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Seller story
0 experience sold out for 200 million?This traditional foreign trade factory in Hangzhou relied on 3 tricks to become a big seller on Amazon!
April 17, 2025
Reading time about 6 minutes
“If I hadn't worn your helmets, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to live until now. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“The CARTMAN team was shocked when they received this thank you note from the customer. That is, at this moment, they really realized that their products are far more than just ordinary automobile and motorcycle parts, but also a lifesaver for countless users at critical times. However, this kind of immediate demand has a size that is difficult to measure in the global market.
CARTMAN originated from a traditional foreign trade hardware factory in Hangzhou. At first, the team had no experience in the field of cross-border e-commerce, but with Amazon, they successfully achieved an amazing leap forward. What exactly did they do to achieve a global multi-site layout and break the 200 million yuan mark in annual sales!Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“The CARTMAN team was shocked when they received this thank you note from the customer. That is, at this moment, they really realized that their products are far more than just ordinary automobile and motorcycle parts, but also a lifesaver for countless users at critical times. However, this kind of immediate demand has a size that is difficult to measure in the global market.
CARTMAN originated from a traditional foreign trade hardware factory in Hangzhou. At first, the team had no experience in the field of cross-border e-commerce, but with Amazon, they successfully achieved an amazing leap forward. What exactly did they do to achieve a global multi-site layout and break the 200 million yuan mark in annual sales!Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Next, let's sort out a practical plan for transforming traditional foreign trade factories into cross-border e-commerce from their experiences!
From factory to brand
They became the first to reap the cross-border dividends
They became the first to reap the cross-border dividends
Hangzhou, as the capital of silk and the water town of fish and rice, is also an important industrial belt for the Yangtze River Delta tool and auto parts production cluster. CARTMAN was born here. For decades, they have focused on foreign trade foundry, and their business covers various categories such as automotive supplies, tools, kitchen and home furnishings. It cannot be described as unsuccessful, but demand for pure foundry fluctuates greatly, profits are low, and the pricing voice is not controlled, but it is a bottleneck in enterprise development that it is bound to face in the future.
In 2012, CARTMAN decided to do something “starting from zero” — transforming a cross-border brand seller, and officially joined Amazon at the end of 2013!
No experience?Then low cost trial and error!CARTMAN selected a basic toolkit that was originally popular offline as a “pioneer product”. After fine-tuning and adding its own logo, it went on Amazon to test the reaction of overseas consumers.
Surprisingly, CARTMAN was lucky enough to be among the first to reap the cross-border dividends, and the order results far exceeded expectations!
No experience?Then low cost trial and error!CARTMAN selected a basic toolkit that was originally popular offline as a “pioneer product”. After fine-tuning and adding its own logo, it went on Amazon to test the reaction of overseas consumers.
Surprisingly, CARTMAN was lucky enough to be among the first to reap the cross-border dividends, and the order results far exceeded expectations!
Michael, Head of Cross-border Business at CARTMAN
“Transforming across borders is challenging, but if you find the right direction, you can open up a new track!Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“Transforming across borders is challenging, but if you find the right direction, you can open up a new track!Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
3 tricks to make a big sale of 200 million
Turns out they play Amazon like this
Turns out they play Amazon like this
Starting the transformation with zero experience, to opening multiple sites, a big sale with annual sales of 200 million dollars. After digging deep into its development history, Xiaobian was pleasantly surprised to discover “Cartman's Three Tricks to Cross Border Tricks”, which we will now reveal to you one by one!
The first trick is product polishing+brand design. Differentiation is not a gimmick
CARTMAN has its own 30,000 square meter factory in Shaoxing and has 100 workers, backed by a complete factory system. However, instead of resting on the advantages of the factory, they focused their gaze closely on “user experience.”
Taking the toolkit as an example, CARTMAN specially adopted a packaging design in the image of a robot. In the relatively traditional field of automotive supplies, this unique design instantly attracted the attention of consumers. In terms of helmet products, CARTMAN has repeatedly improved the style and material in response to the head characteristics and actual usage scenarios of European and American consumers. Every adjustment is an in-depth exploration and accurate response to consumer needs.
