Wholesale business from scratch: where to start

Wholesale business is a special field of activity with its own unique specifics. To achieve excellent results and receive a stable income, you need to know this specificity perfectly. Many entrepreneurs view the wholesale business as an opportunity to earn good money without much effort, and they are one hundred percent right.

You will learn:

• What is a wholesale business
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of a wholesale business?
• What are the different types of wholesale sales?
• How to organize a wholesale business
• Do you need investments to start a wholesale business?
• What mistakes are most often made when starting a wholesale business?

What is a wholesale business

Wholesale trade as a business is the purchase of products in large quantities from a supplier or manufacturer (less often) for its subsequent sale in small quantities. That is, the product is not purchased by the end consumer, but by a business representative, in order to subsequently resell it or use it for production needs. Of course, the wholesale business is far from the last place in the issue economic relations between production areas, product manufacturers and retail companies.

Ambitious aspiring entrepreneurs are often faced with the problem of choosing between wholesale and retail trade. Each industry has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice can be made only after carefully analyzing each of them.

To achieve heights in retail trade, you need:

• To find the appropriate premises, in order to ensure the competitiveness of the enterprise, the location must be “advantageous” and passable.
• Have enough money to buy the premises/pay rent, as well as purchase goods.
• Have the necessary financial resources to adequately pay staff.
• Allocate funds for advertising and further promotion of the enterprise.

To organize a wholesale business you should:

• Select one or more reliable suppliers.
• Conclude agreements with stores in which the goods will be sold.
• Choose a method for transporting goods (you can rent or purchase trucks in the required quantity).
• Find staff.

How to increase profits for a wholesale business

Companies wholesale trade“sandwiched” between suppliers and buyers, who themselves are faced with all the problems of the crisis period. How to build sales so that counterparties are happy, and this only benefits the company? Check out seven solutions that have helped wholesalers not only maintain, but raise the bar. You will find them in the article in the “Commercial Director” magazine.

What are the different types of wholesale trade?

Two main forms of wholesale trade:

• No need to advertise the enterprise - enough create a client base retail partners.
• The ability to not focus on the location of a wholesale warehouse or enterprise, unlike retail stores. The wholesale base can be located in any place convenient for you.
• The amounts of wholesale transactions and contracts are significantly higher than retail ones.
• Wide area for selling goods.
• The ability to enter into many contracts with large manufacturers, including regional ones, since they are the ones who often resort to the services of wholesale enterprises.
• A chance to sell the most profitable types of products, such as tobacco products, alcohol, semi-finished products; Retail companies must create an extensive product range in order to satisfy all consumer needs.
• Saving on the purchase of wholesale goods - this allows you to set the retail price of your products.
• Strict regulation of the terms of purchase and sale of goods by agreement between wholesale trade enterprises and retail firms; Thanks to the drawn up agreement, the possibility of disagreements and conflicts between organizations is practically eliminated.
• Receiving payment for the product immediately after delivery - the wholesale supplier does not wait until it is sold.
• Taxation rules for wholesale trade, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, are quite simple. Retail enterprises are subject to a Unified Tax on Temporary Income, while wholesale companies must pay contributions in accordance with the OSN or STS (General or Simplified Taxation System), which is much more convenient.
• Direct cooperation with experienced buyers who are interested in low product prices and are constantly trying to reduce costs.
• Requests from buyers for maximum deferment of payments.
• Endless debts from buyers and, as a consequence, an increase in overdue accounts receivable.
• Competitors regularly sell goods at reduced prices, which affects the quality of the products.
• Incoming demands from customers to fulfill their conditions (for example, sticking special labels on goods, delivering products at a certain time in small quantities, using Euro pallets for delivery, and many others).
• Lack of control points over the work of managers in the sales department.
• Disruption of interaction in departments of the company, which causes disruptions and delays in deliveries.
• Lack of effect from advertising that does not promote products.
• Introduction of huge fines for failure to comply with certain conditions under supply contracts.
• Periodic “turnover” of clients, some of whom go bankrupt, others make a choice in favor of other suppliers.

1. Transit. Provides for delivery of products to points retail sales directly without transportation to a wholesale warehouse. The main advantage of this form is that it is more high speed trade turnover and safety of products.
2. Warehouse. Products are sold from warehouse. The form, which is by far the most common, allows you to prepare goods before sale and supply retail outlets with small quantities of the products that are required in this moment

Wholesale outlets differentiate themselves by the breadth of their product range:

• A specialized (narrow) assortment implies the presence of less than 200 items.
• A “limited” assortment is considered to be items with quantities of less than 1,000.
• A wide range - from 1 to 100 thousand items.

By size of turnover, wholesalers are small, medium and large.

By delivery method: goods are delivered to points by company vehicles or company employees. It is also possible to issue products directly from the warehouse.

There are several distribution systems - exclusive, selective and intensive. Your business will be organized on one of these systems.

If the activity is based on an exclusive system, the manufacturer must issue a trading license according to the conditions franchising. The number of intermediaries is minimal. In a selective system, which also includes a wholesale business, the organization and the manufacturer enter into distribution agreements. In this case, technically complex goods are usually subject to sale. An intensive distribution system implies the presence of a large number of intermediaries and wholesale companies.

