What to Look for in a Good Trade Partner for the Asia Pacific Region

Having a good trade partner who you can trust makes all the difference in helping your brand grow both locally and globally. As a global ecommerce accelerator and trade partner, Pattern often hears global executives’ frustrations with trade partners who aren’t transparent in sharing information with the brands they represent–everything from sales figures and marketing spend to inventory levels and ordering data. Learn why transparency is a must-have for brands:

1.Transparency in Reporting and Data

A lack of transparency in reporting and relevant data is not only frustrating, but also potentially damaging to your business. A lack of data-driven details leads to poor decisions across the business based on little to no actual results. For example, a trade partner who cannot give you a clear idea of what your ROI is, gives you no insight into how to accelerate your product on marketplaces. A transparent trade partner will provide useful and game-changing data because they are invested in a brand’s success. For brands entering new marketplaces and areas of the world, it’s imperative they’re provided accurate information to inform their expansion decisions. It’s harder for brands to create or evolve their ecommerce strategy, analyze the opportunities forecast, and grow their presence globally without clearly, concretely understanding what’s really going on.

2. Transparency in Ordering and Inventory

Optimizing your supply chain is key to driving revenue and accelerating your business. Making logistics and operations decisions is hard enough, but without the right data, it’s virtually impossible. Lack of transparency in ordering and inventory management leads to issues such as stockouts, fulfillment delays, and more. These issues are headaches for executives and subtract possible revenue from their business. A transparent trade partner ensures their brand partners are given the correct information so they can make sure inventory stays in stock during promotional and high-demand periods. With the right technology, trade partners provide their brands with data and guidance to optimize all areas of their supply chain.

Finding a Transparent Partner

Trade partners have a reputation for shielding their brands from information, but that doesn’t have to be the reality in your relationship. As you move forward in your decision making, transparency and accountability should be a key factor in choosing the right trade partner. A great first step is to pay attention to what they’re willing to disclose while you’re considering your partnership. Such as:

• Have they been successful with other brands? And how was that measured?
• Who else are they working with?
• Do they sell products that could compete with yours on the same marketplaces?

Discover How Pattern Can Help

Data powers everything we do at Pattern. As a certified trade partner, we share insights and brand performance with our partners and provide brands with access to proprietary real-time dashboards with complete access to review their data to know what’s going on with their products. Whether you want to know how much inventory to keep for Christmas or how much to put into your advertising budget for the coming year, the combination of Pattern’s marketplace experts, experienced trade partners, and Pattern’s acceleration technology platform will help. Contact us to discover how Pattern can become your trade partner.