The commercial kitchen equipment they sell on Amazon is very popular with a wide range of business users, and since its launch, it has continued to receive purchases from well-known American restaurants, food companies, and well-known hotel chains.

Jingde International has made wedding dresses for famous overseas brands, and their factory has been deeply involved in the field of commercial kitchen equipment for more than 10 years. It now uses Amazon Business to launch its own brand, Kitma, and sells products directly to terminal Little B users in North America, entering the global commercial procurement market, and has achieved initial success.

“In the field of commercial kitchen equipment, the factory has been doing OEM/ODM business for more than ten years, supporting many major overseas brands. We want to be deeply involved in this field, so entering the retail market and establishing our own brand in overseas markets is a problem we cannot avoid. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Francisco, general manager of Jingde International, told us, “However, we cannot bear the sunk costs, placement costs, and uncontrollable risks that occur during cooperation with distributors through traditional channels. Therefore, cross-border e-commerce is a great opportunity for us to get rid of these problems, but initially we wanted to build our own website.

“I didn't think about Amazon in the beginning. “Because I don't think the product fits,” Francisco said. Consumers on integrated e-commerce websites are mainly C-side, and our products are all commercial kitchen equipment, aimed at B-side customers. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“On the other hand, we learned that there is a vertical e-commerce company in the US that makes commercial kitchen equipment. The annual sales volume in North America has exceeded 1 billion US dollars, and it is still growing by 40% every year. This shocked us so much that the idea to build a brand's own website came about. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

However, there are many bottlenecks such as insufficient personnel experience, operating costs, drainage costs, etc., causing plans to build a self-contained website to be continuously proposed, questioned, overturned, and restarted...

Later, a chance encounter with an “Amazon insider” on an airplane gave Hyung De the idea of going online on Amazon.

“It's quite dramatic to say. Francisco said, “I was shocked that the seller I met on the plane made clothes. Amazon's sales last year were at the level of 1 billion dollars. He also asked why we didn't do Amazon; it really was 'one word to wake up the dreamer! 'Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Francisco began collecting information about Amazon from various sources: the many successful seller stories on Amazon's global store account gave him initial confidence; at the same time, Amazon's philosophy of pursuing product quality coincided with the type of ethics advocating quality.

● Amazon Business is a one-stop shopping site for corporate and institutional buyers launched by Amazon in 2015. Its domain name is also Amazon.com.
● Sign up for an Amazon Business customer account, log in to Amazon.com, and you will see the Amazon Business page.
● By purchasing from above, you can get more favorable price discounts, billing period, and logistics delivery fee discounts than individual consumers.
● After more than 3 years of accumulation, Amazon Business now has millions of corporate and institutional buyers around the world, and sales are expected to exceed 10 billion US dollars in 2018.

“The investment manager told us that small B users of all kinds of offline terminals, including restaurants and food companies, have made purchases directly on Amazon Business. Their procurement volume is still growing rapidly, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 200%. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Francisco said, “At the same time, commercial kitchen equipment is still a relatively blue ocean category on Amazon. So we decided to follow up right away. It only took 7 days from registration to launch. "

The restaurant industry's rapid increase in procurement volume on Amazon Business is no accident, but because Amazon Business has solved their procurement pain points.

① The North American restaurant industry is dominated by small to medium sized restaurants. Small to medium size puts restaurant owners at a disadvantage when it comes to purchasing.
According to the US National Restaurant Association (NRA)'s 2017 annual report, 90% of restaurants have fewer than 50 employees, 70% of restaurants have no branches, and a large number of restaurants are small, similar to small and medium-sized enterprises [1]. As a result, their procurement volume is low, suppliers in the face of traditional channels lack bargaining power, and sometimes they have to order more to meet the minimum order quantity, leading to an inventory backlog.
Purchasing on Amazon Business addresses this pain point with a smaller minimum order quantity and FBA 2-day delivery service, so they don't need to order excess inventory, use as you go, go as you order, optimize the supply chain, and save on collateral costs [2].

② At the same time, because of the small scale and the restaurant's poor resilience to risks, the owner pays special attention to controlling operating costs. He usually does extensive research and hands-on procurement matters, and the Internet can naturally meet this demand.
The NRA report also shows that in 2014, 64% of restaurant owners purchased raw materials through online shopping. By 2016, that percentage had increased to 75% [3].

③ In addition, more and more restaurant owners are coming to Amazon Business to purchase: a huge selection of products - from kitchen equipment, tableware and tableware, to waiter clothing and children's dining chairs, with many brands; with detailed product descriptions and numerous customer reviews, so they can compare, carefully select, and purchase in one stop .

Lower costs and a more convenient purchasing experience led to a 195% increase in procurement in the catering industry on Amazon Business in 2017, ranking second among 14 vertical industries. The major trend made Shinde International stop hesitating, suspended preparations for a 3-year self-built website project, and quickly began the path of Amazon Business.

