Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

We are currently in production of our product in China. Our product, Lipvue (see the product at www.lipvueonline.com so I don`t have to go into a long description here) is being sold to a targeted market of direct sales companies for their consultants and also salons,  so we can sell it at close to our SRP to raise money for large scale production for wholesale sales to stores.  We are doing this from our home offices at the moment and for startup is working out well. I have found that we must have EDI capability to market to most stores for instance, Rite Aid, Wal Mart, etc...actually almost everyone. Since we do not want to get into warehousing our product or large scale shipping, I have found that using a fullfillment (sp) process  would be to our advantage, but have no idea what the cost for this should be, what is competitive, or whom to chose. Additionally, is their any input on if anyone with this experience thinks we are on the right track "farming" this process out...or should we get the software, which I understand is very expensive? Our manufacturer`s rep is wants to give us a quote.  We need to have all this in place before we can even present to these large companies, or they don`t even look at you.

Any input on this will be appreciated.

Robin.

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Lipstickmogul
Shaklee Products: www.Shaklee.net/robinvess
Lipvue, LLC
Lifespan International - Anti Aging Products
Far Niente Farms Arabian Horses and Pinto Saddlebreds
www.fnfarabians.com

Robin,

Seems to be several major subjects in your posts.

Fulfillment houses. Good option for a startup. My experience is their fees vary depending on many factors: your product, number of expected deliveries in and out, volume, size of product/cases, etc. With a day or so of online research, you can find many to compare. Do you prefer they be close to you or does it matter? I would suggest that if possible, once you narrow your choices down to a few, you may want to visit these places before making a decision. This will be an important cog in your business machine and you need to have a great partner in this area of your business - you need face time with these people before staring the relationship and a key contact to go to always. Will they also be handling your customer phone/fax/online orders? What all do you want farmed out?

Not quite sure from your post if you are expecting the fulfillment house to also handle the EDI stuff. There are companies out there that can do this. Maybe you can explain your position better in another post.

R@

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

Also, when you do find a firm that you are comfortable, you need to get a real-time understanding of how they price...as you can imagine, there are many different scenarios:  time (time to prep each shipment), person hours, kitting (i.e., getting the item in it`s packaging)...?

Also, will you be passing this cost on to your clients as part of shipping and handling?  Or will it be embedded in the cost of the item?

And Richard is correct, you`ll need to visit one of these groups, especially to see their facility,  is it clean?  Are the employees who will be working on your merchandise reliable?....

My point is...this can be a very prickly part of the shipping process and it has to be managed with utmost care.

Much success.




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Kim
the-petset.com
blogfabulous.com