Today, Corbett not only went abroad with innovative technology in the filtration industry, cooperated with leading global companies in the biopharmaceutical, medical, consumer electronics, and new energy industries, but also explored a new mode of going overseas for scientific research and experimental supplies through the layout of cross-border e-commerce. In addition to its core business, it has found a new channel to open overseas B-side traffic and reach high-quality corporate buyers.
Today, we specially invited Xie Hongyan, Vice President of Life Sciences of Corbett, and Vicky Xiong and Jackbon, e-commerce leaders to share how Corbett saw the global wave of scientific research and experimental supplies to online procurement, and used Amazon corporate purchases to complete multiple overseas C-side and B-side layouts, seize the dividends of cross-border commercial procurement, and achieve a doubling of performance!

Independent innovation is the driving force behind Corbett. At the beginning of its establishment, Corbett, like most filtration companies in China, purchased finished filter membranes from abroad and assembled them as filters domestically. However, Corbett also realized that this assembly model, which lacks technical content, will “hand over” the vast majority of profits.

Xie Hongyan | Vice President of Life Sciences, Corbett
In order to master the core technology, Corbett decided to follow the path of independent research and development. In 20 years of “membrane”, Corbett has relied on “decades of intensive cultivation” to overcome difficulties along the way. It has successively broken through many technical difficulties such as sterilization-grade filters, nanotechnology, and anti-virus filter membranes, and has truly become a leader in industry innovation. At the same time, Corbett, which is committed to becoming a global enterprise, has never stopped exploring overseas. Through multiple layouts such as direct sales to major customers and channel agents, Corbett has been exported to 132 countries and regions, and has become a technology enterprise with operations all over the world.

In communication with customers, Corbett discovered that many biotech enterprise customers also often use tools such as needle filters, ultrafiltration centrifuge tubes, and vacuum filters to conduct research. In order to provide customers with complete solutions from experiments to small tests to pilot tests, Corbett has launched its own brand of laboratory research consumables products. At present, Cobalt has products for various laboratory applications such as analytical/protein sample preparation, sterilization and filtration, microbiological testing, disposable accessories, etc., covering various scenarios such as biopharmaceuticals, medical care, universities, and scientific research institutions.
Overseas, scientific research and experimental supplies are also just a blue ocean track with great potential for development overseas and is easy to explore!For example, in biopharmaceutical companies' laboratories, R&D personnel often need to concentrate protein samples tens of times. Ultrafiltration centrifuge tubes are used in this process, and fewer than 5 companies in the world can produce such products. Corbett is one of them. And the customer unit price for this type of product is as high as 79 US dollars on Amazon!

Vicky said, “Overseas, the trend of the US and Europe moving to online procurement of scientific research and experimental supplies is very obvious. Many foreign business partners started e-commerce about 20 years ago. For example, as early as 2012, the overall revenue of scientific research reagent giant Sigma Aldrich from e-commerce exceeded 50% of total revenue. In 2021, life science giant Danaher's annual report also mentioned that e-commerce business grew by more than 35% in 2020. These all indicate that there is great potential for growth in cross-border commercial procurement of scientific research and experimental supplies. In 2021, we decided to set up an e-commerce department to test new overseas development paths. Cross-border e-commerce can also make up for the lack of coverage of traditional foreign trade peer-to-peer communication to a certain extent, and reach more overseas target customers through a combination of online+offline. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Vicky said, “After comparison, we finally chose Amazon because Amazon is one of the most mainstream e-commerce channels overseas, with very high traffic and a high concentration of customers. Moreover, Amazon also provides many tools for brand building and protection. For a well-known company like Corbett, the first stop layout of Amazon is a very correct choice. Moreover, we saw at the time that many foreign scientific research supply companies had already made a layout on Amazon, which also strengthened our determination to choose Amazon. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

💡 Tips User portraits and development trends of scientific research laboratory supplies
Currently, the main customer groups for research laboratory supplies include biopharmaceuticals, educational institutions (academic research), industrial commerce, government, and medical/clinics. Among them, the biopharmaceutical industry accounts for the largest share. The volume in the US reached 10.2 billion US dollars in 2022, accounting for 42.5%, and maintained a compound annual growth rate of 10% from 2021 to 2024 [1]. In the future, with the improvement of delivery technology and the increase in online product selection, the trend of online procurement of scientific research and experimental supplies will become more and more prominent. According to a 2023 survey, 66% of respondents said that more than 50% of laboratory products will be purchased online [2], and quality is the most central factor influencing procurement decisions [3].

