Dear valued customers,
Earlier this year, we waived off our handling fees for all plans at Fulfillmen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that many businesses are suffering from the pandemic, and we like to help you by temporarily removing all handling fees.
However, we would like you to know that since November this year, our handling fees are back as according to your plan. Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Fulfillmen Team
Black Friday presents e-commerce entrepreneurs and businesses an opportunity to make BIG sales and BIG profits for their stores or companies. Just think about this: just last year, in 2019, e-commerce and digital businesses acquired a whopping $7.2 billion in digital sales! On top of that, these all happened in the US alone!
In short, you can make way plenty of profit this coming Black Friday! However, with its opportunities comes responsibilities that your e-commerce store should be able to handle. This includes potentially very large order volumes and dealing with couriers as they are expected to deliver massive amounts of products to customers.
So, you should prepare for the upcoming Black Friday event if you want your e-commerce business to get the maximum profit it can generate! To help you with that, here are 6 fulfillment and e-commerce tips that we can give you to help you make your Black Friday sales a BIG success!
Black Friday is certainly not a normal day for e-commerce businesses: expect massive amounts of order volume, potential new customers that will flock on your store and other stuffs that can disrupt – yes, disrupt! – your regular fulfillment system.
In this case, be flexible and adapt to your current market situations. Be willing to change your fulfillment system a little bit if you have to. Maybe it’s paying overtime for your staff, increasing your operational time for your warehouse (as much as high as 24 hours), or laying out a new structure for your team to manage your entire fulfillment and e-commerce system for Black Friday.
Whatever it is, be willing to adapt to meet the potentially high demands from plenty of customers!
Most important of all, you should have your customer service representative team ready for floods of questions and inquiries. Have a plan on how your customer service rep will manage such amounts of potential questions – without losing it down to your customers.
If you want to earn big this Black Friday, be sure you’re willing
We like to promote bestsellers all the time because, well, they sell best! If we heavily promote bestselling products on any given day, it makes sense if we would promote them too during Black Friday!
As a bestseller, your product will mostly be in high demand, so you should prepare your bestselling product/s before Black Friday!
Be sure that your warehouse and fulfillment team know where your bestselling products are located so that once they are ordered, they can readily shipped it. Better yet, simply put your bestselling products out in the warehouse so everyone can easily see them and deliver them when the order comes!
Complicated checkouts meant lower sales simply because your customer don’t even know how to deal with your checkout process.
If you find that your carts are often abandoned, maybe it has to do with your checkout system – so, to avoid any potential sales loss, ensure that your checkout is simple and easy for your customers.
Also, give as much options for your customers as possible during checkouts. Whenever possible, be flexible with shipping options, payment methods, etc. Sometimes, a customer really wants to buy your product, but because their preferred or only option is not available, they can’t get the purchase – and you lose their sale!
Prior to Black Friday, be sure that you will coordinate with your partners – most especially, couriers – and let them know what to expect ahead this coming Black Friday. By letting them know the potential order volume they have to deliver, they can be prepared in time (or let you know of any limits).
Regardless, you and your courier partners won’t be surprised when Black Friday sales start pouring in.
As mentioned above, prepare your customer service rep in engaging plenty of customers – this time, not only for questions, but for follow-ups during delivery. Until the product is delivered, keep in touch with your customers so they know that you won’t leave them alone until they get their product.
Black Friday may be boom for sales, but be prepared for the bust: Boomerang Thursday. Expect returns from many customers, and prepare your fulfillment warehouse team to process any returns for efficient processing in the warehouse!
Black Friday comes with massive amounts of potential sales. But with potential sales, comes responsibilities that you should do to ensure you get the profits that you can get from Black Friday!
With Fulfillmen, we will take care of the fulfillment and warehouse side of things! We will make sure that your store’s fulfillment side will be prepared for Black Friday – from beginning until the end!
If there is one day to best sell to the online Chinese market, it’s probably on November 11 – dubbed as China’s “Singles Day”! Singles Day is the world’s biggest event for 24/7 online shopping, and Alibaba is getting most of the pie!
According to BBC, this year’s Singles Day will be made up of a whopping 3 million workers and 4,000 ships and planes as they are ready to deliver the goods! But there’s more to that!
Because of the lockdowns and other restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely restricted international (and to some degrees, even local) travel, experts are expecting what is called “revenge spending” from consumers. What does that mean? Revenge spending means, because the consumers weren’t able to travel and go to vacations, they may choose to spend their money instead on purchasing goods, even luxury ones!
