The process of building and maintaining a diversified product portfolio across multiple categories is a fundamental objective for all E-commerce retailers. Yet, at this time, there are no best practices to settle the “multi-quantity purchase” and “from separate sellers” dilemma resulting in endless hours spent jumping between seller’s websites, wrestling with Site Jabber feedback, and sifting through unanswered support tickets.
This article is about consolidating products from multiple sellers in China. Suppose you are from a multinational company, or regional distributor or have any other entrepreneurial mindset, and you want to import from the Chinese market. In that case, this blog article will be helpful for you.
How to Consolidate Products from multiple Sellers in China?
Product Consolidation
Do you have products that you source from multiple suppliers in China? Are you finding it difficult to keep track of everything? There is a solution – product consolidation.
Product consolidation is a process of combining your products from multiple suppliers into one shipment so that you can receive and manage them all in one place. That can save you time and money and simplify your supply chain.
There are many benefits to consolidating your products, including:
- Reducing shipping costs – It can significantly cut shipping costs, enabling you to offer competitive prices. There are 2.5 million online retailers alone in the USA, and this staggering number is continuously growing. It’s not a cup of cake for e-stores to occupy their place in this highly competitive e-market. They need to purchase inventory at the lowest possible cost, and product consolidating is one of many triggers to lower the purchasing prices.
- Simplifying your inventory management – Order consolidating will make inventory management an easier job for you. It will save you precious time and resources to spend where it needs.
- Lost or damaged goods – Product consolidation will allow you to get multiple products from various suppliers in a single shipment. It will make it easier to track your shipment, lowering the risk of lost or damaged goods.
- Improving communication with your suppliers – You don’t have to communicate with multiple suppliers to know about your order updates. Order consolidation allows you to get updates from a single entity regarding all the orders, resulting in improved communication and shopping experience.
In short, product consolidation will add value to your e-businesses, whether you’re a Chinese seller or a buyer importing from China. It will save you time, money, and resources to manage inventory, resulting in an improved e-business experience.
How to Consolidate Products from multiple Sellers in China?
Top Options for Product Consolidation
A few options are available if you want to consolidate products from multiple sellers in China.
Order Consolidation Service
It’s a popular option to consolidate products while ordering from different Chinese stores. A consolidation service will take your products from multiple sellers and consolidate them into one shipment. It can save you money on shipping costs, time, and hassle. Additionally, it can be easier to track one shipment than multiple shipments. There are a few things to consider when using a consolidation service, such as the cost of the service and whether or not your products need repackaging.
You may have to find the best Consolidation service offering company to assist you in consolidating your ordered products from different Chinese suppliers. Verifyfull can assist you in finding the legitimate Chinese consolidation service best-fit to consolidate and ship your ordered products from various suppliers.
Fulfilment Centre Model
A Fulfilment Centre (FC) is a model used by E-commerce platforms and marketplaces to consolidate products from multiple sellers in one location. It enables them to offer a one-stop shop for customers and reduces the need for sellers to maintain their storage and fulfillment facilities. The FC model has been successfully used by many E-commerce platforms, including Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall, Amazon, JD.com, and Suning. It is also gaining popularity with smaller marketplaces such as Pinduoduo and VIP.com. There are several benefits of using an FC model, such as,
- Reduced Costs – By consolidating products from multiple sellers in one location, E-commerce platforms and marketplaces can reduce their overall fulfillment costs as they can use economies of scale in warehousing and logistics. Meanwhile, international and local buyers will get lower shipping costs while buying products from different Chinese suppliers.
- Improved Customer Service – A FC model enables E-commerce platforms and marketplaces to offer enhanced customer service by having all products in one place. That means customers can receive their orders faster and have resolved their inquiries quicker.
- Increased Efficiency – A FC increases order fulfillment efficiency as all products are stored in one location. It eliminates the need to pick and pack orders from multiple warehouses, which can save time and money.
- Greater Product Variety – A FC gives E-commerce platforms and marketplaces the ability to offer their customers a greater variety of products. Customers can buy from different suppliers while browsing the same e-shopping platform.
Whatever option you choose, it is essential to research and find a solution that best suits your needs.
How to Consolidate Products from multiple Sellers in China?
How do these Product Consolidation models work?
Following the earlier discussed product consolidating models, there’re three primary ways to consolidate products from multiple sellers in China: freight forwarders, online marketplaces, and B2B platforms. Let’s walk through each method to get a broader view.
- Freight Forwarders – A freight forwarder will act as the middleman between you and your suppliers, consolidating all your orders into one shipment to save on shipping costs. It is the most hands-off solution but can be more expensive than the other options.
- Online Marketplaces – If you are already working with a few trusted suppliers, you can use an online marketplace like Alibaba or Global Sources to consolidate your orders. This option is less expensive than using a freight forwarder, but it requires more work to manage each order individually.
- B2B Platforms – Many B2B platforms allow you to consolidate orders from multiple suppliers into one shipment. It is the most efficient way to reduce orders from multiple suppliers, but it may require a monthly subscription fee. These platforms typically have built-in features that make tracking orders and managing supplier communications easy.
Expert Tips on how to consolidate products from multiple sellers in China
When looking for products to import from China, you may come across multiple sellers with similar products. It can take time to decide which seller to choose, and you may end up ordering products from various sellers, causing a significant rise in shipping costs.
If you find yourself in this situation, consider consolidating your products from multiple sellers into one shipment to save on shipping costs. Here are a few tips on consolidating products from numerous sellers in China.
- Ensure all the products you want to consolidate are available from the same E-commerce Platform. That will make it easier to track your shipment and avoid any complications. For instance, an e-garments store in Australia may order from different suppliers but on the same platform, such as Alibaba, Taobao, or Tmall, etc. This tip may not apply to your business, depending on your niche and business model.
- Contact the suppliers of the products you want to consolidate and let them know that you want to combine your orders into one shipment. Some suppliers may be willing to do this for you. You may prioritize the suppliers that can offer the consolidation service.
- In case you have decided to go with a consolidation service offering agency. Once you have confirmation from all suppliers, provide them with your consolidation address and instructions on how you would like the products shipped.
- Please wait for all the products to arrive at your consolidation address. Then, ask your consolidation service provider to repack them into one box or container (if needed) for shipping.
- Ask the chosen supplier to Ship your consolidated order using a service like ePacket or EMS. It will enable you to track your shipment all the way to your destination.
Following these tips, you can consolidate your products from multiple sellers in China and save on shipping costs.
How to Consolidate Products from multiple Sellers in China?
Final Words | How to consolidate products from multiple sellers in China?
There are several ways to consolidate products from multiple sellers in China. The most common method is to use a fulfillment company that will store your products in their warehouse and ship them out as needed. It can be a great option if,
- You don’t have the space to keep all of your products yourself
- Or, you want to save on shipping costs.
Another option for small E-commerce stores is to use a dropshipping service to ship products directly to your customers from the supplier’s warehouse. It can be a good option if you’re starting out and don’t have much inventory or want to avoid dealing with shipping logistics altogether.
This blog post has thoroughly discussed the different modes for order consolidation, exceptional benefits for product consolidation, and experts’ tips to consolidate the products ordered from different Chinese suppliers. Whichever consolidation method you choose, make sure to do your research so that you can find the best solution for your business needs. Chinese business verifying agencies like Verifyfull can assist you in this process to find a legitimate and cost-effective order consolidation service.