As general manager, Francisco took the lead and started from scratch. While studying hard and learning Amazon's operational knowledge, he formed a team of 10 people composed of operations, art, and product development, which quickly achieved results:

Francisco firmly stated, “No matter what I do, I always believe that if the direction is right, hard work is my only way; if the direction is wrong, no matter how much effort is in vain. We are very happy to have found the right direction for Amazon Business. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

“The team was very surprised and proud to hear about this achievement from the investment manager!“Qian Tingting, director of e-commerce operations at Xingde International, said, “In addition to our achievements, what excites me the most is that we can directly reach B-side customers on the other side of the ocean at home, and our products have been recognized by them.

Another company ordered three times. We searched their company name, found their official website, and found that they originally made custom street hot dog carts and pizza carts!Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

“From zero to nearly one million dollars in sales, it took less than a year, which is much faster than the offline business. So we have great confidence in Amazon Business. It is expected to achieve monthly sales of one million US dollars by 2019!” Francisco added.

However, behind the results, it was definitely not all smooth sailing. With a team that started from scratch, Francisco, a traditional manufacturer, faced many difficulties. The first of these was how to do a good job in selecting the first batch of products.

“Years of OEM have given us a certain understanding of the US market; however, we have no idea what products are suitable online. “Francisco said,” Francisco said, “What is clear is that if we want to do well, we must differentiate and develop separate product lines for online use. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

① The first step in differentiation is to strengthen packaging protection.
Traditional trading factories are FOB models, and in the Amazon model, products have to go through all aspects of first-stage logistics, overseas warehouses to FBA, and FBA delivery before they reach consumers.
If there is one more link, there is one more possibility that the goods will be damaged.
In particular, commercial-classified products, such as refrigerators, have complex structures, and unprofessional delivery personnel can lead to product damage, additional after-sales costs, and bad reviews. In response, Shinde International has improved product packaging, assisted anti-shock testing, and strived to minimize cargo damage caused by logistics.

② In terms of product differentiation, Type De International has also done a lot of exploration:
The first task is to clarify the appearance and utility patents of offline brand products, redesign them, and avoid disputes caused by infringement.
Second, while guaranteeing the original function of the product, the volume of the product is appropriately reduced to reduce logistics costs and improve cost performance.
Finally, in the direction of creating the best cost performance ratio, remove some gorgeous exterior designs, and design products with simple and practical ideas.

③ Since its launch, based on seller back-office data and in line with the suggestions of Amazon account managers, Type German International has continuously developed a special online product line: from commercial kitchen three-door refrigerators, to professional ice makers, dishwashers, beer coolers, back kitchen cleaning sinks, to sandwich display stands, etc., to provide customers with more choices.

In the future, Shinde International's plan is to build a vertical one-stop shopping store on Amazon Business.

“If you want to open a restaurant, you can buy everything from kitchen equipment to utensils, table dining, and even cashier equipment here. ” Director of Operations Qian Tingting said.

The entry threshold for large commercial products is relatively high, and it is an absolute blue ocean classification. Therefore, for such Chinese sellers, entering Amazon Business at this time is a major development opportunity. However, the difficulties of operation are completely different from small consumer goods:

These confusion was quickly resolved with the help of the Amazon Business Investment Promotion Team after in-depth understanding of Amazon's rules by the operation team of Type De International:

☑ FBA vs overseas warehouse self-delivery
In the process of testing, Shinde International discovered that FBA products had been used. Exposure and sales had increased to varying degrees, and delivery costs for some products had also decreased. Therefore, the current strategy is as long as all products that are eligible for FBA are shipped through FBA.

“However, some large products are not suitable for FBA due to damage and high delivery costs. We plan to join Amazon's SFP program (full name Seller Fulfilled Prime), so that self-shipped products can also enjoy the Prime logo, so they have a greater ability to compete in the Buy Box and compete with FBA sellers. Not only can you use the stocking and personnel capabilities of our 3 existing overseas warehouses, but you can also reap the benefits of FBA. ” Francisco added.

☑ Communication of product usage instructions
Commercial equipment is relatively complicated to use, and Amazon Business allows sellers to upload product user manuals with one click, along with videos and A+ parameter instructions, reducing communication and transaction costs between the two parties, and the team can solve other problems in the time saved, greatly improving efficiency.

Francisco told us, “Unlike C-end products, our products are sold to restaurants and help restaurants make money. Therefore, we will further improve the quality, appearance, and longevity of our products, and extend the warranty period to build a brand image in the minds of restaurant owners with our strength.

“If Amazon's business reaches a certain size, we'll consider setting up a local experience store. Francisco said, “Through product display in offline experience stores, customers are guided to buy online. At the same time, the brand effect accumulated by Amazon online will also allow more customers to come to our offline experience stores, forming a positive cycle. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

“On Amazon, the kitchen equipment industry is still a blue ocean, so we must seize this opportunity. In the future, we will also be stationed in Japan, Europe, etc. Wherever the Amazon Business website opens, we will join hands with Amazon Business to jointly lay out the next generation trade chain and become a global supplier!"