In other words, selling on Singles Day will really be profitable for online entrepreneurs and sellers! This is especially great because in the past months, e-commerce was hit by the pandemic. Now is the chance to recover from losses from these past months!
In fact, even before Singles Day, you could already make a big profit – case in point: Alibaba’s 2020 sales record!
According to China Daily, Alibaba’s Tmall Singles Day had already hit a whopping 372.3 billion yuan ($56.28 billion) in just 10 days starting from November 1!
Maybe, we can expect more today at Singles Day! So, go take advantage of the opportunity, too, and earn as many profits as possible! China’s e-commerce and fulfillment is certainly blooming, and let’s hope this trend will continue upward!
Are you an eCommerce business owner from India looking to ship your products from China to your home country? Or are you an international business looking to expand your market to India? If you are one of these, and if your main concern is how to move your products from China to India, then this article is for you!
As a business owner, shipping your products from one country to another is certainly no easy task even though it sounds simple. This is especially true if you are just new in the business.
Specifically, shipping products from China to India is not easy. Here are two main reasons for that:
Aside from these two main reasons, there are other hassles which are just part of any ordinary shipping processes: customs fees, possible delays, fluctuating delivery fees which can hurt your finances, long transit times (especially worsened because of COVID-19), and the hassle of paperwork and documents.
So, what are the best ways to ship your products from China to India despite the current situation? Here are some of the tips we have to help you ship your products accordingly – with less hassle on your part!
As much as possible, try to forecast or predict your order volume and check the current local wholesale market rate. In this way, you will know the potential cost before you proceed with the shipment. This will help you see how much you will need and not be surprised by any additional or unexpected costs (or if there are unexpected costs, you are likely to be prepared for it).
You may want to check out for good deals, too. Although this is not always the case, you may find a less expensive cost than your calculated cost for the exact same shipment.
Ship your products under your IOR in a commercial mode so that you can use your IEC and GST for clearance. Aside from that, there are two more advantages when shipping your products as commercial shipments:
a. Clearance will be easier because you can use your KYC for clearance purposes.
b. You will pay your CBD pay duty based on the CTH code only.
Finally, once your shipments are cleared, you can move your products from your local facility. From there, you can use local courier services for last-mile delivery.
a. Don’t put too many items in the same AWB. If you do, the customs may block your shipment.
b. Send payments only through an approved bank or payment getaway. In this way, you’ll have a BRC or proof for accounting purposes.
c. Import products under your IEC. Many cargo agents do malpractices like consolidating shipments together. Don’t do this as this can cause you the trouble along the way.
d. Truthfully declare your goods. Truthfully declare your shipment’s quantity, value, specific items, and other information asked from you. Never lie or miss any information as it can get you into trouble.
e. Don’t import sensitive items right away. If you’re just starting out, it’s best to stay away from products like liquids, pure battery products, etc. These are sensitive items, and they may add hassle on your part if you try to import them. In addition, these products need extra documents such as BIS for custom clearance as required by the customs. Try to avoid targeting these items if you are just starting out.
Last tip for this article: do not to import using the B2C or “business-to-customer” model. Although this sounds simple than importing as a commercial shipment, this is actually more confusing and complex compared to commercial shipments. You will be asked for a lot of documents such as passport, Adhar card, etc. – and add the fact that most consignees might even refuse to give these for security or privacy reasons.
Importing products from China to India can be hard especially because of the pandemic and the problems between the two countries. However, there are things you can do to lessen the hassle and potentially avoid any unnecessary problems.
Although this article is written to address the pandemic, this is very much applicable even on regular times. Best of all, these tips and practices are applicable for any entrepreneur as long as you intend to ship products from China to India!
If you need more help, Fulfillmen can help you with your shipping and importing needs. We specialize in shipping products from China to India! If you have any questions, you can contact our customer service representative who will gladly assist you with your inquiries.
App4ship Keynote presentation by Dhairya Sharma, Director | IT Department
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the global economy has slowed down. A lot of businesses are starting to fail as a result of stock unavailability/other factors.
While many of the Chinese generic manufacturing companies remain closed, some giants like Foxconn and others have started producing medical equipments such as face masks, gloves and thermometers etc.
The Business Insider has reported that as the virus spreads, the total sales for N95 Masks has increased up to 428%, the spike has seen for the following products as well: Household maintenance mask (218%), thermometers (42%) and hand sanitizer (21%).