More importantly, before each product goes live, CARTMAN's cross-border operations team takes full advantage of the Amazon Vine program. Before the peak sales season, each product link was shipped in small quantities to the warehouse, and they applied for and collected at least 10 Vine reviews as soon as possible. Based on these evaluation results, CARTMAN will adjust product strategies in a timely manner to effectively increase the “explosion rate” of new product launches.
CARTMAN has its own 30,000 square meter factory in Shaoxing and has 100 workers, backed by a complete factory system. However, instead of resting on the advantages of the factory, they focused their gaze closely on “user experience.”
Taking the toolkit as an example, CARTMAN specially adopted a packaging design in the image of a robot. In the relatively traditional field of automotive supplies, this unique design instantly attracted the attention of consumers. In terms of helmet products, CARTMAN has repeatedly improved the style and material in response to the head characteristics and actual usage scenarios of European and American consumers. Every adjustment is an in-depth exploration and accurate response to consumer needs.
More importantly, before each product goes live, CARTMAN's cross-border operations team takes full advantage of the Amazon Vine program. Before the peak sales season, each product link was shipped in small quantities to the warehouse, and they applied for and collected at least 10 Vine reviews as soon as possible. Based on these evaluation results, CARTMAN will adjust product strategies in a timely manner to effectively increase the “explosion rate” of new product launches.
Michael, Head of Cross-border Business at CARTMAN
“It's not about moving factory goods to Amazon, it's about redesigning products that fit Amazon. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“It's not about moving factory goods to Amazon, it's about redesigning products that fit Amazon. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
This obsession with product refinement and brand design has made CARTMAN's products have distinct differentiating characteristics on the Amazon platform; it is by no means just an empty gimmick.
The second trick is to make good use of platform tools, don't shoot your head when talking about data
In the early stages of development, CARTMAN also fell into the dilemma of relying entirely on “shooting the head” in key aspects such as product selection, price adjustment, and stocking. But as they gained more experience and a deeper understanding of the platform, they found a winning method—using Amazon back-office data to make scientific decisions.
In the early stages of development, CARTMAN also fell into the dilemma of relying entirely on “shooting the head” in key aspects such as product selection, price adjustment, and stocking. But as they gained more experience and a deeper understanding of the platform, they found a winning method—using Amazon back-office data to make scientific decisions.
● Product selection iterative level: CARTMAN will use the Amazon business opportunity detector tool to summarize buyer reviews and feedback, and use the voice of consumers as a compass for product optimization. By analyzing sales trends, CARTMAN can keenly predict which products will become popular products. At the same time, tracking the keywords used by consumers also provides them with important clues to explore new product opportunities.
● Logistics and inventory level: Some products operated by CARTMAN vary greatly in sales during off-peak seasons, which undoubtedly poses serious challenges to storage management. During the peak season, when the number of orders skyrockets, storage capacity becomes urgent; in the off-season, inventory is overstocked, taking up a large amount of capital and storage space. After trying various solutions, CARTMAN finally chose to use Amazon AWD warehouses and multi-channel delivery (MCF) services. Faced with storage pressure brought about by the off-peak season for some products, CARTMAN transferred half a month's safety inventory and new product inventory to AWD warehouses by optimizing preparation and logistics algorithms, which greatly relieved storage pressure and also reduced logistics costs. The peak season replenishment efficiency increased by 30% compared to the past.
● Logistics and inventory level: Some products operated by CARTMAN vary greatly in sales during off-peak seasons, which undoubtedly poses serious challenges to storage management. During the peak season, when the number of orders skyrockets, storage capacity becomes urgent; in the off-season, inventory is overstocked, taking up a large amount of capital and storage space. After trying various solutions, CARTMAN finally chose to use Amazon AWD warehouses and multi-channel delivery (MCF) services. Faced with storage pressure brought about by the off-peak season for some products, CARTMAN transferred half a month's safety inventory and new product inventory to AWD warehouses by optimizing preparation and logistics algorithms, which greatly relieved storage pressure and also reduced logistics costs. The peak season replenishment efficiency increased by 30% compared to the past.
