In 2019, the huge traffic dividend of cross-border e-commerce became a new outlet for entrepreneurship, attracting countless people to enter this circuit. It was in this year that the 3 founders met in Shenzhen to officially establish Wumi Technology. Relying on the accumulated experience of previous foreign trade work, Wumi Technology chose to focus on the bathroom circuit and find its own place overseas by deepening the cultivation of a “star item”. And for the first stop, Wumi Technology boldly chose Amazon Japan.
Xiao Zheng said, “I chose the Japanese station for three reasons:
First, Amazon has a level playing field, suitable for sellers like us who uphold long-term principles and pursue sustainable growth;
Second, Amazon has a large size overseas, and we can stand on the shoulders of giants when we cross borders;
Third, in the past, Japanese people did a better job in the field of sanitary ware. We can learn about their ideas, design, product thinking, and user experience on Amazon Japan to promote the development of the domestic sanitary ware industry. Also, the pace of the Japanese station is relatively slow, making it more suitable for sellers who can calm down and work on technology and brands. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

When it comes to selecting products for the startup, Wumi Technology also has its own unique thoughts and judgments. In 2019, intelligent bathroom products emerged endlessly, and smart soap dispensers that can self-detect and automatically foam have just appeared. This made Wumi Technology keenly discover a racetrack with great potential and begin using soap dispensers as the core product for cross-border entrepreneurship.
There are three main reasons for making this choice:

01 The advantages of Shenzhen's industrial belt are remarkable
The Shenzhen Industrial Belt has huge advantages in terms of both talent and supply chain, so that Wumi Technology can differentiate itself based on multi-dimensional needs and “compete” with overseas brands. For example, we made a circulation fan at the time. At the time, there were 110 volt products on the market, but Shenzhen had already made a good breakthrough in 3.7 volt products, and it was possible to use very little electricity to drive relatively large fan blades. The maximum monthly sales volume of this circulation fan reached 5,000 units.

02 Innovative products with great potential
At the time, only two local brands were making soap dispensers on Amazon Japan, and one of them didn't support soap from other brands, making soap dispensers a race track that had yet to be developed and had great potential.

03 Raising public health awareness in Japan
An outbreak that swept the world in 2019 also raised the hygiene awareness of residents in various countries. Washing hands is a “small” thing that people value more and more. Naturally, the smart soap dispenser, which can wash hands without contact and is effective against bacteria, has been welcomed by Japanese consumers.

Xiao Zheng said, “Shenzhen has hosted countless young people with energy and dreams. They are willing to work and invade. Shenzhen has so many small and beautiful small and medium-sized enterprises. Everyone has a good spirit of cooperation and collaboration. Everyone will not be very stubborn about the scale of development. Everyone will be very stubborn in innovation and professionalism. This makes cross-border enterprises in the Shenzhen Industrial Belt have a steady stream of innovation momentum, and there is no need to “reinvent the wheel.” Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Actual cases rely on industrial R&D advantages to promote product innovation and iteration
The core component in a soap dispenser is a pump, which has a rubber component. However, when consumers use conditioner, body wash, or liquid soap containing alcohol, this component is not compatible, so the chemical companies, mold companies, and injection molding companies we cooperated with in Shenzhen at the time were able to sit together to discuss a relatively balanced solution, and use more innovative research results to make the soap dispenser meet the needs of more soap liquid on the market.

Thanks to the advantages of the Chinese industrial belt, the smart soap dispenser created by Wumi Technology has quickly become a “star item” in stores, and sales have increased rapidly in Japan. Up to now, it has sold more than 300,000 units, with sales reaching 670 million yen, making UMiMile truly the top 1 soap dispenser in Japan!