For many sellers unfamiliar with scientific research and experimental supplies, this seems like a very niche category track, but as all countries increase their investment in scientific research, the global demand for scientific research laboratory supplies is rapidly increasing. Therefore, the time is right for Corbett to deploy cross-border e-commerce!Moreover, Corbett launched corporate purchases at the beginning of its entry, opening up a traffic portal for a large number of B-side corporate buyers. Through the C-end and B-side dual layout, sales skyrocketed all the way.

Vicky said, “In 2022, it took us three months to get ready to officially start operating on Amazon. We placed our first order within a week of launch, totaling 158 US dollars. In half a year, our monthly sales reached 10,000 US dollars, and we have continued to grow rapidly. Star products such as needle filters also received Amazon's Choice, and ultrafiltration centrifuge tubes also ranked in the top 3 in the Amazon category. Currently, our biggest order on Amazon comes from a corporate purchase, an order from Stanford University, with a customer unit price of 3,000 US dollars. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Compared to many “impenetrable” categories, scientific research and experimental supplies have a very clear product selection direction, a stable sales cycle, and a very clear customer base. Moreover, Corbett also has a greater first-mover advantage — as a research enterprise focusing on cutting-edge technology, Corbett has rich practical experience in R&D, and the products it creates are more in line with the needs of overseas researchers, which makes it easier for Corbett to enter the cross-border commercial procurement market.
However, Corbett's ability to achieve such outstanding results from the beginning is definitely inseparable from their early formulation of thorough, detailed, and effective operating strategies for mainstream customer groups such as enterprises, universities, and scientific research institutions.

How does Corbett prepare for cross-border commercial procurement in the early stages?
Vicky said:
01 In terms of category layout, we focus on the category of scientific laboratory supplies, which is one of the most promising categories for Amazon companies to buy. Biopharmaceuticals, healthcare, and universities are all core user groups. In 2022, the global revenue of scientific research and laboratory supplies has reached 58.3 billion US dollars, and will maintain a growth rate of more than 5% to 7% [4].
02 We have conducted thorough research, fully understood the market's general market traffic, potential customer needs, competitors' situation and prices, and have more clear goals and strategies.
03 In the past, our factory side was all about general trade. Production logistics were completely different from cross-border e-commerce, so after receiving our first order, we held about five meetings to standardize the Amazon FBA shipping process internally.
04 Before, we didn't pay special attention to photo shooting or brand promotion, but after setting up cross-border e-commerce, we specially recruited professional designers to customize the page and increase the conversion rate of Listings.
05 In terms of pricing strategy, we chose a price slightly lower than the competition, adopted a strategy to first occupy market share and attract new customers, and more smoothly complete the early launch of the new product when it was cold launched.
06 We also pay special attention to brand protection. We first registered our brand on Amazon to prevent the brand from being infringed or misused.

However, no matter how meticulous and thorough the preparations are, they will inevitably encounter unexpected problems during specific implementation. As far as Corbett is concerned, it has also encountered some difficult problems in Amazon's operations.
Vicky said, “First, in terms of logistics, we mainly use a combination of FBA+FBM. As a traditional production foreign trade enterprise, we used to be quite rugged in terms of packaging, but the volume of foreign trade orders was relatively large, and the impact was relatively small. However, there is a characteristic of cross-border e-commerce, that is, orders are small but the order quantity is large. If the packaging is inappropriate, it will cause shipping costs to be relatively high. Therefore, within two months, we also optimized the product packaging in a targeted manner to make the package more in line with FBA shipping requirements.
Second, in terms of cross-border payments, the payment methods of cross-border e-commerce are also very different from ordinary trade, and require the company's internal finance to explore and establish new standards and procedures.
Third, in terms of customs declaration, the traditional foreign trade customs declaration method is 0110, while cross-border e-commerce is 9710/9610. We specially invited professional cross-border e-commerce customs clearance teachers from outside to help us with our first cross-border customs declaration. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

After solving these problems, Corbett's sales on Amazon have grown at a very high level. Monthly sales have reached 20,000 US dollars, an increase of 71% over the previous year [5]. Up to now, 36% of Corbett's orders have come from corporate purchases. At the same time, the vast majority of non-corporate purchase orders also come from researchers or corporate purchasers. The total repurchase rate is as high as 30.3%, and there are very few returns. For example, in March 2024, Corbett had hundreds of orders, no returns, and the return rate for many months was 0%.
Among the rapidly growing orders, there is no shortage of world-renowned universities such as Harvard University, MIT, and Stanford University. This has also made the Corbett brand well-known by more overseas companies and research institutions, further expanding the size of the overseas customer base, and making the business grow more steady and faster.