Within CARTMAN, there is an unwavering principle: we don't rely on feelings to make decisions; we use data to speak for everything. This data-based decision-making method allows CARTMAN to walk more steadily every step of the way on Amazon, greatly reducing decision-making risks and improving operational efficiency.
The third trick is flexible supply chain+multi-team collaboration to respond to the market quickly
Traditional factories often seem unable to cope with changes. Sudden changes in market trends, adjustments in platform rules, and sudden bursts in demand can all cause traditional factories to fall into trouble and make quick adjustments. However, CARTMAN successfully broke this curse and was able to “catch up as soon as there is a signal”.
Traditional factories often seem unable to cope with changes. Sudden changes in market trends, adjustments in platform rules, and sudden bursts in demand can all cause traditional factories to fall into trouble and make quick adjustments. However, CARTMAN successfully broke this curse and was able to “catch up as soon as there is a signal”.
● A multi-pronged approach to create a flexible supply chain: CARTMAN has invested a large amount of resources to build an integrated supply chain management system, linking procurement, production, inventory, sales, etc. to achieve real-time information sharing, so that managers can grasp supply chain dynamics in real time. At the same time, professional data analysts are introduced to thoroughly analyze market demand and supply chain performance data using advanced algorithms to provide strong support for decision-making. Furthermore, the supply chain can be monitored in real-time for 24 hours through the Internet of Things, and abnormal situations are automatically warned. The modular production concept is introduced in the production process, and automotive supplies are broken down into multiple independent modules. Each module can be independently produced and assembled to achieve rapid SKU switching. In order to further improve production efficiency, CARTMAN has also introduced automated production lines and robots to reduce labor costs while greatly improving production flexibility and ensuring rapid product delivery.
● Effective collaboration between external teams: In terms of supplier management, CARTMAN has established long-term stable cooperative relationships with key suppliers. The two sides communicate regularly to jointly develop flexible procurement plans and inventory strategies. By sharing market demand information, suppliers can prepare for production in advance, effectively shorten delivery cycles, and reduce supply chain uncertainty. In terms of logistics distribution, CARTMAN has established diversified logistics distribution channels. In addition to using Amazon's AWD warehouses, it has also reached cooperation with many logistics service providers. According to the characteristics of different products and customer needs, the most suitable logistics method is flexibly selected. Once there is a problem with a logistics service provider, CARTMAN can quickly switch to another partner to ensure that the goods are delivered to the customer in a timely manner.
● Efficient internal team collaboration: Processes between departments such as product selection, stocking, advertising, logistics, and customer service have been seamlessly connected. Furthermore, CARTMAN has built its own ERP system, through which it is possible to check the performance of each port in real time. Once problems are discovered, they can be fixed quickly.
● Effective collaboration between external teams: In terms of supplier management, CARTMAN has established long-term stable cooperative relationships with key suppliers. The two sides communicate regularly to jointly develop flexible procurement plans and inventory strategies. By sharing market demand information, suppliers can prepare for production in advance, effectively shorten delivery cycles, and reduce supply chain uncertainty. In terms of logistics distribution, CARTMAN has established diversified logistics distribution channels. In addition to using Amazon's AWD warehouses, it has also reached cooperation with many logistics service providers. According to the characteristics of different products and customer needs, the most suitable logistics method is flexibly selected. Once there is a problem with a logistics service provider, CARTMAN can quickly switch to another partner to ensure that the goods are delivered to the customer in a timely manner.
● Efficient internal team collaboration: Processes between departments such as product selection, stocking, advertising, logistics, and customer service have been seamlessly connected. Furthermore, CARTMAN has built its own ERP system, through which it is possible to check the performance of each port in real time. Once problems are discovered, they can be fixed quickly.
Michael, Head of Cross-border Business at CARTMAN
“We operate as a technology company. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
This innovative operating model enables CARTMAN to respond quickly and maintain a leading position in the face of complex and changing market environments.
“We operate as a technology company. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
This innovative operating model enables CARTMAN to respond quickly and maintain a leading position in the face of complex and changing market environments.