Is it possible to start a wholesale business without investment?

Wholesale business without investment is real. Entrance to it is possible in the absence of funds. All a person who wants to work and earn money needs is a telephone connection, open access on the Internet and focus on results. You can approach the question with a grain of salt, saying that all niches are already occupied, and starting capital No. But the advantage of a wholesale business is that it does not require financial investments. You need to be outgoing, confident and smart.

This option will appeal to those new to business.

3 myths about the wholesale business

1. “The retail buyer can find the supplier himself.” There are often cases when, despite sufficiently efficient operation, an enterprise does not receive a full profit. The reason may lie in the supplier’s inability or unwillingness to promote itself. The majority of the category of people who reject the Internet, Yandex.Direct and other advertising channels are men over the age of 50 who started their business back in the 90s. The buyer, of course, can find the supplier himself. But it's worth considering large territory our country and large volumes of consumed wholesale products. In any case, not every entrepreneur manages to sell maximum amount products. The main task of the wholesale business is to help suppliers sell goods on a huge scale.
2. “If I bring a supplier and a client together, they will carry out everything themselves, and they will cheat me.” You can eliminate such an unpleasant situation by concluding an agency agreement. The likelihood of being scammed will be reduced to zero. The essence of the agreement is that when you find customers for the supplier, you will receive a percentage of the volume of goods sold. In this situation, it is unprofitable for the supplier to terminate business relationship with you, because it is in his interests to regularly sell products, which is what you help him with.
3. “Getting wholesale customers is very difficult.” Entrepreneurs involved in the wholesale business often find clients through online advertisements. Yandex.Direct contextual advertising is also a very effective business tool. Thanks to a simple algorithm, even a novice businessman can create a good sales ad that will help attract customers. Currently, a number of holdings and large companies search for suppliers on the Internet. However, many entrepreneurs reject this option, which is very beneficial for savvy beginning intermediaries. Not last role Cold calling and the work of highly qualified sales managers play a role in attracting clients.

How to open a wholesale business

Stage 1. Market analysis and identification of the most liquid (fast-selling) goods. To identify and predict the most popular wholesale options, there is absolutely no need to dive into a deep study of all existing offers. Pay attention to food products: flour, granulated sugar, butter, baby food, canned food. All these products allow you to start a wholesale business without investment. Just agree on cooperation with an inexpensive manufacturer, and that’s it.

Stage 2. Choosing a niche. Think about what niche you would like to occupy. The simplest option is to work with small wholesale batches. If you decide to open a wholesale business from scratch, this will allow you to gain valuable skills in concluding contracts and determining how to make a profit.

Stage 3. Selecting a product group. When choosing products to sell, consider several important components:

• Give preference to the product group in which you are well versed. For example, if you received your education at a forestry engineering institute, focus on wood processing products. At the same time, for a person who has a great desire to develop, there are no boundaries. Even without the appropriate education, it is quite possible to understand the products of any industry.
• Analyze what products are available on the local market, what products are in greatest demand, pay attention to the price formation process, find out which regions act as suppliers. Next, find a manufacturer from whom you can sell similar products at reduced prices and offer potential consumers to sell them in bulk.
• When selecting products by category, make a choice in favor of those products whose sales do not depend on the time of year, weather conditions and other similar factors. It is also not worth purchasing perishable products. When starting a business, do not take into account exclusive products that are popular among a limited circle of buyers.

Stage 4. Selection of storage space. Before setting up a wholesale business, select storage space. Its absence can become a significant problem. Many entrepreneurs are now saying that, both in megacities and small towns and villages, there is a shortage of warehouses. That is why rent costs a large sum, especially if the area is large and the location of the premises is good. When organizing a wholesale business, remember that you need to rent or purchase warehouses after you have chosen the products for sale. This is due to the fact that the storage conditions, for example, of household appliances differ significantly from the principles of storing dairy products.

Consider buying and renting a space. Perhaps building a warehouse will be a much more profitable undertaking than paying monthly rent. The construction of a prefabricated warehouse has long ceased to be a difficult task - all the conditions for organizing such a premises exist. Also consider purchasing or renting shelving, refrigerators, and other equipment to keep your warehouse running smoothly.

Stage 5. Search for a supplier – key moment in organizing wholesale trade. Of course, it is better if the manufacturer works in close proximity to you. Find people who make products and are interested in selling them quickly. Such an enterprise or company could be a furniture factory or a dairy plant with reasonable prices. In this case, you should not have any difficulties with delivery - and this is also a huge plus.

Often, large-scale federal-level manufacturers work with many wholesalers or regional dealers. As a result, a long “chain” of sales goes through several wholesale outlets. It all depends on the number of competing companies in the trading industry, the level of demand for the product and the volume of the retail market. Products always reach retail outlets through wholesale, and only then sales begin.

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When choosing a group of products for wholesale distribution, remember that a wide range of products always helps generate income. Increasing the volume of supplies and contracts with partners is a gradual process.

