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Traditional Chinese manufacturing crosses borders, not just opening a store: 4 key actions in the Amazon case
Recently, I have seen three examples of traditional manufacturing companies expanding their cross-border business, involving various categories such as garden robots, cookware, and commercial cooking.
● After 25 years of OEM work, I finally did it myself at Amazon
● The 30-year-old factory moved to Amazon, with daily sales of up to 300,000 US dollars during peak season
● In 1997, a young man from Wenzhou sold hot pot across borders, selling 12 million pieces a year
These three cases have different industries, different products, and different starting backgrounds, but if you look at these cases together, you can find a common denominator with great reference value:
For traditional manufacturing enterprises, expanding cross-border business is never simply adding a sales channel, but also simultaneously promoting systematic optimization of organization, operation, products, and brand expression. This is also the core point that many traditional manufacturing sellers can easily underestimate in the initial stage — ostensibly it is opening, listing, and delivery; in fact, what really determines whether it can run steadily and for a long time in the future is the overall collaborative ability behind it.
Combining these three practical cases, I have summed up 4 key actions that can be implemented and learned from, hoping to provide reference for more traditional manufacturing cross-border sellers.
● After 25 years of OEM work, I finally did it myself at Amazon
● The 30-year-old factory moved to Amazon, with daily sales of up to 300,000 US dollars during peak season
● In 1997, a young man from Wenzhou sold hot pot across borders, selling 12 million pieces a year
These three cases have different industries, different products, and different starting backgrounds, but if you look at these cases together, you can find a common denominator with great reference value:
For traditional manufacturing enterprises, expanding cross-border business is never simply adding a sales channel, but also simultaneously promoting systematic optimization of organization, operation, products, and brand expression. This is also the core point that many traditional manufacturing sellers can easily underestimate in the initial stage — ostensibly it is opening, listing, and delivery; in fact, what really determines whether it can run steadily and for a long time in the future is the overall collaborative ability behind it.
Combining these three practical cases, I have summed up 4 key actions that can be implemented and learned from, hoping to provide reference for more traditional manufacturing cross-border sellers.
1. Instead of rushing to increase the quantity, set up people and organizations first
When many traditional manufacturing companies set up cross-border arrangements, the first card point they encounter is not traffic or advertising, but team configuration. The common practice is to draw personnel from the original team or let foreign trade salesmen work as cross-border operations to run the business first, but judging from the case studies, this method often quickly encounters growth bottlenecks.
The core reason is that traditional foreign trade focuses on customer communication, order follow-up, and empirical judgment, while cross-border e-commerce relies more on data analysis, refined site operation, understanding of user needs, content presentation, and full-link collaboration. Although the two have similarities, they cannot be simply replaced.
The successful companies in this case all made these key actions:
• Set up an independent cross-border business team and separate accounting from the original factory system
• Promote job specialization and clarify core divisions of labor such as operation, product development, logistics, and visual design
• Introduce professionals suited to cross-border business as needed to make up for shortfalls in ability
These actions essentially solve the same problem: if a cross-border business is to run smoothly, the premise is to have a team that actually matches the needs of the business. For traditional manufacturing sellers, if the team capacity structure is not adjusted in a timely manner, issues such as subsequent product selection judgment, inventory rhythm, and content presentation will be magnified, directly affecting operational efficiency.
The core reason is that traditional foreign trade focuses on customer communication, order follow-up, and empirical judgment, while cross-border e-commerce relies more on data analysis, refined site operation, understanding of user needs, content presentation, and full-link collaboration. Although the two have similarities, they cannot be simply replaced.
The successful companies in this case all made these key actions:
• Set up an independent cross-border business team and separate accounting from the original factory system
• Promote job specialization and clarify core divisions of labor such as operation, product development, logistics, and visual design
• Introduce professionals suited to cross-border business as needed to make up for shortfalls in ability
These actions essentially solve the same problem: if a cross-border business is to run smoothly, the premise is to have a team that actually matches the needs of the business. For traditional manufacturing sellers, if the team capacity structure is not adjusted in a timely manner, issues such as subsequent product selection judgment, inventory rhythm, and content presentation will be magnified, directly affecting operational efficiency.
2. The front desk is selling goods, and the back office must be able to pick it up
Another common characteristic of the three cases is that companies not only pay attention to front-office sales actions, but also pay more attention to back-office supply chain and internal collaboration. Cross-border business transactions occur at the front desk, but the final business results are often determined by the back-office's ability to handle it.
The core assessment dimensions of back-office collaboration are reflected in these details:
• Whether the inventory data is transparent in real time can support accurate stocking decisions
• Whether the production plan is orderly and can flexibly meet the off-peak season needs of cross-border sales
• Whether all aspects of procurement, warehousing and sales can be linked in a timely manner to respond quickly to external changes
• When demand explodes during the peak season, can delivery capacity keep up to avoid being sold out of stock and losing rankings
• After the scale of business is expanded, whether cash flow and account periods are manageable to avoid capital risks
In this case, some enterprises achieved transparent inventory and orderly planning through the launch of an ERP system; others improved the efficiency of full-link collaboration by making sales estimates in advance, setting inventory warnings, and distribution of goods. This also confirms that cross-border business is not a single front-office operation; whether back-office collaboration is smooth directly determines whether the business can continue to advance.