Amazon gave us a true global view
With meticulous product control and operation strategies, CARTMAN's sales on Amazon will rise to 200 million yuan in 2024. In order to meet the diverse needs of different consumers, CARTMAN resolutely implemented a multi-brand strategy and launched new brands one after another in categories such as kitchen supplies, electronic products, and clean water series, and rapidly broadened its market footprint.
Furthermore, CARTMAN is also cultivating the original brand vertically and building sub-brands for the high and low end markets. Among them, low-terminal brands accurately target customers seeking cost performance, and their products adhere to practical and durable characteristics to fully meet the basic needs of daily life; high-end sub-brands point to the high-end market and introduce cutting-edge technology and advanced materials to provide consumers with the ultimate user experience and enhance brand competitiveness in all aspects.
Michael, Head of Cross-border Business at CARTMAN
“I used to support myself with foreign trade orders, but now I use brand influence to open up the world. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
“I used to support myself with foreign trade orders, but now I use brand influence to open up the world. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
In the wave of economic globalization, brand globalization is imperative. CARTMAN actively lays out. Following the development of sites in Australia, Japan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, CARTMAN then designated Amazon Europe as a new battleground, making it clear that it is necessary to promote high-quality brands to the world.
The team continued the operating experience of other sites, and first conducted in-depth research focusing on European consumers' needs, preferences, aesthetic concepts and usage habits, and optimized product development based on this. In the supply chain, take the initiative to join hands with local European suppliers to quickly upgrade production processes in our own factories to ensure that product quality meets European standards. In terms of talent recruitment, we vigorously recruit professionals familiar with the European e-commerce market, set up a localized operation team, and make every effort to prepare for the European site business. From product development to market operation, every step has been carefully polished, and we are committed to preparing energy for entering the European market!
The team continued the operating experience of other sites, and first conducted in-depth research focusing on European consumers' needs, preferences, aesthetic concepts and usage habits, and optimized product development based on this. In the supply chain, take the initiative to join hands with local European suppliers to quickly upgrade production processes in our own factories to ensure that product quality meets European standards. In terms of talent recruitment, we vigorously recruit professionals familiar with the European e-commerce market, set up a localized operation team, and make every effort to prepare for the European site business. From product development to market operation, every step has been carefully polished, and we are committed to preparing energy for entering the European market!
A unique “business experience”
Helping new sellers set sail
Helping new sellers set sail
Looking back at the development history of CARTMAN, adherence to product quality, understanding of platform logic, and optimization of the supply chain are the keys to its success. “To do cross-border e-commerce, the product is the foundation, the platform is the support, and the supply chain is the guarantee. The three complement each other. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Based on his own successful experiences, CARTMAN has provided a series of practical suggestions for new sellers. New sellers should avoid blindly following the trend and invest; instead, they should thoroughly understand the demand characteristics and competitive trends of the target market through market research, industry reports, etc., and identify market entry points. In the product development stage, we always put product quality first, put effort into polishing product details, and focus on brand image building. Through unique brand positioning and high-quality product service, we gradually accumulate brand awareness. Michael also encouraged new sellers: “The road to cross-border e-commerce is full of thorns, but as long as you are down-to-earth and follow the rules of industry development, you will definitely be able to achieve the ideals you had when taking the first step overseas. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Based on his own successful experiences, CARTMAN has provided a series of practical suggestions for new sellers. New sellers should avoid blindly following the trend and invest; instead, they should thoroughly understand the demand characteristics and competitive trends of the target market through market research, industry reports, etc., and identify market entry points. In the product development stage, we always put product quality first, put effort into polishing product details, and focus on brand image building. Through unique brand positioning and high-quality product service, we gradually accumulate brand awareness. Michael also encouraged new sellers: “The road to cross-border e-commerce is full of thorns, but as long as you are down-to-earth and follow the rules of industry development, you will definitely be able to achieve the ideals you had when taking the first step overseas. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Every traditional factory is worth trying again. From traditional hardware foreign trade factories to global brands, from 0 experience to 200 million annual sales, CARTMAN is not a shortcut, but a clear upgrade path:
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