Finding a manufacturer who does not currently have a company through which you can purchase goods in bulk is not an easy task. But it is in the interests of manufacturers and large suppliers to have long-term cooperation with the wholesale business, and therefore its representatives are always offered bonuses and discounts. Direct cooperation with manufacturers without intermediaries allows you to save significantly cash.

Stage 6. Hiring staff. Interaction with sales representatives plays an important role in organizing a wholesale business. The main task of the representatives is to find the largest number of retail outlets that will undertake the sale of certain products. You usually need to pay for goods either immediately or after they are sold in the store. Sometimes sales representatives also act as forwarders, delivering products to points of sale, handling paperwork and issuing goods. A sales representative is a key link in any chain, since it is he who finds potential customers, enters into supply agreements and works directly with store employees.

In the work of a wholesale organization, it is important not only Sales Representative. You must establish cooperation with a PC operator who will process applications, an accountant, a storekeeper, a cashier and a driver.

Stage 7. Purchase of transport. Ideally, you should buy a car. But if you don’t have this opportunity yet, you can rent a vehicle or find drivers who already have their own personal cargo transport. If you plan to sell products in large volumes, buy a forklift.

How to open a branch of a wholesale business in the region

Every wholesaler sooner or later faces the question of building a distribution system in the regions. How to most effectively promote your products hundreds of kilometers from your head office? How to minimize risks and logistics costs? How to keep your brand reputation under control? The magazine "Commercial Director" answers all these questions in its article.

What kind of agreement should I conclude with the supplier?

An agency agreement is concluded between a businessman engaged in wholesale trade and a supplier. It provides for the responsibilities of each party and ensures them mutually beneficial relationship. According to the agreement, the wholesale businessman looks for clients for the supplier, and the latter, in turn, pays interest on each of the transactions made.

When concluding a contract, pay attention to several aspects:

• The main function of an agent is to find buyers.
• The contract is signed by the agent and the supplier.
• The signature can be put an individual, who does not have an LLC or individual entrepreneur.
• The document must indicate the percentage you receive for the transaction.
• The agreement may contain sales volumes, payment methods (non-cash, cash), work schedule and other details.
• The contract specifies the information available in the Civil Code. It states that the contract obliges the agent, for a fee, to legally act on behalf of the principal on his own behalf, but at the expense of the other party, either at his own expense or on behalf of the principal.

There are a number of options to consider here:

• You, that is, the agent, act on behalf of the supplier and at his expense.
• You act on behalf of the supplier, but at your own expense.
• You act on your own behalf and at your own expense.

Of course, the presence of an agency agreement does not provide a 100% guarantee in case of cooperation with a dishonest supplier. This document is intended to provide you with emotional peace of mind and confidence that you are acting in accordance with the law. The presence of an agency agreement is a reason for the supplier to be confident in your integrity and legal literacy. It is much more important, of course, to agree with the other party on a humane basis, establish good relations and let the supplier understand that by working with you, he will always be afloat.

1. Before you implement your wholesale business plan, choose a niche to fill and analyze the market.
2. Study the properties of the products you would like to work with, learn more about the sales market and do not lose sight of the seasonality of the product.
3. When starting work, always focus on accumulation (money, clients, product balances).
4. As your business develops, your staff will expand, so carefully consider every step and think about the feasibility of hiring new specialists.
5. The beginning is always the most difficult, and therefore there will be a lot of work; for an indefinite period you can forget about holidays, weekends and vacations.
6. If you can avoid taking out a loan and incurring other financial obligations, refuse them, at least until you are sure that you are not at risk.

Typical mistakes of beginners in the wholesale business

1) There is no clear action plan. There is no improvisation in business, and, unfortunately, many new businessmen forget about this. The difference between business and Everyday life and lies in the fact that matters left to chance turn out to be insoluble and do not bring good results. Many entrepreneurs do not have an action plan or project. A business plan (wholesale sales) should accompany you from the very beginning of your activity. Subsequently, there simply won’t be time to compile it.

If you want to make a profit from your work, write down each action and compile it for a year. Think about what is needed to expand your client base, how to turn casual clients into regular ones, write down the actions on paper. Work on a personnel search system, recruit employees, find suppliers. Developing a clear plan will take you a minimum amount of time, but will save you maximum time in the future.

2) Starting capital is distributed incorrectly. Most beginners who ask the question: “How to open a wholesale business?” want everything at once, and therefore waste their start-up funds irrationally. Irrational expenses include the purchase of ultra-modern equipment, high rent for a warehouse and large wages specialists. Remember that business brings money, first of all, to sales. Therefore, it is better to use funds to develop sales, supply and distribution channels.

When drawing up a business plan, pay attention to the most costly items. Analyze them and understand that you won’t need them at the very beginning of your work. From the list you can cross off new expensive office equipment and the creation of a modern personal website - you will deal with these issues later. If you can work not in the office, but in any other premises, refuse to rent. You will always have time to move into your new office.

3. Lack of understanding of the importance of the target audience. Beginning businessmen often lack an idea of ​​the target audience and market segmentation. And, at the same time, these are key values ​​in business. If you do not identify the target audience and do not understand who your products are intended for even before you start selling them, create effective plan its implementation will be very difficult.

