3 Signs You Need a Distribution Partner

Delivering your products to customers in a timely and efficient manner is just one slice of the eCommerce pie of success. And Pattern can help you streamline your various distribution channels on eCommerce sites like eBay, Walmart, and Amazon. If you’re facing one or all of the following distribution challenges, it’s time to nip your distribution problem in the bud (before it gets even worse).

Your products take too long to ship

Products on Google Express arrive to consumers within a week. On Amazon Prime they arrive within 2 days. On JD.com in China? They arrive within 24 hours—or less. The race for speedy, direct-to-consumer distribution has begun. And if your brand can’t compete with other Amazon vendors or sellers in the eBay partner network, well, that’s the first sign you may need a distribution partner, said David Wright, Pattern CEO/Founder. “That’ll start happening in the U.S. too,” Wright said. “So if brands have a problem with distribution now, it’s just going to get tougher and tougher to compete.”

You lack D2C fulfillment infrastructure

Before eCommerce, distribution was fairly simple for brands. Pack a pallet of goods, load them on a truck, ship it, unwrap it, shelve it, sell it, end of story. Things are quite different now with the advent of direct to consumer (D2C) fulfillment models like Amazon fulfillment services and eCommerce, said Garrett Bluhm, Pattern’s former eCommerce VP, and many brands struggle to keep up. “Brands are actually having to break apart these pallets that they’ve had, break apart the cases, individually take out a product, and ship it to a consumer. A lot of these brands do not have the infrastructure or the capabilities to do that,” Bluhm said.

You don’t know how to distribute internationally

International distribution is even more complex. Unless your long-term strategy is to ignore the largest global markets like China (and we highly discourage that), you need to understand the nuances of new markets. “Some brands who don’t have an international presence or just haven’t really had it as a focus struggle to even figure out how to get product into countries,” Bluhm said. And it goes beyond language and trade laws. “You also have to figure out how you dropship product to a consumer, how you ship it to a mass retail channel,” Bluhm said.

In short, “you either have to be awesome at distribution or you have to find partners who are, or you’re in trouble,” Wright said. Pattern can help solve your distribution problems with you as your eCommerce distribution partner. Contact us below and let us show you the difference that our streamlined strategy can make.