ChinaDivision

What can e-commerce Sellers Learn from WalMart ’s Biggest Revenue Surprise?

Recently, Wal-Mart announced its biggest revenue surprise in 31 years. As consumers poured into Wal-Mart to consume, its online sales almost doubled during the coronavirus pandemic.

During COVID-19, the discount retailer used its large store base and investment in e-commerce to provide customers with food and other goods. In the second quarter, US same-store sales increased by 9.3%, while US e-commerce sales soared 97%. This is because more and more customers tend to use same-day delivery and curbside pickup services.

Wal-Mart’s CEO Doug McMillon (Doug McMillon) said the company will expand these benefits by adding member services. He did not disclose when it was launched, nor did he provide details about the privileges. He only stated that the project will pick up goods by the roadside and speed up the delivery of customers, strengthen the relationship with customers, and collect valuable data. What’s more, It is reported that the program called “Wal-Mart+” is expected to compete with Amazon Prime.

Whether you are an Amazon seller or an Shopify entrepreneur, the most significant thing for your business is to find an effective order fulfillment agent. Like ChinaDivision, a leading order fulfillment company in China.

What is the Popular Items in Chinese Order Fulfillment?

In addition to story sharing, Friday is also a resource sharing day.

Here are the non-obvious trends impacted by coronavirus, hoping it can offer some help for your e-commerce business.

1. Multifunctional Kitchenware

Cooking time is a indispensable part of self-quarantining, the products designed to be convenient and multifunctional are popular among the busy, on-the-go professionals people. Take this multifunctional stainless steel basin for example, the three-piece is an everyday tool that will help you serve up delightful treats. Besides, lots of researches have shown that plastic-free products are more beneficial to your health, so this durable and eco-friendly stainless steel basin will be a good choice for you.

2. DIY Haircut

Without being able to go outside, people are increasingly self-reliant for things like haircuts. Some housewives began to cut the hair for their kids and husband, instead of going to the barber shop. When it comes to the DIY women hair styling, a magical wig can bring a charming and fashion style for you while saving time and protecting you hair.

3. Computer Mouse and Keyboard

Computer, an amazing product of the information age. You may be regarded as a monster if you tell others you have never used a computer in the past 20 years. This COVID-19 home quarantine makes lots of people fell in love with their computer and kitchen. A professional gamer will update their mouse and keyboard regularly for better using effect. Besides, it is also an ideal gift for your son and daughter about to go to school.

Three Key Factors You Should Know When Choosing an Order Fulfillment Center

Order fulfillment warehouse becomes a popular role for most Amazon and Shopify sellers, but how to find a long-term order fulfillment partner need more skills. Last week, ChinaDivision made a random sampling about the reason why they chose us to fulfill their order, from which we found the major three factors.

1. In terms of management form, traditional warehousing requires e-commerce sellers to arrange their own warehousing management personnel to perform operations such as product management, regular inventory counting, packaging and delivery, etc. So the e-commerce sellers need to recruit relevant personnel to be responsible for warehouse management problem. The third-party warehousing can help e-commerce sellers solve this problem well, and e-commerce sellers do not need to spend manpower and cost to carry out warehouse management.

2. During the order promotion event, the order volume of the e-commerce store skyrocketed, causing the warehouse management staff to start rushing, a large number of delivery errors occurred, and the frequency of consumer returns and exchanges was greatly increased, resulting in a decrease in the store’s related scores, which was not worth the loss. And professional third-party warehousing companies have many years of experience in warehousing and delivery services, even during the promotion activities, they can complete the delivery tasks with quality and quantity.

3. In terms of warehouse renting. It is difficult for e-commerce sellers to find a warehouse of the right size using the traditional method of renting warehouses, which is bound to cause some inevitable troubles. The order fulfillment warehouse can solve this problem. E-commerce sellers only need to pay for the used storage area, which is good for cost saving.