An advertising campaign is effective when it is clear for whom it is designed. Think about who your product is for? How old are these people? On average, how much do they earn per month? While you are confident that your concept is interesting to any category of the population, you should not send advertising to everyone - you will waste time. The success of your business depends on how accurately you present your potential client.

4. Lack of understanding of the difference between sales and marketing. A number of entrepreneurs do not understand how sales differs from marketing, and are confident that these concepts are practically synonymous. But that's not true. Let's give an example. The seller generates and implements wholesale business ideas and takes a number of actions to ensure that a person purchases products. This is sales. Actions on the part of a marketer aimed at getting the buyer to contact you - marketing.

If you know exactly about your target audience, there will be no problem with advertising. You will clearly understand how and where it is best to give it. There are a million ways to attract a client. One business is effectively promoted using one advertising campaign, while the promotion of another is based on a completely different concept.

5. Expectation of instant profit. Many entrepreneurs do not understand: there is no instant income in business. This is especially true for those who have not previously conducted such cases. And if it is not possible to make a profit during the first months, people quit the business. You just have to be patient.

When calculating any business plan, one takes into account the fact that the first year of operation does not provide almost any profit. Moreover, it can be very expensive. And only then the losses become minimal, then they are reduced to zero, and after a couple of years the ready-made wholesale business begins to generate income. Patience is the basis of any business project.

How to increase sales in a wholesale business

There are ways you can use to attract clients and increase sales. For example:

• Streamlining the sales management system.
• Interacting with regular customers and attracting them to work.
• Creation and implementation of a high-quality advertising campaign.
• Increasing customer base.
• Converting potential clients into real ones.
• Increasing marginal profit.
• A competent system of motivation for sales specialists.
• Effective work with accounts receivable.

All these manipulations can be carried out within a small enterprise using special business technologies.

How to turn wholesale business customers from potential to regular

How the wholesale business is organized and what its specifics are is completely unimportant. The main thing is systematic and continuous sales. In this regard, the key point in the system is the development of a sales funnel. Moreover, it is not so much the presentation of this funnel that is important, but effective work with her. Basically, wholesalers go through 6 stages of sales, at each of which it is important to negotiate with clients.

The first block is the number of clients who were called by managers.

The second block is the number of interested clients who received a commercial offer.

The third block is the number of clients to meet.

The fourth block is the number of people with whom meetings have already taken place.

The fifth block is the number of buyers who have entered into an agreement.

The sixth block is the number of customers who received the goods from the first shipment.

Who should you trust to do this work? The commercial department of the company. If we talk about a three-level sales department, then the department located at the first level creates a flow and makes “cold calls”. He is not involved in negotiations or documentation.

More qualified managers close sales. At the same time, highly qualified professionals, as a rule, do not want to deal with “cold calls”, and are more willing to talk with regular clients, draw up documents and accept orders. This leads to a cessation of the influx of new people into the wholesale business. That's why best option– create a three-level sales department in which responsibilities will be clearly distributed among employees.

After visualizing the funnel, you need to describe the indicators that exist at each level. If systematic measurement of indicators is not carried out, start measuring it right now, and then at any time you will be able to assess the reasons why income is not increasing and sales are not increasing.

How to identify weak points in your sales funnel

Galina Kostina,

Head of the consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting"

By taking a slice of the funnel, you will understand how many potential consumers are moving to new level. For example, at a certain stage there is a narrowing of the funnel. This means that it makes sense to talk about a weak point in the overall system, and you can quickly intervene and correct the situation.

Example 1. The daily responsibilities of managers include 50 “cold calls”, which is reflected in the checklist. However, there is no influx of new buyers. The reason may be the ineffectiveness of the “cold call”, the manager’s inability to negotiate at the proper level, or an initially incorrect drawing up of the buyer’s portrait.

Example 2. Thanks to cold calling, many clients became interested in your company. You sent them a commercial proposal (thanks to this, you moved to the second block). And here the funnel suddenly narrowed because the client did not want to meet. The reason is the incorrect preparation of the commercial offer, which the potential consumer simply was not interested in. The fact is that the buyers in this case are experienced buyers who pay attention only to the numbers, and not to the goods, which may be of the highest quality. Therefore, think about how to create the most attractive commercial offer.

Example 3. Your employees have regular meetings, you send specialists on business trips, but all to no avail - no contracts are concluded. Review the negotiation model, organize seminars or courses for employees where they could acquire the necessary skills. After training, evaluate the situation.

Example 4. Contracts are concluded, but at this stage the buyer stops working with you: he does not place orders, and shipments are not made. You will need the help of qualified managers who know how to work with objections and have excellent communication skills.

Information about experts and company

Galina Kostina, head of the consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting". Business Consultant, expert in increasing sales and profits for small and medium-sized businesses. He has 18 years of experience as a top manager in large manufacturing companies. She went from chief accountant (including at Wimm-Bill-Dann) and director of economics and development to creating her own Consulting Agency. Has successful experience in implementing internal development projects, strategic planning, expanding production, attracting investment financing. Author of articles for professional federal publications, leader of trainings and master classes.

Consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting" is a team of professionals dedicated to technologies for growth and achieving results for small and medium-sized businesses.

Calculations are current for 2019

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Business plan

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We offer a wholesale trade business plan that will help you create your own wholesale base in order to establish wholesale sales of food or non-food products. Evaluate the prospects of this undertaking, because any trading company ensures its profitability by providing intermediary services between sellers and end buyers. And if the undertaking is set up correctly, the profitability of the trading organization will always be high.

A sample wholesale trade business plan offers many sections where specialists present detailed calculations of the activities of a distribution company. You should be concerned about finding suppliers of products, having decided on the direction of the future trading company, and also find channels for selling products: boutiques, stores or enterprises industrial complex. A wholesale store is a risk, but also an excess profit if you put the business on a quality basis.

You can study an example of a business plan for organizing a wholesale trade enterprise now. In this matter, business connections and clear, coordinated work of the wholesale company’s team will be of great importance. You will need a staff of employees: warehouse workers, forwarders, distributors, security guards, salespeople, managers. Therefore, in the presented document you can find calculations that are associated with attracting personnel to trade organization, payment of wages.

Once you receive a business plan for organizing a wholesale and retail trading company, you will evaluate the possibilities of a business that is sure to be successful when it is in the hands of professionals and you will understand how sales are built in this area. Providing wholesale sales services makes the task easier for retailers, so all you have to do is decide on the range of products that you can offer at prices favorable to your partners. Do not forget that this enterprise requires storage facilities, this should be taken care of first.

The likelihood of financial risks is high in any type of business, but in wholesale trade they can cause the most significant damage due to the huge initial investment. Problems await a businessman from different sides, for example, suppliers or manufacturers are able to “set you up” by selling low-quality products or missing delivery deadlines.

Various changes in Russian legislation can lead to losses, especially in that part that concerns taxation or the specifics of customs clearance and import-export operations.

It is impossible not to take into account such force majeure circumstances as natural disasters or economic problems in the country. For example, not all wholesalers survived the last financial crisis in the regions, but the strongest ones not only stayed on their feet, but also strengthened their position. An excessive level of inflation also takes a significant toll on the wholesaler’s pocket, due to which prices for goods rise, and demand for it, on the contrary, usually falls. Therefore, in the process of opening a wholesale business - be it fruits, frozen foods, Appliances or furniture - any possible risks should be foreseen and ways to solve emerging problems should be found.

First of all, a competent organization will help to reduce the likely risks that may arise when creating a wholesale trade enterprise. When deciding on the choice of goods for wholesale trade, an entrepreneur should study the situation in advance, assessing consumer demand for these particular products, the level of competition and the existing price range. This will help you understand whether you can create worthy competition and keep the cost of the product at required level. To do this, you also need to know the maximum wholesale markup for different types goods - for household chemicals they are the same, but for food products they are completely different.

Wholesalers who are ready to work on sales cannot ignore such a factor as the limited shelf life of certain types of goods. For example, a business such as the wholesale purchase of eggs can quickly fall apart due to the fact that the distribution routes for this perishable product have not been clearly established.

Increased lending rates, failure to fulfill obligations by firms purchasing your products, unfair competition - these and other types of possible risks are listed in professional example wholesale trade business plan with ready-made calculations. This document describes in detail step by step opening wholesale trade, the procedure for its activities and development.

Instructions

Find out current customer purchasing prices and other delivery conditions. It doesn’t matter that you come to clients without the intention of concluding an agreement. Now you are doing reconnaissance. You can introduce yourself as a representative of a new company that plans to serve this region. Ask what customers are unhappy with. You will definitely collect some information. Some people ask for a price list and don’t tell you anything. Make sure you communicate with the head of the company. Tell me what you can give good conditions, but it is necessary to estimate the approximate volumes.

Find suppliers, calculate and estimate margins. Based on the information collected, you can roughly estimate the volume of purchases. This will be needed for negotiations with suppliers. They need to get Better conditions despite the fact that you are still conducting preliminary negotiations.

Make an offer to your clients. After the 2nd step, you know where they cooperate with other suppliers. Create a package commercial offers, which will allow you to stand out from similar ones. Take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses. If potential customers complained about delivery times, you can focus on the quality of this service. It will not be easy for competitors to restructure their work.

Sources:

• how to work with wholesale

From the point of view of stable demand and sustainability of business relationships, business in the b2b sector has an undeniable advantage. Well-established connections and well-established distribution channels allow wholesale suppliers to stay afloat even in times of crisis and stagnation.

Instructions

If you decide to organize a wholesale trade, first of all choose the niche in which you are going to work. It’s good if you have an idea in advance of how the standard business process is structured in the chosen area. This will make it easier to enter the market. If not, first study how all participants in the sales chain are interconnected. A detailed study may take a long time. However, its necessity is difficult to overestimate. Based on its results, you will not only represent wholesale trade from the inside, but you will also be able to soberly assess your strengths and, possibly, abandon the chosen idea.

