In a few days marks my 20 year anniversary in the product industry. I worked primarily for two companies almost the entire 20 years. On the side, I was building websites since about 2008. My role has been extensive in the industry and I served 10 of those years at the executive level. From product development, to global sourcing, to importing, to selling every major account that exists. I was also involved deeply in the eCommerce side of the business like Amazon, Wayfair, Walmart, target.com, and others.
Anyway, about a year ago I decided to join some Amazon Seller Facebook groups. A lot of the same questions/needs were coming up. "I need a warehouse in...", "I need a freight forwarder...", "How can I get my products inspected...", etc. Since the beginning of the year I have sent a lot of business to the freight forwarder I have used the last 10 years for free.
So about 3 months ago I launched a website that connects brands and product owners to these services. Brands can find freight forwarders, sourcing agents, product inspection companies (you can book the inspection), and warehouses globally. And these resources can be found all in one place now. My list of onboarded companies is also growing nicely.
Because of my previous roles in this industry I wound up with a lot of LinkedIn connections overseas. Since I bought a lot of products for major retailers for national brands it seemed like every factory, especially Indian factories, wanted to connect with me to sell me their products. After I launched my website and announced it on LinkedIn I had a number of factories reach out to me asking me if they can join my website.
I didn't originally plan to have a manufacturing component to my site, but I do have the capabilities for multiple factories to join as vendors and list their products. And now not only will I list manufacturers, but I decided I'm also going to solve one of the other major questions I see in this industry. I always see people asking where they can find a US distributor for product X. In the coming weeks I will start listing factories globally that brands can purchase products from. In the next 2-3 months I will add the distribution component to my website so brands can buy from distributors. You can search by product or by location.
While everything may not be perfect or completely the way I envision it yet the next phase of adding manufacturers is about to launch. The entire supply chain will be accessible under my umbrella from manufacturing through warehousing. And it won't matter whether you purchase from a manufacturer or distributor. It won't matter where you are in the world or where you want to ship from or to. This is where the site is heading.
My goal in sharing this news is not only to receive feedback (the good, the bad, the ugly, etc.) but also to hold myself accountable for my goals. It's been a journey to get to this point. Alibaba needs a real competitor and there's a lot of room out there to improve on what they do. And that's what I'm doing...
Green Gamut - Home | Green Gamut
Anyway, about a year ago I decided to join some Amazon Seller Facebook groups. A lot of the same questions/needs were coming up. "I need a warehouse in...", "I need a freight forwarder...", "How can I get my products inspected...", etc. Since the beginning of the year I have sent a lot of business to the freight forwarder I have used the last 10 years for free.
So about 3 months ago I launched a website that connects brands and product owners to these services. Brands can find freight forwarders, sourcing agents, product inspection companies (you can book the inspection), and warehouses globally. And these resources can be found all in one place now. My list of onboarded companies is also growing nicely.
Because of my previous roles in this industry I wound up with a lot of LinkedIn connections overseas. Since I bought a lot of products for major retailers for national brands it seemed like every factory, especially Indian factories, wanted to connect with me to sell me their products. After I launched my website and announced it on LinkedIn I had a number of factories reach out to me asking me if they can join my website.
I didn't originally plan to have a manufacturing component to my site, but I do have the capabilities for multiple factories to join as vendors and list their products. And now not only will I list manufacturers, but I decided I'm also going to solve one of the other major questions I see in this industry. I always see people asking where they can find a US distributor for product X. In the coming weeks I will start listing factories globally that brands can purchase products from. In the next 2-3 months I will add the distribution component to my website so brands can buy from distributors. You can search by product or by location.
While everything may not be perfect or completely the way I envision it yet the next phase of adding manufacturers is about to launch. The entire supply chain will be accessible under my umbrella from manufacturing through warehousing. And it won't matter whether you purchase from a manufacturer or distributor. It won't matter where you are in the world or where you want to ship from or to. This is where the site is heading.
My goal in sharing this news is not only to receive feedback (the good, the bad, the ugly, etc.) but also to hold myself accountable for my goals. It's been a journey to get to this point. Alibaba needs a real competitor and there's a lot of room out there to improve on what they do. And that's what I'm doing...
Green Gamut - Home | Green Gamut
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