Amazon store operation strategy: from product selection to preventing out-of-stock strategies
1. Supply chain management and stock-out prevention strategy
On the Amazon platform, store out-of-stock is a common challenge. Out of stock will not only cause sales interruption, but also damage the seller’s reputation. To this end, sellers need to take a series of measures to ensure the stability of the supply chain.
1. Data-driven supply chain management
Building a strong supply chain management system is critical. By analyzing historical sales data, demand forecasts and inventory status, sellers can accurately predict product demand and replenish inventory in a timely manner. In addition, we establish close working relationships with suppliers to ensure the reliability of the supply chain. Applying supply chain management tools to track and manage inventory can effectively reduce the risk of out-of-stocks.
2. Effective inventory planning and booking strategies
Develop reasonable inventory planning and booking strategies based on demand forecasts and sales trends. Understand the product’s sales cycle, peak periods and sales volume trends so that you can reserve the required inventory in a timely manner. Maintain close contact with suppliers to ensure timely replenishment of inventory and order processing.
3. Multi-channel supply and backup suppliers
Reliance on a single supplier may increase the risk of stores running out of stock. Establish a multi-channel supply network and establish solid cooperative relationships with multiple reliable suppliers. This helps reduce supply risk and ensures that stocks can be replenished in a timely manner if there is a problem in one supply channel. At the same time, it is recommended to establish relationships with backup suppliers to deal with emergencies and ensure continued supply to the store.
4. Monitoring and timely replenishment mechanism
Closely monitor inventory conditions and sales trends to ensure timely detection of potential out-of-stock risks. Use inventory monitoring tools and sales reports provided by Amazon to regularly assess inventory levels and make timely replenishment decisions. Set up inventory cordons and work closely with suppliers to ensure timely replenishment and inventory management.
2. Store model selection
For small sellers or start-up companies that are new to the industry, choosing a suitable store model is crucial. Here are some suggestions:
- Factory-based companies or entrepreneurs with supply chain advantages: If your product belongs to a small blue ocean category or a product that is in short supply, the FBA pure boutique route store model will be the best choice.
- Common products on the market or mid-life cycle products: You can choose the FBA boutique distribution store model to reduce the risk of product selection failure. If you can get the supplier’s account support, your chances of success will be greatly increased.
- Small sellers with insufficient financial strength and supply chain resources: The “small but beautiful” store model will be the best choice. With careful product selection and a practical operational strategy, you can maintain the basic operations of your store.
3. Advertising strategy
In the actual application of cross-border e-commerce, advertising strategies need to be adjusted according to the development stages of different products:
- New product period: The main purpose of advertising is to attract traffic. Make extensive use of automatic and manual advertising, and gradually increase your bids to find the right keywords.
- Growth Phase: Focus on manual advertising. Gradually optimize keywords, increase bidding, and control ACOS below 30%.
- Maturity period: For products with stable sales, appropriately reduce keyword bidding, increase budget, and control ACOS around 10%.
4. Multi-platform product selection
Multi-platform product selection is a commonly used product selection method for sellers, and is suitable for products that have been verified to have good sales. The basic process is to move hot-selling products on other platforms to Amazon for sale.
1. The importance of information gap
If sellers want to obtain maximum profits, they must obtain the maximum information difference. If a product already has multiple hot-selling links on the Amazon platform, it is best for ordinary small sellers to avoid trying it; but if large sellers have the ability to further optimize their products, they can seize market share.
2. Product selection skills
If a product is selling well on other platforms but has not yet been sold on Amazon, it can be basically determined that it has good sales prospects on Amazon. In addition to considering price and sales volume, there are also supply chain-related issues to consider.
5. Product Selection Strategy
1. Market demand analysis
Accurate analysis of market demand is the core of product selection. Cross-border sellers should combine the data provided by Amazon to understand the trends and customer needs of the target market. Use data analysis software to understand the potential market size and profit margins.
2. Competitive analysis
Understand the situation of competitors through competitive analysis, including product categories, sales data, pricing strategies, etc. Develop accurate and efficient sales strategies based on your own conditions.
3. Profit and brand effect
Prioritize products with high profit margins and high cost performance to improve store profitability. At the same time, choose products with brand effect or establish your own brand to attract more consumers.
Conclusion
To sum up, Amazon store operations require comprehensive consideration from many aspects such as supply chain management, store model selection, advertising strategy, multi-platform product selection and product selection strategy. Through scientific methods and strategies, sellers can effectively prevent stockouts, increase sales, and enhance competitiveness.