As the lives of global consumers return to normal, Wumi Technology has encountered new problems. It is impossible to achieve stable and continuous business growth with a single soap dispenser. They need to consolidate existing products and explore more business opportunities in more categories. Therefore, Wumi Technology began to focus on the “humanistic care” brand tone, hoping to find more products that make users, especially female users, happy. However, Japanese consumers are generally more rational, loyal, and pragmatic. Xiao Zheng mentioned that Japanese people who have experienced the bursting of the economic bubble are generally biased and pragmatic, and have strict requirements for any product. We not only pursue exterior design and product materials, but also value internal components and quality. However, it is also the strict and rational shopping attitude of Japanese consumers that has brought greater opportunities to Wumi Technology.

Xiao Zheng said, “There is a “wooden barrel effect” to make products in Japan. If there is any shortcoming, it may “leak out” the captured traffic. This requires the whole team to do the ultimate in every position. Therefore, the more energy and resources we need to invest in creating the perfect category, the more likely it is to succeed in Japan, and the more suitable it is for steady and steady sellers like us. Others feel that the input-output ratio is insufficient, or that huge returns cannot be achieved in the short term, but we are willing to do it. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

In this process, Wumi Technology will deeply explore the real needs of overseas consumers and cooperate deeply with the supply chain to create products more suited to the needs of overseas consumers through “micro-innovation”.
Xiao Zheng said, “On the one hand, we will learn from local brands through exhibitions, media, etc., to understand why they make products this way, break through the subjective prejudice of their own thinking, and use data from Amazon's business opportunity detector to launch new products based on our own positioning to meet the unmet needs of consumers. For example, we drew on the mother and child lamp developed by other popular products. The light is soft and warm, which is more conducive to the baby's sleep. Products with this innovative concept are very popular in Japan. They sell 2,000 orders a month, and many mothers give high reviews after purchasing them. On the other hand, every half month, we analyze popular products and consumer reviews on the market, optimize product selection based on user feedback, and cooperate with the factory to achieve it as soon as possible. For example, we have seen from feedback from Japanese consumers that they want to be able to provide different amounts of soap according to adults and children, which is more economical and also provides better protection for children, so we made a soap dispenser that can automatically identify the amount of foam based on the height of the reach, and the sales volume is very good. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

At present, Wumi Technology has about 10 supply chain partners. Through front-end demand insight and back-end manufacturing and R&D links, Wumi Technology and partners have achieved rapid development through “strong alliances”. In 2023, Wumi Technology's daily order volume reached a maximum of 2,000 orders.

Although Wumi Technology has a huge first-mover advantage in the smart bathroom circuit, it is not an easy task for Japanese consumers who focus on quality and careful calculation to recognize the Umimile brand, thereby transforming product power into brand power and boosting rapid sales growth. It is necessary to build an operating system with zero shortcomings in product selection, logistics, listing construction, promotion and drainage. In this process, Wumi Technology has its own unique approach.

01 In terms of creating listings, Amazon consumers are used to simple and efficient page design, so we will optimize based on this characteristic in line with the aesthetic preferences of Japanese consumers. More importantly, it is necessary to customize the design according to the differences of the product's core target audience. For example, products aimed at men may be relatively simple, focusing on functional parameters, while products aimed at women may fill the “emotional value” and make the listing more atmospheric and appealing. Furthermore, in listing copywriting, on the one hand, we will “learn” from reviews and optimize according to local consumers' terms, and also use some AIGC tools for optimization.

02 In terms of promotion and drainage, Japanese consumers are very easily impressed by discounts, so they must make good use of promotional methods such as Z Best Deal (Best Deal) and Deal of the Day (Deal of the Day). According to our experience, DOTD has more explosive power and can make a product grow 3-8 times. During the Prime membership period last year, DOTD increased sales of one product by 10 times, and sales also increased 7 times. Judging from the overall performance, sales volume also increased sixfold during the entire Prime membership day, with nearly 10,000 orders sold.

03 In terms of logistics, FBA not only has faster delivery times, but also saves a lot of operational energy, allowing Umimile to use energy for more valuable promotion, R&D, etc., which can be said to be our cross-border “standard”.

