The wholesale business is one of the best to enter if you have an entrepreneur’s mindset and enough working capital for your business model. Retailers rely on distributors to provide different types of products at prices beneficial to their end customers. It’s an industry worth over $3 trillion and with over 300,000 companies in the United States serving as vendors.
There’s more to being a supplier than buying different types of products in bulk at low prices and selling them to retailers. It requires an understanding of sales, marketing, and supply and demand. So, how do you get started in the wholesale industry? We’ll cover that and more in this short article.
Choose a specific market on which to focus.
One of the first steps to becoming a wholesale supplier is finding your niche. Every industry needs wholesale distribution, and focusing on one sector or marketplace is the best way to grow your reputation.
It’s imperative to focus on high-demand products when choosing a wholesale trade. One way to find out what products are the hottest is to check the sales of retail stores. The grocery, general merchandise, and apparel industries are among the largest in the United States, and they’re essential. Those are industries that provide security and great potential for success.
It’s also wise to choose an industry about which you already know a great deal. For beverage enthusiasts, it would make sense to become a premium liquor distributor. You could use your knowledge of the best vodka brands to provide liquor retailers with high-quality goods at competitive prices.
Determine your business needs.
You have to be a master of acquisition to succeed as a wholesale distributor. Your first acquisition will be a warehouse and the operational equipment you need to run your company. So, you need to figure out how much warehouse space and what equipment your company will need.
If you’re selling small, lightweight products, you might not even need a warehouse. Did you know the first Amazon “fulfillment center” was Jeff Bezos’ garage? He even made deliveries in his car. So, if you’re selling small items, you shouldn’t need much space or equipment.
On the other hand, if you’re a reseller of groceries or furniture, you’ll need more space and some forklifts to do the heavy lifting. Moreover, you’ll have to work out your business’s logistics. Will you deliver your goods or go through a third-party delivery company? These are the questions to ask yourself when building your wholesale infrastructure.
Find manufacturers in your industry from which to buy.
Wholesalers act as middlemen between retailers and manufacturers. So, building relationships with manufacturers and retail businesses is one of your most important responsibilities. If you plan to distribute a single product like nutritional supplements, you’ll need to find the right nutritional manufacturing companies to build your inventory.
New companies in the wholesaling industry spend much of their first few years trying to pin down their distribution channels. It’s wise to work with manufacturers and retailers within close proximity of your company in the early going. As your business and inventory expand, you can add retailers from different regions to your growing list of retailers.
The distribution industry is a multi-trillion-dollar industry that’s steadily growing. It is one of the industries in which you can start as a small business and work your way to becoming a large corporation. The keys to success in the wholesale industry are hiring the right people, procuring and selling high-quality products at low prices, and attracting new customers. With the right products and strategy, your company can become a supply chain stalwart.
