Ideation
When you want to develop any product to sell, you need an idea first, your field of expertise which you excel in or are aware of according to market need, feasibility, profit generation, etc. You will have to create a roadmap of big-picture goals, priorities and challenges you might face. You need to empathise with the consumer—put yourself in his shoes and understand what you would want from a product. Do some research on the needs of the market and determine whether you already face competition or are you the first one.
Supplier sourcing
You will have to identify and assess suppliers of raw material. Crowd sourcing, sole sourcing, low cost country sourcing, twin sourcing, multiple sourcing, outsourcing are the various types of sourcing you can avail of. To ensure that supply chain is maintained, you need to zero in an efficient supplier, know his reputation, negotiate favourable price, and maintain a good relationship which will lay groundwork for a good business start-up.
Sales Channel Development
Ecommerce
To supplement the efforts of salespeople to accentuate sales, you need other means too to extend product outreach. Remember, returns will not start coming immediately, even if you are doing online business. Select the right e-commerce business model: drop shipping (make your product and a dropship company will do the rest-storing, packing, delivery) print on demand (your product printed and shipped when individual order comes in by other company), affiliate marketing (paying someone else to sell your product) and private labeling (you will manufacture, online retailer will sell it as his own brand product).
Amazon
To sell on Amazon, create an account and list your product on Amazon.in. You need two things: 1. GST or PAN information 2. Active bank account. With Amazon, you can choose how to store, pack and deliver your product. Amazon pays you every seven days directly in your account for your sales after deducting its fees.
eBay
Register for an eBay account with PayPal, list your item with good picture display in the appropriate category, give a description of your product with a suitable title, set your listing price and sell in auction or ‘buy it now’ format.
Alibaba
When you open an account at Alibaba.com, you have to go through an online Business Verification Process. You can sell multiple products under your brand name. When you start getting inquiries, My Alibaba seller workbench and Ali Supplier mobile app will ensure you get notified as and when people search your store. Ensure you activate Trade Assurance when you create your account as it is Alibaba.com’s own order protection and secure payments service.
