4 Signs You Have a Truly Transparent Trade Partner in APAC

Expanding into international marketplaces is intimidating for any brand, especially without a trade partner they can trust. For brands expanding into the APAC region, finding the right trade partner should be an essential part of their strategy for success. Unfortunately, not all trade partners are alike. Some trade partners provide their brand partners with little to no data or reporting on how their products are actually doing, leaving the brand with no concrete direction for their global growth strategies.

As a trade and distribution partner, Pattern ensures their brand partners selling in APAC receive all the data and insights they need to expand their brand throughout the region. With transparent data and reporting, brands can ensure they are making the best decisions for their business. Finding a transparent partner isn’t always easy. A trade partner should have what we call the 4 T’s: be trustworthy, help you gain traction, give you access to talent resource, and be transparent. Here are 4 signs of a transparent trade partner you should look for when finding a trade partner.

1. Provides Recent Sales Numbers

A good trade partner will provide their brand partners with accurate and updated data on sales numbers. For example, if the brand has recently introduced new sales channels and B2B distribution opportunities, those numbers should be reflected in any reports given to the brand. Each channel in which the brand’s products are sold should be included in reports with sales mapping directly to the purchase orders they see.

For brands selling on marketplaces in APAC, promoting their product on social channels is essential to their growth. One aspect of sales numbers that some trade partners may not include but should, is how the KOL’s you have engaged with recently have amplified sales. Having more insight to where the majority of your sales are coming from is valuable for making future plans.

2. Provides Pricing Data

Trade parter should provide analysis of the competitive landscape and digital shelf in market before you start selling, to find the USP of your products and best SKU fit for market. They should call out any pricing issues, such as misalignment with local price trends that could cause issues, unauthorized sellers discounting your product and therefore harming brand reputation, and can also support your efforts for price premiumization.

Your TP should also always keep you aware of any promotions planned for the APAC sales periods such as 618 and Singles day. Find a TP who will sell your product at full price, to ensure there are no issues with other distributors in brick and mortar shops or on your D2C site, and who can work with you to rid marketplace platforms of unauthorised distributors undercutting your product value.

3. Updates You on Stock Levels

One struggle brands often face with lack of transparency from their trade partner is understanding their stock levels. With inconsistent ordering and demands from consumers, brands have a hard time staying in stock, leading to a bad customer experience, lower rankings on marketplaces like Tmall, and higher marketing costs to continually drive replenishment transactions.

If no sales are being made because of limited stock levels, the TP will transition their focus to other brands with little loyalty towards your brand. When a TP updates consistently on stock levels, you can better forecast when to order more stock and how much to order, helping you avoid stockouts.

4. Informs Of Product & Marketplace Success

Trade partners don’t often update their brands on how their products are performing and if certain marketplaces are working for them or not. Some questions brands should ask themselves and their TPs about their product and marketplace success include the following:

• Have you checked your Tmall store (DSR) ranking recently and what is the score? If less then a 4.9/5, then your TP should be helping you increase the score by providing you with reporting that show how you can improve.
• Is your TP delivering a monthly forecast broken down by day // SKU // platform?
• Are you having a detailed monthly check-in with your TP to discuss what has worked, what hasn’t, consumer feedback and product innovation?
• What is the best performing content for your product or brand?

Find a Transparent Trade Partner Like Pattern

Finding a transparent trade partner not only helps you make informed decisions for your business, but also helps you gain control of your brand in a region that can often be difficult to control. With the right data, you can focus your efforts on the areas that matter most in creating the most revenue for your brand.

As a global ecommerce accelerator and trade partner, Pattern often hears global executives’ frustrations with trade partners who aren’t providing transparent data. Pattern’s local teams within markets help brands to better understand the nuances of the regions they are selling in by providing consistent data and reporting. We help you keep control of your brand, while placing dedicated expert teams at all points in the consumer, purchase, fulfillment journey, to ensure a positive customer experience. We believe a partnership is built on trust, and that begins with doing everything in our power to help brands succeed on international marketplaces.

Need accurate data and reporting for you brand on APAC marketplaces? Contact us.