Many sellers will focus on traffic and conversion in the early stages. This is certainly important, but if inventory, capacity, delivery, and internal collaboration are not prepared in advance, sales results that come out in the early stages can easily experience operational pressure in the later stages. In particular, for sellers with a factory base, back-office supply chain capability is a natural advantage. How to deeply connect this advantage with front desk operations is an important part of whether the cross-border business can be deepened for a long time.
The core assessment dimensions of back-office collaboration are reflected in these details:
• Whether the inventory data is transparent in real time can support accurate stocking decisions
• Whether the production plan is orderly and can flexibly meet the off-peak season needs of cross-border sales
• Whether all aspects of procurement, warehousing and sales can be linked in a timely manner to respond quickly to external changes
• When demand explodes during the peak season, can delivery capacity keep up to avoid being sold out of stock and losing rankings
• After the scale of business is expanded, whether cash flow and account periods are manageable to avoid capital risks
In this case, some enterprises achieved transparent inventory and orderly planning through the launch of an ERP system; others improved the efficiency of full-link collaboration by making sales estimates in advance, setting inventory warnings, and distribution of goods. This also confirms that cross-border business is not a single front-office operation; whether back-office collaboration is smooth directly determines whether the business can continue to advance.
Many sellers will focus on traffic and conversion in the early stages. This is certainly important, but if inventory, capacity, delivery, and internal collaboration are not prepared in advance, sales results that come out in the early stages can easily experience operational pressure in the later stages. In particular, for sellers with a factory base, back-office supply chain capability is a natural advantage. How to deeply connect this advantage with front desk operations is an important part of whether the cross-border business can be deepened for a long time.
3. Product selection and optimization depends not only on what the factory can do, but also on what users really need
Traditional manufacturing companies often have a deep technical and production foundation on the product side, but when expanding cross-border business, they still encounter a real problem: factories are good at making products, which does not mean accurately grasping the core needs of overseas users from the beginning.
This is also the common growth and change of enterprises in the three cases: from “sell whatever the factory has” to gradually shifting to “optimizing products around feedback from overseas users.”
Some cases mentioned that the company performed well in the first batch, but there was an inventory backlog in the second batch. After the review, it was discovered that the problem was not only the promotion strategy, but also that the early judgment on external timing, user needs, and product compatibility was not accurate; there were also cases showing that companies began to explore product optimization directions from Amazon store reviews and return reasons. The usage scenarios and product pain points mentioned by users all became an important reference basis for subsequent product iterations.
This is an important reminder for traditional manufacturers and sellers: Product optimization in cross-border business is not only a factory-side R&D activity, but also a direct user communication action. Factories are good at making good products, but cross-border business requires sellers to continue to deeply cultivate user needs:
• Why do users choose your products and what are your core selling points
• What details do users care about during use and what points affect the experience
• What issues directly affect the repurchase rate and store reputation
• Which usage scenarios of the product are worth focusing on in operation
When product development is deeply integrated with feedback from overseas users, the product advantages of manufacturing enterprises can truly be transformed into a market advantage for cross-border operations.
This is also the common growth and change of enterprises in the three cases: from “sell whatever the factory has” to gradually shifting to “optimizing products around feedback from overseas users.”
Some cases mentioned that the company performed well in the first batch, but there was an inventory backlog in the second batch. After the review, it was discovered that the problem was not only the promotion strategy, but also that the early judgment on external timing, user needs, and product compatibility was not accurate; there were also cases showing that companies began to explore product optimization directions from Amazon store reviews and return reasons. The usage scenarios and product pain points mentioned by users all became an important reference basis for subsequent product iterations.
This is an important reminder for traditional manufacturers and sellers: Product optimization in cross-border business is not only a factory-side R&D activity, but also a direct user communication action. Factories are good at making good products, but cross-border business requires sellers to continue to deeply cultivate user needs:
• Why do users choose your products and what are your core selling points
• What details do users care about during use and what points affect the experience
• What issues directly affect the repurchase rate and store reputation
• Which usage scenarios of the product are worth focusing on in operation
When product development is deeply integrated with feedback from overseas users, the product advantages of manufacturing enterprises can truly be transformed into a market advantage for cross-border operations.
4. After that, selling not only products, but also more complete brand expression
Among the three cases, there is another development trend worth watching: none of these companies have limited their business goals to “sell goods.” Some cookware companies mentioned that the next core goal is to expand from “selling pots” to “selling high quality kitchen lifestyles”; there are also garden robot companies that, after stabilizing their business, will begin to focus on brand expression, user awareness accumulation, and long-term planning.
This shows that after reaching a certain stage of cross-border business development, many traditional manufacturing enterprises will naturally face a new problem: how to move from simple product sales to a more complete brand expression.