If confidence outweighs all the arguments against, begin searching for suitable premises, negotiating with suppliers, and formalizing the chosen activity. In each of these issues there are a lot of nuances and smaller tasks. So, for example, the premises must not only provide the convenience of trade, but also meet the requirements of supervisory authorities. In addition, have certain technical characteristics and a convenient location. Search, selection and negotiations with suppliers, registration with the Federal Tax Service are also quite extensive issues. Ideally, it is better to do all this at the same time. This way you can save time and money.

When the main issues have been resolved, the lease agreement has been drawn up, and you are ready to ship the products, start looking for sales in earnest. Strictly speaking, you should have started looking for sales even before the very first step. After all, if there is a guaranteed demand for a product, then building the rest of the business process is not so difficult. There are a lot of ways to find clients, and most of them depend on the trading niche you have chosen. In general, send out, try to meet with the purchasing decision makers for large companies. It is difficult, but quite possible, to build an entire business on several large clients. You may also be able to find creative ways to enter the market. And never stop looking for new sales channels. Overall turnover is much more closely related to the profit received than in other businesses.

Wholesale trade is a type of transaction when the goods for which money was paid are not transferred to the final consumer. It is intended for subsequent resale. As a rule, the object of purchase and sale are entire consignments of goods - large or small.

Instructions

Think about what type of wholesale trade you want to do. Collect as much information as possible, to do this, conduct a marketing analysis, identify consumer demand.

We all know that it is wholesale structures that help provide the wide range of goods that we see today on the shelves of retail stores. If you are thinking about organizing profitable business in the field of wholesale trade, then our article will tell you where to start and how to avoid the difficulties that await you along the way.

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Business in wholesale trade: what are the advantages?

Wholesale trade is the purchase of goods in large quantities from a manufacturer or supplier for further resale in small quantities. In other words, the product is purchased not by the end consumer, but by business representatives for the purpose of resale or use for production needs.

Of course, the wholesale business plays a significant role in the system of economic relations between regions of the country, industries, product manufacturers and retail organizations.

Often, ambitious beginning entrepreneurs are faced with the problem of choosing between such forms of trading activity as wholesale and retail. Both of them have a number of advantages and disadvantages. By comparing them, you can make one or another choice.

For example, to organize a retail business you need:

• find a commercial premises located in a suitable location so that the store is “competitive”;
• have enough money to buy the premises or rent them monthly and to purchase goods;
• pledge funds to pay store staff;
• provide for the costs of advertising the store and its promotion.

In order to organize a business in wholesale trade, you will need to think through the following components:

• selection of a reliable supplier (one or more);
• selection of stores to sell goods (their number may vary);
• methods of transporting goods (renting or buying trucks. Their number will depend on the scale of your business);
• personnel selection.

Experts note a number of advantages of a wholesale business:

• in the field of wholesale trade there is no need to “advertise” your enterprise after a customer base in the retail field has been formed;
• there is no need to pay much attention to location, as this would be necessary for a retail chain of stores;
• the size of wholesale purchases and transactions is larger than retail ones;
• the trading area of ​​the wholesale company is wider;
• large producers, including regional ones, are more willing to use the services of wholesale organizations;
• wholesale organizations have the opportunity to choose the most advantageous view goods for trade, for example, alcohol, tobacco, semi-finished products or household chemicals. Stores try to create the widest possible range, satisfying all the wishes of customers;
• when purchasing goods in bulk, significant savings occur, which means that when organizing wholesale trade, the entrepreneur can set his own retail price for the product;
• All conditions for the purchase/sale of goods between wholesale trade organizations and retail stores are regulated by the contract. This eliminates possible conflicts, misunderstandings and disagreements. Payment for delivered products often occurs immediately - when trading in bulk, there is no need to wait for their sale by end consumers;

In addition, the legislation of our country provides for different taxation rules for wholesale and retail trade. Thus, retail trade enterprises are subject to the Unified Tax on imputed income, and wholesale trade organizations pay contributions under the General or Simplified Taxation System (OSN or STS). These schemes are simpler.

Retail trade also has a number of advantages:

• retail trade involves a larger number of transactions and outlets for the sale of goods;
• there are also no costs for maintaining large warehouses;
• The retail price can be an order of magnitude higher than the wholesale price, which means you can earn more on “retail” with a competent approach and trade margins.

But in general, the advantages of wholesale trade in reality modern economy obvious.

You need to keep records of goods regardless of whether you trade wholesale or retail. The automation program Business.Ru will help you with this. Combine all the company's operations into one scheme - from an order to a supplier to shipment to a client. Organize the smooth operation of several departments in a single database.

Types of wholesale trade

First, decide on the type and forms of wholesale trade that will suit your business. The two main forms of wholesale trade are transit and warehouse:

In the first case, the products are delivered to retail network directly from the manufacturer or wholesale organization, without delivering goods to warehouses. Its advantage is that the safety of goods is higher and trade turnover occurs faster.

In the warehouse form, goods are sold directly from warehouses. This type of wholesale trade is the most common today, since it is possible to pre-sale goods and supply retail stores with small quantities of goods of the required range.