Something You Should Know about 2020 E-commerce Order Fulfillment

Shipping two units is cheaper than one unit

Shipping cost reduction has attracted the attention of e-commerce sellers. When you sell multiple units as part of the same order, your expenses as a percentage should go down.

Here is an example:

—If you sell two of the same product.

— You sell them for $40 each and your margin is $20 each.

— You charge your customer a flat rate of $5 for shipping.

— Your shipping cost for one unit is $10.

— When two units are shipped in the same box, your shipping cost is $12.

Therefore, if you sold just one unit, your margin would be $15 after accounting for the shipping cost. With two units, even though your shipping weight doubled, your shipping cost would actually only go up slightly. As a result, your margin is $33, which works out to $16.50 per unit.

Effective stock area brings better e-commerce order fulfillment

There are many customer questions in China Division’s website every day, among which the area of our warehouse is frequently asked. Some customers also go to our warehouse directly to find more information of our service and capability. Indeed, a warehouse with effective stock area allows you embrace larger market and better profit. This is why China Division keeps finding large and convenient warehouse all the time.

Logistics management is more important than free warehousing

If you are an Amazon seller, you must have been troubled by the delivery problem during COVID-19. Some customers chose China Division as theis new order fulfillment agent after being deceiving by their previous agent. In other words, the professional logistics management system of China Division leads to smoother delivery and after-sale problem solving. More and more sellers begin to study logistics management while other still focus on the free shipping and warehousing. In fact, logistics management deserves the high praise for its accuracy and timeliness of data transfer.

How to Deal with Return and Exchange Issues Better?

The returns and exchanges of ecommerce order are very troublesome for many order fulfillment warehouse. When the buyer returns the goods and sends them back to the warehouse, the packaging of the goods is basically in tatters. Some of the goods may be damaged, which takes a lot of time to process the goods again. So what are the difficulties of return and exchange?

1. The packaging of the goods is seriously damaged

After the seller checks the goods, the original packaging of the delivery company is often thrown away by the buyer at this time, and the buyer may find a bag and pack the goods for delivery. In the process of express delivery, the action of the delivery person is generally not too soft. If the goods are not so strong, the goods may have been damaged when they arrive at the warehouse and cannot be sold again.

2. Some dropshipping companies do not have fixed consignees:

Without a fixed person in charge, there will be no stable solution to the problem. If the product is scrapped and cannot be sold again, who should bear the cost? This may encounter situations where the staff shirk each other, which will seriously affect work efficiency.

3. More communication with the seller are needed

Asking whether the returned product can be sold after repairing and performing quality inspection. Of course, the above are only some of the issues listed, including many other issues, making the handling of returns the most troublesome work for warehouse personnel, and few people are willing to take the initiative.

Faced with such a situation, what is the solution of China Division?

1. Each part of the goods is responsible for the corresponding delivery staff to ensure that each product is owned by its own person in charge. Regardless of whether the goods are returned or exchanged afterwards, the personnel will follow up.

2. Contact the seller in a timely manner to ensure that the problem can be reported to the e-commerce seller to inquire about relevant handling matters.

3. For the goods whose packaging is relatively complete(has not been damaged) and does not affect secondary sales, strict inspection and control must be carried out, and then recorded and stored again. Besides, for the products that cannot be sold again are placed in a fixed processing warehouse, waiting for the seller to handle it.

Four Kinds of Items You Should Avoid when Dropshipping

As a Chinese agent of picking, packing and shipping, China Division has complied with the law at all times. In order to maximize your sales, meet your customers’ expectations, and avoid penalties, we suggest you pay more attention to this post, which will tell you the items that you should avoid after choosing an order fulfillment warehouse.

