Business Strategy | Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

3 Surprising Reasons Why Your Company Should Use FBA

October 31, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Amazon FBA Program Why You Should Use It

Would you like someone else to pay for all of your shipping, packing and storage? Find out how being an FBA seller can save your company money today.

Amazon is gearing up to expand their FBA seller program in a major way. They will be speeding things up for both shipping and receiving by using 3rd party warehousing. This move will be a huge opportunity for sellers, lowering costs and speeding up deliveries.

If you haven’t considered doing fulfillment by Amazon yet, it’s time to take a serious look at it. FBA grants you many benefits, some more obvious than others. You get the reliability of Amazon shipping and open up a greater potential to scale your business.

If you are looking for a simple breakdown of what it means to be fulfilled by Amazon, this guide should help you. Let’s learn what FBA includes and how it can enhance your business.

FBA 101

In its most basic form, FBA allows you to sell products without handling inventory. You send your products to a nearby Amazon fulfillment center and let them sort, store, and pack all your deliveries. Amazon also does all the logistics for returns and customer service.

FBA Fees

To become an FBA seller, you’ll need to pay for their service, of course. Amazon takes a cut for packing, shipping, and customer service provided. You’ll also be paying a separate fee for storage, which will vary based on how much product you have and season rates.

Depending on the type of product, Amazon’s FBA rates will vary. You’ll need to refer to their fulfillment calculator to get an exact idea on how much it will cost to have your product fulfilled by Amazon.

Lastly, as with any product sold on Amazon (i.e., whether Amazon fulfills the order or the seller does), FBA sellers pay a referral fee on each unit sold. This fee depends on the category the product belongs to and is calculated using a percentage of each unit’s total price.

3 Reasons You Should Be An FBA Seller

Now that you have a good idea as to how FBA works, it’s time to start talking business. Would your business benefit from having inventory handled by Amazon? Would it increase your sales?

These questions and more will be covered under just three ways that Amazon’s FBA can give you the advantage.

1. Professional Packing Matters

If you’re running your online retail business out of your home, you will know that packing and shipping is a huge overhead. You won’t have the capital starting out to buy all the packing staples like packing peanuts, padded, waterproof mailers, and various boxes.

Amazon’s packing and shipping are among the best in the industry. You’ll notice that they waste very little and keep shipping weight low. Most people just don’t have the space to carry all the various shipping materials to compete.

It’s also worth noting that if your package doesn’t contain the proper labels for weight, fragility, or other handling warnings, you could be penalized. Letting Amazon handle everything is the best way to stay compliant.

Quality Control

Not only is packaging and shipping difficult to do alone for small businesses, maintaining quality control is tough, too. Quality control becomes more important as you undergo business expansion and growth. It also takes a large portion of time to do it properly.

If you aren’t careful, your Amazon rating can take a nosedive as defects and decreases in product quality aren’t caught. Businesses that aren’t confident in their product quality often settle for paid reviews to pad their ratings. Paying for reviews isn’t a realistic solution, for many reasons beyond the ethical dilemma, learn more about this slippery slope, if you have doubts.

2. Scaling and Glass Ceilings

Scaling with a virtually unlimited inventory space takes the physical logistics out of the equation. If the numbers make sense, you just do it, but if you’re playing Tetris with boxes in your garage, that’s a different story. When you first start a business, these obstacles and glass ceilings can hold back your true potential.

Buying in bulk is the only way to get the best margins on products. Price per product goes down, as does the cost of shipping. With FBA, you kill two birds with one stone. Being able to calculate your profit margins becomes much more straight-forward on Amazon.

3. Thinking Like a Business Owner

Micromanaging everything from reordering inventory, packing supplies, physically moving everything, and working within the confines of your space saps your energy. Your creative energy is also affected by being preoccupied with all the logistics. Planning for the future of your business is much harder when you only have an hour or two out of each day not dedicated to moving products.

The FBA service saves you time, money, and your sanity. So many online retail businesses fizzle out within the first year. Part of this is due to lack of capital, poor sales, or bad products. What is harder to quantify is the stunting of business growth from not being able to look past the present.

It’s much easier to experiment and invest for long-term success when you can brainstorm all day.

Overhaul Your Business Strategy

As you can see, becoming an FBA seller has plenty of benefits. A lot of entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing purely on how much they will earn on each sale by switching. This is thinking small-minded in today’s business world.

Unless you’re already getting all your inventory drop shipped, you’re limiting your growth potential without FBA on Amazon. Of course, it’s not as easy as checking off that box to become a successful FBA seller. There’s plenty more to running an online business, including more helpful automation tools and strategies.

You can find more advice and business strategy from Mike McRitchie’s resource guide and professional consulting here. Great for those looking for a cohesive business strategy, including branding and logistics.