Wholesale trade enterprises are also distinguished by the breadth of the range of goods - from 1 to 100 thousand items is “considered” a wide assortment, less than a thousand items of goods are a “limited” assortment of a company in the field of wholesale trade, and less than two hundred items are already a “narrow” assortment. or "specialized". Based on the size of turnover, large, medium and small wholesalers are distinguished.

Also, organizations in the field of wholesale trade may differ in the method of delivery - when goods are delivered by employees of a wholesale company and on company vehicles, or when goods are issued to retail stores directly from the warehouse.

Organization of wholesale trade also implies various systems sales of goods on which your wholesale business will be based - “exclusive”, “selective” or “intensive”:

In the first case, the manufacturer issues a license to trade in accordance with the terms of franchising. The number of intermediaries here will be limited.

“Selective” sales implies the conclusion of dealer or distribution agreements between the manufacturer and wholesale trade organizations. As a rule, this system operates as a market for the sale of technically complex products.

With an “intensive” sales system, work occurs simultaneously with a large number of intermediaries and wholesale trade organizations.

How to organize a wholesale business from scratch

How to start a wholesale business?

First, you need to decide on the types of goods and the industry in which you plan to conduct your wholesale business. Carefully study this area and the experience of other wholesalers, analyze the specifics of the activities of the main players - large enterprises.

First of all, pay attention to goods or products that are produced in your region. What is it famous for? For wholesale trade, choose goods that are in high demand, regardless of the season, but at the same time, try to choose niches that are “unoccupied” by competitors and those areas where you can “play” with prices.

A lot of controversy arises among novice entrepreneurs: which goods are more profitable to trade in wholesale and which in retail? The main law of business in wholesale trade is the competent selection of assortment. You can independently choose the most profitable products for wholesale trading.

First, ask yourself: what products will always be in demand among customers? For example, alcohol, tobacco, and food products are the most popular among retail store customers.

But here special attention should be paid to the fact that food products have a limited and short shelf life or special conditions storage in a warehouse. Household chemicals, cosmetics are also in great demand among consumers - these products are in demand at any time of the year and regardless of the economic situation in the country.

Organizing the sale of agricultural products in bulk directly from the manufacturer is also likely to be successful - the demand for goods such as milk, potatoes, flour, cereals, sugar, vegetables and fruits is consistently high all year round.

When organizing wholesale trade, pay attention to the ease and specificity of transporting goods. Obviously, delivering furniture is much easier and safer than delivering drinks in glass containers to stores.

The Business.Ru program will help you effectively manage your assortment, control receivables and payables, and place orders based on sales data.

The next stage is the selection of storage space. Before starting a wholesale business, pay attention to this aspect: finding a warehouse can be a big problem.

Today, many entrepreneurs note an insufficient amount of warehouse space in major cities and small populated areas. Their rental can be expensive, depending on the size of the warehouse and its location.

Important! You need to rent or buy warehouse space immediately after you have decided on the type of product you will resell.

Think about whether it would be more profitable for you to build your own warehouse than to rent a ready-made space on a monthly basis? Now exists a large number of opportunities for the construction of prefabricated warehouses - they are built in a short time and are suitable for specific types of goods for wholesale trade.

Also consider options for purchasing or renting warehouse equipment, refrigeration chambers, and shelving.

Set the target turnover value for your wholesale trade enterprise. This can be done based on an analysis of the number and volume of orders from wholesale buyers and their direct survey; you can also evaluate statistical data on the sale of goods and market conditions.

Today, organizing wholesale trade is unthinkable without such an important condition as the presence of a reliable supplier. Finding a supplier is the main stage of organizing a business.

Most the best option- this is to find a manufacturer in your region to work with him directly. That is, to find those who directly produce goods or products and are interested in their speedy sale on the market.

It could be a dairy plant or a furniture factory. This is, a priori, more low prices, and you won’t have any problems with delivery when organizing wholesale trade.

Often manufacturers, especially large federal ones, deal with a large number of different wholesalers or dealers in the regions, so the “chain” of resales can be long and “pass” through several wholesalers and resellers at once.

It depends on the demand for products, the volume of the retail market in your region and the number of competing enterprises in the wholesale trade sector. In any case, the products end up in Retail Stores namely through the wholesale business, where it is purchased by end consumers.

When starting a wholesale business, think about the fact that the wider the range of goods for resale in your wholesale organization, the higher the profit will be. It is obvious that the “increase” in volumes and contracts with suppliers will occur gradually.

It is really difficult to find a large manufacturer who does not already have a company that carries out wholesale purchases of goods in your region. But large suppliers and manufacturers are interested in cooperation with the wholesale business, which means you will be offered a system of discounts and bonuses.

Of course, by working directly with manufacturers, you can save a lot.

This time we will try to get rich with you and get ahead of competitors even before opening any of our own business.

This is very promising and not many people know about it.

Of course the word wholesale We are always well-known and we are not going to talk about a boring and rather annoying word, but as always we will introduce a little novelty and a dose of factors that will help you make a turnover of your capital in the first months after opening.

Do you think that I am talking nonsense and cannot be trusted?... Then open the article and read. We tried to put everything on the shelves and even add to the whole idea.