Products Restricted from Export by China:

Precious metals such as gold and silver
National currency
Foreign currency and its securities
Radio transceiver, communication security machine
Valuable Chinese herbal medicines
Historical relics
Other items restricted by customs from exiting the country

Hazardous Chemicals:

Various corrosive substances: sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, organic solvents, pesticides, hydrogen peroxide, etc.; various radioactive elements and containers: uranium, cobalt, radium, plutonium, etc., containers that hold or let such substances or are covered by such substances Contaminated items; various biochemical products and infectious items: anthrax, dangerous bacteria, medical waste, etc.

Customs Restricted Items:

Embargoed publications
Precious cultural relics
State secret information
National currency
Plants and seeds
Unsealed food
Confidential components
White powder

Sensitive Goods:

Due to the differences in customs policies of various countries, some countries or regions are more sensitive to special commodities, and it is difficult to post and clear customs, which can be called “sensitive products”.

Main Sensitive Items:

Food: all kinds of food (involving inspection and quarantine issues)
Electronics: electronic products (including batteries), pure batteries, mobile power
Clothing category: international first-line brand
Spectacles: Different countries have different regulations on the customs clearance of spectacles (including myopia glasses, sunglasses, 3D glasses, reading glasses, swimming goggles, etc.): In the United States and Canada, spectacles are classified as medical devices, and all spectacles must be obtained. FDA certification; exports to the UK, EU and other 27 countries, frames and lenses have CE certification; exports to Australia, need to provide ECM certification. If you cannot provide relevant certificates, once detained for inspection, customs clearance may not be smooth, and there is a risk of being returned or confiscated.

In brief, the UK is more sensitive to imported beef and is not suitable for mailing. Italy is more sensitive to imported leather shoes and is not suitable for mailing. Australia is more sensitive to imported animal skins and wooden goods, while plant seeds are not suitable for mailing Japan is more sensitive to imported animal skins and wooden goods.

How did Customer X Choose ChinaDivision as His Warehousing Partner?

Customer X is the owner of an American e-commerce company, who had suffered a lot from COVID-19 and African-American parade. So he planed to find an agent of picking, packing and shipping, which can save more cost and time for him. We are going to share the story with you in this blog, hoping you will enjoy it and learn more about China Division.

1: Investigate

Customer X have never been to China before, so he did a survey about 20 companies in advance. He said it took three weeks to study all the information, coverig the warehouse development, performance, scale, review, etc.

2: Communication

He found the online consulting channel on our website and the sales representative was asked to contact him, in this way, they talked some details about the entire project.

3: Warehouse Visiting

Customer X shared his thought about Chinese warehousing and dropshipping with us, as well as his curiosity about China. Besides, his nephew was going to marry a Chinese girl, so they planed a Chinese Travel, which aroused his interest in visiting our warehouse. However, Customer X is very cautious about order fulfillment agency selection, he spared more time to testing the warehouse. Apart from sightseeing, his first Chinese trip was full of warehouse visiting and business negotiation.

4: Negotiation

Where there is a cooperation, there will be a negotiation. It takes a three-hour negotiation to discuss the price, payment methods, transportation channels, delivery, return rules, cooperation time, etc. Eventually, customer X chose us as his new dropshipping agency.

5: Contract Signing

After the contract signing, customer X returned America and send us some orders to test our quality and service. What we must to mention is that customer X has a wonderful handwriting.

Due to the rapid development of the e-commerce industry, order fulfillment companies have generally sprung up in the market. Although there are already many order fulfillment companies, the quality and level of service are also uneven. E-commerce companies must not affect the development of the company because of warehousing problems. Therefore, it is very necessary to choose a warehousing company with good service and strong sense of responsibility. Like our customer X, he decided to cooperate with us eventually after researching so many order fulfillment warehouses.(He said he can realize the cheapest shipping to canada after visiting these warehouses, haha).

4PL VS 3PL: which one is better for you?

As an e-commerce seller, you must be familiar with a third-party logistics companies, but have you ever delved into the concept of “4PL”? What are the differences between 3PL and 4PL?