First Time Entrepreneur? Here’s How You Can Boost Your Chances of Success

October 30, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Starting your own business is incredibly exciting- no longer are you stuck in the rat race, you have your very own venture that actually means something to you. Not only is it satisfying to watch things grow but it’s also rewarding, so many of us dedicate our lives to earning lots of money for the big companies of the world. Starting your own business allows you to break free of this, and puts you in the driving seat. But it’s not all plain sailing, there are some things to consider if you want to maximise your chances of success. Here are a few things to bear in mind when you’re a first time entrepreneur.

First Time Entrepreneur

Gain a business qualification

If you know you’ll be setting up a business in the future, getting qualified in a business related subject first is no bad thing. This gives you a broad understanding of business, and can help you to identify pitfalls and mistakes which you’re able to avoid later. It can teach you skills that will come in useful for your own company, and generally ensure that you’re not going into things blind. While it’s possible to start a business with no knowledge (and many have managed it) there are also plenty who fail where they were completely clueless. You could do an entire business degree, or a shorter college course or even a couple of smaller courses that last a few days or weeks. Either way, gaining as much knowledge as you can ahead of time can put you in the best position so you’re ready to start up a company.

Do plenty of your own research

As well as undertaking formal training or education in business, there are lots of materials online that allow you to teach yourself too. Youtube videos, podcasts, online seminars and books can all give you additional knowledge. These search engine optimization books for example have ranked within the top ten, so could massively boost your understanding of the topic before getting started with your own business. As long as the information you’re taking in is from a reliable source, it’s a cheap and accessible way you can broaden your knowledge before going in, all guns blazing,

Be sure to delegate

If you want your company to grow, there’s no way you can do everything yourself. When you start up a business it’s easy to want to do it all, and you can struggle putting responsibility into the hands of others. However, delegation is part of being a successful leader. You need to hire the right people, and then trust them to get on with their tasks without micromanaging. Another option would be to outsource work if there’s more than what you can handle. Either way, being able to ‘let go’ and trust that you have the right people working for you is important for your success. As time goes on, you’ll become more used to this- but it’s definitely something that first time entrepreneurs can struggle with.

Going Green: Why It Benefits Your Business

October 30, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Green your business Going green should no longer be an option for anybody. Thanks to media opinion and ecological research, we should all be fully aware of the necessity to engage in eco-friendly practices to protect the world around us. We know about the importance of recycling, as this will cut down on the harmful gases released by landfill waste. We know about the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, cutting down our time on the road to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. And we know about the importance of energy conservation at home, turning off lights and appliances as another way to reduce our carbon footprint.

But while you may engage in good practice at home, are you doing enough in your business? Are you reducing your carbon footprint and committing to good practices? You should, as your reputation depends on it.

There are those industries that have long been under fire for bad practice, and you don’t want to take the same flack. However, like those industries, you can take measures to improve matters if you have fallen short. The much maligned auto industry is now implementing greener technology and sustainable fuel to claw back their reputation. And those involved in the fashion industry, who have long been blamed for environmental damage thanks to the unsustainable materials and toxic chemicals used within their garments, are now altering their ways, and are using factories such as these swimsuit manufacturers in an attempt to go greener. If they can do it, so can you!

And while you may not be working within an industry that has fallen prey to such public and government outrage, there are still things you can do on a daily basis to showcase your green credentials. You see, as well as benefiting the world we live in, going green will also benefit your business in the long term.

Why? Consider the following.

Going green will reduce your business expenses. By moving to the cloud, you won’t need to spend as much money on paper and all the associated costs, such as printing and photocopying. And by turning off appliances when you’re not using them, or by replacing them with energy-efficient alternatives, you will reduce your energy bills.

Going green will attract customers to you. You may not be thinking green yet, but many of your customers will be. We have already touched upon the need to secure a good reputation, and if you do engage in bad practices, consumer opinion will be swayed against you. However, should you make an effort to implement sustainable measures, you will attract eco-conscious customers and secure their loyalty to your brand.
Going green will improve your media image. It’s not only the consumer you need to worry about when operating your business. Not only will you turn them away from your business if you behave unethically, but you will also incur the wrath of the media at large. You want to make the news for all the right reasons, but if your business comes under fire for negatively affecting the environment, the news headlines about you will not be kind.
Going green will help you beat your business rivals. Going back to the consumer again, who are they likely to choose? The company that has made an effort to go green or the company who still refuses to? The business world is very competitive, but by enforcing eco-friendly principles across your operations, you stand a better chance at beating your nearest business rivals.
Going green will attract the best employees. A green workplace is high on the agenda for the millennial workforce, so if you’re looking to attract the freshest new faces from college and university, know that your company will be attractive to those looking to work for somebody who is ethically sound.
Going green will improve employee morale. If your employees know that you care for the environment, they are less likely to leave you in favour of a company who has more green credentials. And the happier they are, the more productive they will be. That, of course, will lead to greater company profits.