Why is a wholesale business interesting?

With bitterness in my heart, I advise those who know what wholesale sales and purchases to skip this title.

We will have this column for those who guess or simply don’t know about it. By the way, before writing the article, I myself was one of these people, so there is nothing shameful here.

In other words, this is when instead of one kilogram of radishes, they buy 100 kilograms at once.

Thus, this same wholesale trade makes an invaluable contribution to the whirlwind of all world sales and is a link between retail trade and manufacturers of goods.

Let's take a break from boring information. However, I didn’t say that Why is selling wholesale interesting?.

Think for yourself. When a seller buys these same goods at wholesale warehouses, he takes them for one price and then, adding quite a percentage (the smallest I have seen is about 70% of the original price), sells his goods in markets, stores, etc.

A case from one's life. One weekend before New Year's, I decided to go to the market and buy an artificial Christmas tree. Just live more problems and then vacuum the carpet from needles, but the inanimate one will remain there forever.

So. I come, and the prices are really steep. For 2 meters of artificial plastic they asked me 3,000-5,000 rubles.

It's not that I'm money-hungry. It’s better to buy gifts for that amount. Luckily, an acquaintance turned up who was engaged in a similar sale of Christmas trees and told me why there were such markups.

In general, all local sellers bring these spruce trees from Belarus and buy them in bulk, paying about 900-1000 rubles for a similar tree 2 meters long. Then they make a 200% markup and sell it to respectable citizens.

The motto of such trade becomes - New Year on the nose, they will buy it anyway, without a Christmas tree. In the end, I still had to buy these 2 meters of Christmas trees for 3,000 rubles. Here is an example of a colossal markup.

How to start a wholesale business

If you have finally reached this point, then I think it’s not in vain.

Our business in wholesale sales will play the role of something extraordinary or not respecting the rules and conditions of the market.

We will not open giant warehouses or run around with huge bags containing things that you may never sell.

We will have something like an agency or a stall where applications from buyers will be received to purchase this or that item.

When there are a lot of requests and the number of ordered goods becomes worthy of wholesale purchases, you will just need to buy these goods at wholesale warehouses and distribute them to customers with a slight markup.

Believe me, this scheme is very interesting. Think for yourself. Here you are a seller of things. You buy things in bulk for a certain amount.

Will you be confident that you will be able to sell all this?.. Of course not. Here you bear a certain risk of remaining in the red, but in our case the buyers are already known, they themselves ordered the purchase of goods from you.

In other words, you will have something like an online store only on earth, and not in virtual space.

How to organize a wholesale business

And so I told you about that most successful idea that will help us become a leader and get clients in the very first days and months.

First, let's get down to such an unpleasant, but very important matter as weighing forces.

I am not forcing you to be all-seeing or psychic, I just need to describe everything that you have for a successful start.

First, we will need an area where you will store all the goods and then distribute them to satisfied customers.

For the space, a garage or some kind of shed is quite suitable for you. The main thing is to preserve the original quality.

After all, if you, for example, buy the same things or products for a children's store soft toys and store it all in a room with high humidity, then the goods will simply deteriorate and you will then have to explain things to customers, and this entails the loss of customers and, again, colossal debts for your business.

So approach the choice of premises with special caution. Let's move on from choosing the area.

You will need to pay special attention, of course, to the points, or rather to the wholesale warehouses where you will buy these very products.

It all depends on where you live and in general the county in which you live. However, the all-knowing Google will help you find wholesale warehouses. Here I think you will not experience any problems.

The most important thing for you will be to find customers for your products; the foundation for the further success and condition of your business will be built on them.

Everything is very simple here. You will need to invest the lion's share of your starting capital in promotion, or rather, in advertising of your idea.

Try to present information to your listeners that will not only be interesting to them, but will also carry a bit of mystery.

After all, people are creatures who are interested in everything new, this new thing should help you at the beginning.

I advise you, at least in the beginning, not to inflate markups on goods and always remain cheaper than what is offered in markets and stores; this fact is important and it will allow your business to always be heard.

With the increase in orders, I advise you not to waste your profits, but to take care of establishing a network of your establishments, first throughout the city, and then throughout the region.

Thus, I kind of told you about the start of wholesale sales and I think no questions should arise. In any case, you can always find me here.

We draw up a business plan for wholesale sales

I want to say right away that the business plan was drawn up based on approximate costs and we cannot say that in life everything will work out exactly like that.

In any case, the costs of certain components of business in your region will be different from mine.

Business plan for a wholesale company:
Purpose: purchasing and selling various goods to customers.
Budget: 300,000 rubles.
Capital turnover: 1-3 months.
Area: own.
Salary to employees: at first, you are your own employee.
Advertising: 3 billboards in busy places of the city + drawing up an advertising slogan *3 months = 15,000 * 3 * 3 = 135,000 rub.
Car rental: in case of home delivery service 100,000 rubles.
Risks: 65,000 rub.

That's all, I hope our article will be useful to you. If you don’t mind, click on the social bookmarking buttons on the right side of the article.

You can get free business consultations in my VK group "