For traditional manufacturing sellers, this doesn't mean investing a lot of resources to build a brand at the initial stage; the more realistic path is to do it step by step:
• Using high-quality products as a starting point, knocking on the doors of overseas markets
• Continuously optimize products and operations based on user feedback
• Accumulate repurchase orders and real word of mouth based on stable management
• As the product line and content are improved, an exclusive brand perception is naturally formed
In the process, sellers need to think about these questions step by step:
• How can overseas users remember your brand and what are your core memory points
• Whether all products in the store have a consistent brand tone and expression
• Whether the store page, product details, and content materials can form a clear brand perception
• In addition to the product itself, can it deliver a more complete consumer scenario and value proposition to users
From this perspective, traditional manufacturing enterprises expand their cross-border business, not only bring manufacturing capabilities to overseas markets, but also learn how to further transform manufacturing advantages into sustainable brand value.
This shows that after reaching a certain stage of cross-border business development, many traditional manufacturing enterprises will naturally face a new problem: how to move from simple product sales to a more complete brand expression.
For traditional manufacturing sellers, this doesn't mean investing a lot of resources to build a brand at the initial stage; the more realistic path is to do it step by step:
• Using high-quality products as a starting point, knocking on the doors of overseas markets
• Continuously optimize products and operations based on user feedback
• Accumulate repurchase orders and real word of mouth based on stable management
• As the product line and content are improved, an exclusive brand perception is naturally formed
In the process, sellers need to think about these questions step by step:
• How can overseas users remember your brand and what are your core memory points
• Whether all products in the store have a consistent brand tone and expression
• Whether the store page, product details, and content materials can form a clear brand perception
• In addition to the product itself, can it deliver a more complete consumer scenario and value proposition to users
From this perspective, traditional manufacturing enterprises expand their cross-border business, not only bring manufacturing capabilities to overseas markets, but also learn how to further transform manufacturing advantages into sustainable brand value.
5. 4 core inspirations for traditional manufacturing sellers
Reviewing these three practical cases together, there are 4 points of inspiration that can be directly referred to for traditional manufacturing companies that want to set up or are deepening their cross-border business:
1. At the beginning, it's more important to set up a team than to rush to grow bigger: the organizational structure is poor, and subsequent operational problems will occur over and over again. Match competencies first, then pursue scale.
2. Front office growth and back-office collaboration should be planned simultaneously: site operation, inventory management, production planning, procurement, finance, etc. It is best to establish a linkage mechanism as soon as possible to give full play to the factory's supply chain advantages.
3. Product optimization should connect to feedback from overseas users as soon as possible: Amazon reviews, return reasons, and user questions are all important sources of information for product iteration, making the product closer to customer needs.
4. After the business stabilizes, it gradually moves from selling goods to brand expression: this is not necessarily a one-step move, but it is necessary to establish brand awareness in advance so that manufacturing advantages can be transformed into long-term brand value.
1. At the beginning, it's more important to set up a team than to rush to grow bigger: the organizational structure is poor, and subsequent operational problems will occur over and over again. Match competencies first, then pursue scale.
2. Front office growth and back-office collaboration should be planned simultaneously: site operation, inventory management, production planning, procurement, finance, etc. It is best to establish a linkage mechanism as soon as possible to give full play to the factory's supply chain advantages.
3. Product optimization should connect to feedback from overseas users as soon as possible: Amazon reviews, return reasons, and user questions are all important sources of information for product iteration, making the product closer to customer needs.
4. After the business stabilizes, it gradually moves from selling goods to brand expression: this is not necessarily a one-step move, but it is necessary to establish brand awareness in advance so that manufacturing advantages can be transformed into long-term brand value.
6. Conclusions
As can be clearly seen from these three cross-border practice cases of traditional manufacturing enterprises, the actual changes in the layout of cross-border business have never been just changes in sales methods.
A deeper change is that companies are beginning to simultaneously optimize their organizational building capabilities, internal collaboration capabilities, product user insight capabilities, and the brand's ability to express itself overseas. For sellers with a manufacturing foundation, these optimizations are not an additional burden; on the contrary, they have the opportunity to become the long-term core competitiveness of the enterprise — product capability, supply chain capacity, and delivery capacity, which are the foundation for manufacturing enterprises, and the new requirements brought about by cross-border business are to further complement the ability to operate overseas users, the global market, and long-term operations on this basis.
This is also the common enlightenment brought by the three cases to all traditional manufacturing cross-border sellers: traditional manufacturing is not only about opening a store, but also completing a comprehensive upgrade of business capabilities for the future.
A deeper change is that companies are beginning to simultaneously optimize their organizational building capabilities, internal collaboration capabilities, product user insight capabilities, and the brand's ability to express itself overseas. For sellers with a manufacturing foundation, these optimizations are not an additional burden; on the contrary, they have the opportunity to become the long-term core competitiveness of the enterprise — product capability, supply chain capacity, and delivery capacity, which are the foundation for manufacturing enterprises, and the new requirements brought about by cross-border business are to further complement the ability to operate overseas users, the global market, and long-term operations on this basis.
This is also the common enlightenment brought by the three cases to all traditional manufacturing cross-border sellers: traditional manufacturing is not only about opening a store, but also completing a comprehensive upgrade of business capabilities for the future.
The above content only represents the creators' personal opinions. The data is for reference only, and does not represent the official views of Amazon Global Store.
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