04 In terms of product selection and updates, we also really like to use the Vine Program to improve product selection. For example, one of the lights was originally equipped with a Micro charging port. When the new product was launched, we discovered that many consumers participating in the Vine Program wanted a Type-C interface, so we soon cooperated with the foundry to upgrade the product, and there was a very obvious increase in the popularity of this product.

Over the past few years, Umimile has impressed not only home users, but also many businesses with its outstanding experience, easy to operate, and clean smart soap dispenser. In Japan, many hotels, tourist centers, and airports have purchased Umimile products, and being able to get orders from these companies is largely due to the fact that Umimile launched Amazon Business Shopping soon after entering Amazon.
Xiao Zheng said, “As a brand originally aimed at C-end consumers, the sales volume brought about by corporate purchases was actually beyond our imagination. After starting the corporate purchase, many B-side customers soon came into contact with us, and many of them made large orders. What impressed me the most was a corporate hotel customer who bought about 300 of the best-selling soap dispensers in one go. We also shipped directly to them through FBA in Japan at the time. The whole process was very efficient, simple, and fast. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Currently, B-side orders purchased by enterprises already account for about 5% of Wumi Technology's overall orders, and are gradually growing. According to Xiao Zheng, in addition to being able to get large orders, Amazon corporate purchases also have three major advantages, which can help them expand overseas business opportunities and achieve accelerated growth:

First, B-side customers on Amazon Japan have the characteristics of high repurchase rates, low return rates, and high conversion rates. According to the data, the conversion rate for B-side orders of Wumi Technology is as high as 25%, and the repurchase rate is over 10%, while the return rate is lower than 2.6% for C-side orders, which is only 0.06%.

Second, Amazon Business offers many opportunities to reach new customers. Many corporate customers such as hotels, airports, and tourist centers found the operation team of Wumi Technology through the Inquiry Quotation Machine (CQE), which facilitated the transaction. Even before, some products that Wumi Technology thought lacked B-end attributes, such as telescopic bars, received inquiries from local Japanese companies, and the transaction was completed within two days.

Third, some enterprises may have delivery time requirements. Since Amazon companies can share C-side inventory, using FBA can greatly improve the delivery time for B-side orders. At the same time, unified management of overseas logistics inventory distribution can also be achieved, reducing operational pressure.

However, judging from Wumi Technology's experience, B-side operations are also somewhat different from C-side operations. How can we attract more business orders?Wumi Technology has also given a number of proven methods that have been summed up from practice.

No.1 Accurate product selection for B-side customer needs
In terms of product selection, corporate customers are more pragmatic. Since the product is mainly used in public places, they value the quality and appearance of the product. They have higher requirements for product design, product materials, etc., and are relatively unsensitive to price. In response to this characteristic, we will select more suitable products according to the needs of B-side customers, and focus on promotion in B-side promotions, etc.

No.2 Use Listings to talk about value and functionality
In building listings, enterprise customers pay more attention to product form, functional parameters, and long-term economic benefits, so they should talk about these contents well for B-side products. For example, overseas labor costs are very high, so enterprise customers definitely want a more stable product usage experience and a longer cycle. Then, when building listings, they can focus on this aspect. Even if the price is relatively high, it can greatly increase sales conversion.

No.3 Make good use of BPQD to attract a large number of B-side orders
In terms of pricing, BPQD is an important tool to attract corporate customers to buy, so be sure to set reasonable prices and discounts. In this regard, all ASINs in our store have already set corporate prices, and based on sales and profit, corresponding quantity discounts have been set for 2, 5, and 10, respectively, with a maximum discount of 5%. Two orders are the most common, and are suitable for companies to test products, so there are few discounts; other grades are more suitable for large purchases after testing, and meet the needs of enterprises at different stages of procurement while guaranteeing their own profit margins.