Through Amazon corporate purchases, Corbett has accurately reached core customers such as universities and scientific research institutions, and Corbett also has rich experience in how to turn these potential customers into loyal users. After more than a year of practical work, even for products with extremely B-side attributes, Corbett can do operational planning, new product launch, drainage promotion, sales conversion, and use Amazon's tools and products more effectively.

Jackbon said:
01 In product selection planning, we will use popular keywords in Amazon brand analysis to help plan products. For example, we will look at what devices or products we can do in the term Filter (filter) to find a more suitable product selection direction for us. The business opportunity detector and product selection compass can also help us understand category traffic, such as general market data such as return rate, conversion rate, and click rate, and help us decide whether this product can be made.
02 In terms of listing optimization, different materials and different specifications are combined with each other, so we have a lot of SKUs, but if we use material as a keyword for promotion, there is very little promotion traffic. In response to this situation, we will integrate SKUs of different materials into the same link, which is much higher than links with distributed weight in terms of traffic, and can also show customers the comprehensiveness of our products and attract more customers.
03 In terms of advertising traffic, Corbett will focus more on manual advertising. Because automated ads can reach core customers with relatively few keywords, if keywords are superimposed on each other, there will be very little traffic. Then, when advertising, Corbett will directly use big words, such as “needle filter,” to improve the overall conversion rate. In terms of effectiveness, manually selected words are more accurate and effective than automatically selected words.

In the early stages of doing a good job in basic operations, Amazon Enterprise Purchasing provides more targeted tools for B-side cross-border commercial procurement businesses. And Corbett also has a unique experience in using these tools:
Jackbon said, “At present, Corbett has 100% set up BPQD, and the discount for 2 items has reached 8%. Through this tool, Corbett provides corporate buyers with more competitive prices, which has become one of the keys for Corbett to maintain rapid growth and continue to develop new customers. "

Business discount blue badge to attract more clicks
Products will have the opportunity to get a blue corporate discount badge on the home page, search results page, and other ad detail pages for businesses to get more exposure and clicks.

Additional display on the enterprise side to increase exposure
Products will have the opportunity to be displayed on the corporate procurement promotion section, section, special event page, etc. on the corporate homepage for additional display. You will also have the opportunity to enjoy an additional homepage display when the ASIN discount is set to > 5% off.

The detail page highlights corporate discounts to increase conversions
Highlight business prices and quantities on product detail pages to encourage business buyers to place orders quickly.

Enterprise Price and Quantity Discounting (BPQD) usage path
● Individual ASIN settings: Seller Central > Inventory Management > Business Price/Add Quantity Discounts
● Bulk ASIN Setup: Seller Central > Determine Price > Automate Pricing > Create a New Pricing Rule
● Automatic Business Discount Analysis: Seller Central > B2B > Business Discount Analysis

Jackbon said, “For sterilized needle filters that are used more frequently, Cobalt will use Amazon Bulk Sales Service (ABS) to provide options of different specifications, such as 10 packs and 100 packs. Many customers will choose small-batch packaging to try it out first, and then buy a large number of products at once when repurchasing. The combination of ABS and BPQD has effectively met the procurement needs of many overseas customers. Of the March 2024 orders, the proportion of 100 packs has reached 11%. This large number of orders will help reduce logistics costs and improve sales efficiency. "

After achieving rapid growth in the US, Corbett also completed the layout of the Japanese site in the first half of 2023, and referred to Amazon's sales data and past performance in categories that had a strong focus. In the future, they will continue their furious journey on the scientific research supplies circuit, bring innovative Chinese technology and products to more countries, and accelerate the world's scientific research.

What do you think of the future of scientific research and laboratory supplies?
Vicky said, “Our industry has been transforming to online e-commerce for nearly 20 years, including our German and American competitors, all laying out this track. This is a mainstream development trend, and it is also a blue ocean circuit with great potential. Moreover, compared with common C-end consumer products, scientific research laboratory supplies have more clear usage scenarios and market requirements. In the future, we will continue to focus on our core technical capabilities, rely on our accumulation in R&D and production to continuously improve our product and brand power, attract more overseas user groups, and unlock greater business opportunities for cross-border commercial procurement through Amazon corporate purchases. “