Wholesalers – Essentially the Backbone of the Retail Market

My husband and I were peacefully running our little grocery store outside of Philadelphia when Covid-19 hit the world. We would keep the everyday things for our compact neighborhood at reasonable prices. We had a regular clientele who loved our packaged and baked goods alike. The people we served were like family, so we had a smooth sailing. My 2 daughters joined us regularly to help out and get to know people. So, everything was working very well. But Covid-19 surprised us.

The back-to-back lockdowns and subsequent price hikes were a big setback for us. At that point, we were faced with a disastrous drop in sales. Our regular customers started ordering from delivery services. Unfortunately, we weren’t registered so we couldn’t do that. At that time, we did not know what to do. But we had no idea that we would jump up as a wholesaler again. More specifically, we did not know what we would be doing cake boxes wholesale.

Our lives had turned upside down in a matter of months and we had to find something to do to survive. It was a difficult road, but once we got there, our business became a success. Now my one of my daughters and I work in the store and my husband with my eldest is working in the wholesale bakery boxes.

So if you are looking to enter a commercial market, somewhere in the supply chain, wholesaling is something that works very well. There are a lot of benefits to that plan and you can get the hang of things pretty easily if you do a good job. However, you need to be ready to invest and sign up to put yourself on the map.

What is wholesaler?

Wholesaling is a process where a person or a business sources the products in bulk at a cheaper price from the manufacturer and sells them to the retailer and makes a profit in the process.

A wholesaler not only buys and sells the product, but also stores it until demand increases. Furthermore, they are also responsible for creating stock batches and delivering them to multiple retailers based on your demands.

Types of Wholesalers

There are three main types of wholesalers. The rates depend on the type of business they do and the way they treat the product.

Wholesale Merchants:

They are the people who buy the product directly from the manufacturers in bulk. They know well the products, their types, classes and qualities. Plus, they know how to compare multiple manufacturers to get the best deal. However, they must have adequate storage to keep the products. They use warehouses for storage and make sure the product is safe.

Runners:

Brokers do not buy the product. They work to reach an agreement between the manufacturer and the retailer. Your profit comes from establishing a sales commission from both parties.

Dealers:

It is completely different from the two previous models. In this process, manufacturers send a person to connect with wholesalers. The process is easy for both the manufacturer and the wholesaler. Because, the wholesaler does not need to search for the right offers and the manufacturer. It works for the manufacturer, because then they don’t have to cater to multiple wholesalers, saving them time. Therefore, they send distributors to relevant wholesalers and offer them suitable packages according to their wish.

Wholesale Features:

A successful wholesale experience requires the completion of certain tasks. Wholesalers complete those tasks as their duties. Wherever you Google, each website will give you a different version of the feature. When we started working in the wholesale trade, our experience taught us a lot. We learned that there would be some specific things that we would be doing for some retailers and manufacturers, and some very general things that all of them would need.

Acquiring the Product:

When our cake box wholesale start-up took place, we didn’t know where to start. The first thing was to get quality boxes in good time, so OBT packing It was our choice and that was the best decision of all. They ship high-quality boxes, all in perfect time, and impeccable delivery service. So we didn’t just get cake boxes, we also ordered donut boxes in bulk and they were always up to the task!

Storage:

Then came the storage phase. Therefore, we would always make sure to store the boxes in a suitable place. Storing them away from rain and rodents was the main concern. At first it was difficult given the frequency of the rains. But we do just fine taking inventory in our guest room. Depending on your product, you need to plan for storage. One wrong move and it would all go to waste.

Credit or Cash:

Selling the product to strangers means taking risks. But when you are in business, you must learn to take risks. We knew that credit is a common game in the wholesale market. So, we play it too! Each retailer had their own terms and conditions, so we accept some and convince others. Accepting credit is something that came from us. So we bought boxes of cakes in bulk and sold them on credit to some of our retailers, but the returns we got were worth the wait!

Advantages of wholesaling

Wholesaling has many benefits to offer. It is true that it carries some risks, but the risks are worth it because of the income we would generate. After a while, wholesale bakery boxes were widely known for their quality. Even customers would appreciate the retailers for the wholesale donut boxes they were using to pack their wares! Therefore, the feedback on our products was excellent. Some advantages of wholesaling are:

1. Great connections with everyone. If you sell a good product, you will be famous. Therefore, your product will make its own place in the market.
   
2. Bulk profits are a part of wholesaling. Since we buy the product in large quantities, the turnover is also immense. So the money really starts to flow once you know how to work.
   
3. Specialization is the core of wholesaling. You can only work with one product line and be a king in it. There is no place for all trades. So you choose a product, work your supply chain, and become an expert. As if we wanted to work on wholesale cake boxes. So our manufacturers and retailers, they all come from the same industry.
   
4. Convenient business expansion is one of the best advantages. We started out simply by wholesale cake boxes but expanded to wholesale donut boxes and finally all kinds of wholesale bakery boxes in a short period of one year.
   

Disadvantages of wholesaling:

1. The biggest drawback of wholesaling is the high capital requirement. We invested our savings from the last 5 years to get where we are, but with no regrets.
   
2. Also, you need to know the demands before placing an order with the manufacturer. Otherwise, all the stock is wasted.
   
3. Also, you need to shop around for the price and get the best deal from both directions to ensure proper profitability.
   
4. Most importantly, never overstock. We once overstocked our wholesale cake boxes and the rain ruined everything. Therefore, overstocking is a major disadvantage.