The major service of 4PL:

Logistics channel optimization

Transportation network analysis

Carrier performance supervision

Project consulting and management

Inventory planning

Differences between 3PL and 4PL:

1. The fourth-party logistics is usually an independent entity established by a joint venture company or other long-term contract between a customer and one or more partners.

2. The fourth-party logistics organization is the transfer station between customers and other logistics service providers.

3. Ideally, all aspects of the customer’s supply chain are taken over by fourth party logistics company.

In brief, 4PL can be regarded as an upgraded version of 3PL. Fourth-party logistics companies subcontract different logistics operations and coordinate and supervise them on behalf of their customers. Thus, you can choose the suitable one based on performance of your company. Generally speaking, a third-party logistics can establish a fourth-party logistics company with enough scale. Just like china division, we are available for customized packaging and seamless logistics management after owning 9000 m² effective stock area. So we can play the role of 3PL and 4PL in a better way.

How to Make the Most of the Order Fulfillment Warehouse?

From our previous customer surveys, we can find that many e-commerce sellers are curious about the warehouse planning rules. How are order fulfillment warehouses planned to increase the operating speed?

1. Divide the warehouse into specific operating areas for picking, unloading and packing, which can facilitates employees to complete their work quickly.

2. The door inside the warehouse should be opened outwards, and the effective area of the warehouse should be used reasonably.

3. While reducing the channel space in the warehouse as much as possible, ensure the smoothness of the in and out channels to ensure that the stacking of goods will not affect the operating efficiency of the employees in the warehouse.

4. While ensuring safety, increase the stacking height of goods.

5. Make reasonable use of walls and shelves, and wrap the columns in the e-commerce cloud warehouse so that the columns will not block the access.

6. Try to ensure that the route of goods in and out of the warehouse is one-way and straight, and minimize the tortuous passage. Besides, please avoid inefficient operations like reverse movement.

7. The storage of goods should be placed in a position that is convenient for loading, unloading, warehousing and extraction.

8. Set up a separate safe passage for the warehouse, and at the same time ensure that no debris can be stacked in the passage, and ensure that the passage is unblocked at all times.

9. The warehouse is equipped with standard fire-fighting facilities, and the distance between each product area is in line with industry standards.

10. Set up safety protection measures such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarm systems and anti-theft alarm systems.

11. Set up ventilation and exhaust channels to ensure the normal circulation of air.

Is Chinese drop-shipping still profitable in the Post-COVID World?

Are you an Amazon seller? How do you handle the delivery? Fulfill the order by your own warehouse or with the help of a drop-shipping company? More and more e-commerce sellers tend to cooperate with order fulfillment company in the last few years. However, some entrepreneurs begin to wonder if this is a good option in the Post-COVID World. So what is the truth? China Division will discuss this question with you in today’s blog.

Order Fulfillment is the process of storing, packaging and shipping e-commerce items. A drop shipping company needs to keep items on display in a physical brick and mortar store or provide a hard copy or online product catalog to enable customers to review items before purchasing. But influenced by COVID-19 and freight increases, is it a beneficial choice for the e-commerce companies?

We can find some reasons by tracing its history back at least to last century.

In 1984, China Post launched China’s first express service, which was the very first step about developing China’s express industry, as well as the drop shipping. In 2018, 507 million parcels were delivered, express courier companies in China on average provided services for 280 million people in a single day. 78.9% of the parcels were delivered within 72 hours. China’s courier companies have ranked first in the world in terms of processed volume for five consecutive years. Over the past 70 years, China’s logistics has embraced a large quantity of progress. In short words, these development brings much more capabilities and possibilities for the Chinese drop shipping.

In addition, many overseas order fulfillment agencies and offline stores had closed for COVID-19. At the same time, China had recovered from this epidemic gradually, which means we can arrange more and more workers and resources for the orfer fulfillment. So you can choose a Chinese third-party logistics company to enjoy more advantages in this banner year for catastrophe.