There are other reasons why going green will aid your business. You may be eligible for government awards for your good practice, for example, and there may also be taxable benefits you can claim too. The advantages to you are many. But by going green, everybody wins. You win, because you have earned a good reputation, and that will lead to a higher profit margin. The consumer wins, because they know they are giving their money to a business that cares. And your community wins, because you are doing your bit to protect the environment. In short, going green is a no-brainer! So, if you haven’t made steps to go green yet, perhaps today is the day you made a start.

4 Benefits of Inventory Management Strategies to Improve Bottom Line

October 28, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Inventory Management

Does your business need a solution for managing inventory? Check out these four benefits which efficient and accurate inventory management strategies provide.

Believe it or not, in the average workplace, your staff is going to be productive for less than three hours per day.

While this might seem absurd, you need to think about all the ways that you could be making it hard for your employees to be productive. If you implement strong inventory management strategies, you could double or even triple that number.

Here are four ways to change the way your warehouse does business from a day to day standpoint.

1. A More Organized Warehouse

If you’re in the business of distributing products, whether business to business or directly to consumers, you know the importance of efficiency. You know all too well that time is money and that the more efficient you make your system for your staff, the faster you can fulfill orders. When you fulfill orders quickly, you make your customers happy.

By not hitting snags related to your inventory, you can ensure everything behind the curtain happens without customers noticing.

Managing your inventory with warehouse management software gives you the ability to have an organized warehouse. When you organize your warehouse, your staff and employees can get around efficiently, putting together orders easily because you’ve built a strong system.

You can optimize your warehouse by ensuring your top selling products are easy to get to. Save time by putting complimentary products together to simplify order fulfillment. Speedy fulfillment can give you a good reputation and earn you great reviews.

Since reviews are a way of life for most business online, if you sell online, you need lots of good reviews to keep building your customer base.

2. Save Time and Money

There’s time to be saved and money to be made by having an organized inventory.

You need a strong relationship between how much inventory you have on hand and how much your digital systems record. This way you can reorder before you run out but don’t waste space with any excess.

Keep track of what you have on hand and how many have been ordered so that you don’t have to do any recounts. With good organization, you’ll have a more accurate count of what you have in stock. Stopping the workflow or paying for overtime so that you can perform a recount is a huge waste of time and money.

However, warehouses have to recount their stock all the time, because of inefficient systems and lack of organization. Keep a close watch on your inventory and you don’t have to do any unnecessary recounting.

Every warehouse has slow-moving and fast-moving products. With a good management system, you’ll get notifications about products that haven’t moved and you can add discounts. Go the extra mile with slow-moving products, especially ones that expire, and offer them as a freebie to your best customers to get them to order in the future.

Check out the system that inFlow offers you in order to keep a close watch on inventory.

3. Accurate Orders

Every fulfillment center keeps track of their order accuracy with a near-obsessive eye. That’s because it gives you a measurement of customer satisfaction and employee performance all in one.

When you give your customers accurate orders, they will never have a reason to complain. If your customers are having to call you, return items, or get what they wanted to have sent to them, you’ll have to deal with potentially losing customers.

Attracting customers costs time, money, and lots of effort on your part. Don’t lose them to a weak inventory management system because you don’t have items when you need them.

Product shortages mean you’re going to have to write an email that your customers aren’t excited to see, telling them they can’t have what they want. Telling someone that they can’t have what they want is hard enough, but if they’ve already paid for it, you’re in for problems.

Your responsible for what’s in your warehouse at any given point. Don’t leave your customers disappointed.

Repeat customers are hard to come by. With a strong inventory management system, those hard-earned clients and customers won’t have any reason not to order again.

Show them you’re ready to meet their needs quickly and efficiently by always having what they need. A strong inventory management system ensures customers can always get what they need. That’s all your customers want from you at the end of the day.

4. Be More Productive

At all times, you should be trying to streamline your company’s workflow. You need to make everything easier for your warehouse staff so that they can move with lightning speed.

Keep lots of inventory management tools on site, like barcode scanners that are synchronized with inventory management software. This way, you can improve your productivity and keep things moving efficiently. While on the ground, staff will have everything they need on hand and you’ll be able to keep an eye on inventory.

You can reorder before you run out and keep your staff and customers happy. When you keep your staff happy by giving them everything they need to get through the day, you make work easier for everyone.

Eliminate manual processes with scanners and software. This way, you can allow your employees to focus on the most important parts of their job. Productivity will skyrocket with the right system in place.

Inventory Management Strategies Are a Must

No matter what industry you’re in, if you’re distributing products through a warehouse, you need to optimize your system.

Every second, every extra step, that your employees take in fulfilling orders, they could be working on their next order. Inventory management strategies that enhance their workflow will make you the most productive warehouse in your region.

If you’re expanding your market in the near future, check out our guide for what you need to think about first.