf or .xls.
With these details revealed, you can easily focus on selecting the best supplier as per your needs.
Subscribe to Your Industry’s Trade Publications
Another great way to find the best wholesale supplier is to obtain trade magazines or newsletters targeting your industry retailers. This is because most ads in such publications will be of a product manufacturer or supplier. You can expect up-to-date contact information so retailers like you can quickly call them.
Online or Offline Trade Shows
Attending the retail trade shows, whether local, regional, or international, is another excellent way to find potential small business wholesale suppliers. They are exhibitions in which wholesalers and producers keep their latest products on display.
Here, apart from viewing and assessing the products, you can also ask the producers and distributors questions and shortlist them to select the most suitable supplier. You can even grab a special deal during the exhibition, which is beneficial, especially for small businesses.
Usually, there is a trade show for each retail industry. Just use Google to learn about it!
How to Choose Wholesale Suppliers?
Once you shortlist the probable candidates, evaluate each of them based on the following factors:
- Customer service as indicated by ratings, reviews, or number of successful transactions/shipments in online databases such as importdoor.com
- Stock quality (no compromise to be made here)
- Prices (should be negotiable and competitive)
Conclusion
Getting to know how small business wholesale suppliers can help and how to find them is a crucial step toward a successful business story. You may take some time to do so, but it would be worthwhile for running your business smoothly.