Some people saw this demand as a new business opportunity and a whole new market emerges, but unfortunately an unchartered territory has it’s own hurdles, It’s difficult to find suppliers/shipping channels for such non-generic products.
Luckily we can help you source the items as well as handling the shipping for the same.
If you are interested in selling these items then feel free to contact your Fulfillmen account manager or contact us at www.fulfillmen.com and we will help you out with the same.
Dear Customer,
In line with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) which had its first reported case in Wuhan, China, this has been spreading internationally. As our client we know that you are concerned if the deadly virus could be spread through imported goods and would mainly have big impact on our business.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has clarified the concern and claimed that it is highly unlikely to happen. The coronavirus is thought to spread through droplets or close contact with an infected person.
On our part, we have doubled our current safety standards inside our warehouse. We are disinfecting our facility daily and monitoring the health of our employees. Both our warehouse and logistics staff is undergoing daily temperature checks and through a stringent sanitisation process before handling packages.
And as for our partner shipping channels, all collected goods from our warehouse undergo thorough fumigation and it will pass another disinfection process by the airlines and only released after customs inspection and quarantine.
In addition to this, we would like to reassure you that our employees are safe from the threat of 2019-nCoV as well as the packages of your valued customers. Given that we are located in the southern part of China, an 11-hour drive from the affected city, you should not worry on our operation as we can still offer excellent services to your online business.
FULFILLMEN is here to stay.
As the rest of the world gears up to celebrate the end of a decade in a couple of days, China prepares for the celebration of their own lunar new year in less than a month’s time. Also known as the Year of the Rat, the Chinese New Year falls on the 25th of January, 2020. The festivities lasts not for days but weeks together, and consequently the entire nation’s work flow comes to a grinding halt in these few weeks. People all over the country take time off from work to enjoy their biggest holiday of the year.
Even as the people enjoy the festivities, the companies and businesses that rely on Chinese manufacturers and industries take a major hit during this period. To have a better idea of how much of an impact it has, consider the following points:
Chinese New Year official holiday will begin Friday, January 25 to January 31st, 2020. Typically, Chinese offices and factories close for about three working weeks, allowing workers time to travel back home to spend the holiday with their families.
Businesses have begun to work around the holiday to ensure no shortage of materials or production delays. Planning ahead and strategizing helps in maintaining supply chain and work requirements. At Fulfillmen, we have maintained a consistent work flow with strategic plans that have gotten us through the holiday rush in the previous years and continue to do so. We are undertaking advance booking for services needed during the holidays and arrange supply and labor accordingly. The shipping cost per order remains the same over the holidays but the handling fee per order has been changed to 10 CNY per order. This includes holiday labor arrangement, handling and kitting service and packing materials.
By taking a few precautionary steps in advance you can avoid any snag in your business operations during the hectic weeks ahead
Keep in touch with your Chinese counterparts to know when they will shut down the factories and offices. Having a fixed deadline can help you to order materials in advance and acquire labor to complete immediate requirements. Have contingency plans in case of delay in reopening of factories or changes in closing and reopening dates.
You need to accurately predict how much materials you need to be supplied and place the orders way ahead of time. Keep in mind that companies have practising this strategy for a long time and it can get very hectic with every passing day. So you must order in advance so as to not get caught up in delays or shortages.
With the increase in production reaching frenzied heights as the new year approaches, the demand for shipment also rises exponentially. Added to that custom clearance in China and other parts of the world reaches an all time high in demand over the holidays. Experts in international logistics and transportation and shipping can help you to navigate the hurdles along the way.
It is always good to have a Plan B in case things do not go as planned. A company must have multiple supply chains, shipping services and warehousing units distributed around the world to meet its demands.
When you have staff who work in China or deal with staff from China, They will face a lull in the workplace during the festival period. You can utilize that time by engaging them in workplace activities, workshops and training.
The new year is a time for new beginnings, looking back at where we came from and wishing for a prosperous future. A few precautionary steps taken at the right time will ensure that your business does not get affected during this joyous occasion and we at Fulfillmen wish you all a happy and prosperous new year ahead!
If you’re interested to use our service during Chinese New Year , please download the Booking form ,fill it and submit to your sales manager incharge or send to [email protected] with your Fulfillmen ID number in subject .
+86 752-2313067
+86 752-2313067
