Doesn’t matter if you are a big business or a small business, office supplies like pens, papers, markets, boards, folders, etc. are always a big part of the workflow for any business. And they are here for the long run for sure. That is why becoming an office supplies reseller is a lucrative online business.
While you can set up your online office supply store with the most advanced tools and practices, a good office supplies distributor supports your business like a backbone. At the end of the day, it is the office supplies wholesale distributors that provide the products to your customers.
In this guide, we will be focusing on some of the factors to keep in mind while choosing an office supplies distributor for your reseller business. Using these key points, you can choose the right office supplies distributor who can provide you with all the products and facilities you will need.
Factors to Consider when Choosing an Office Supplies Distributor
Selecting the right office supplies distributor for your reseller business is crucial as it can make or break your online platform. No matter how much time and effort you put into making your online store user-friendly, your distributor is the one responsible for the fulfillment of the orders. Here are the things you should ensure in the products and services offered by an office supplies distributor:
Range of Products
Office supplies are not limited to just pens, papers, staplers, etc. The term ‘office supplies’ is an umbrella term for a wide range of products including stationery products, furniture, IT products, etc.
Think of it from a customer’s perspective, what would be more convenient? To get all the office supplies from one great place or go to different sites to get different products. Of course, the former one is more convenient. That is why you need to make sure that your office supplies distributor provides a wide range of office supplies products. The products may include:
- Office supplies
- Copy paper, sheets
- Ink and toner
- Breakroom products
- Facility and janitorial products
- Interior design and furniture
- IT products and services
- Printing products
- Safety and PPE products
If your supplier can provide you with all of these products, you can easily attract a lot of customers to your eCommerce store.
Product Quality
One of the key factors that play an important role in the growth of your online business is the product quality you provide. Since you are a reseller, the responsibility of the product quality goes to your office supplies distributor.
Customers will only buy from your online store if you provide them with quality products. That is why you need to make sure that your distributor has the best quality products. Do your research and ask for a few sample products to test for yourself. Your satisfaction at this point paves way for smooth functioning and quality offerings in the future.
Pricing
When you are a reseller, you can not do a whole lot of customizations on the products you are selling. At least not on a fundamental level. This is why most of the office supplies products are generic. So how does one increase the sales of generic products? Well, the easiest way to do that is to sell your products at a competitive price. To do that, you will have to get affordable pricing from your office supplies distributor.
Take quotations from different distributors to compare the prices, product quality, and other factors before making the final decision. Some office supplies wholesale distributors also offer dynamic pricing. Such a feature can help you sell products on your eCommerce store at an affordable price.
Brand Image
If you are setting up a new online reseller business then you might want to skip experimenting with a lot of distributors. So how to find a good one?
Office supplies wholesale distributors with a good brand image and reputation are a good place to start.
A good brand image and reputation establishes credibility and that is one of the few ways by which you can verify the brand reputation online. This again requires extensive online research. Go to different review sites, search for your office supplies distributor and see what others have to say about them. For new businesses, having a reputable distributor is the optimum way to start an online business.
Customer Service
When we talk about physical products like office supplies, there can be numerous things that can have issues. Be it payment issues, shipment delay, order discrepancy, and whatnot. Such issues should not happen often but when they do, you need someone you can reach out to. To help you with all of these issues, you need an office supplies distributor that can provide you with excellent customer service. Check out the kind of customer service this distributor offers to avoid any future hassles.
Scope for Scalability
Every business plans to grow and you can’t grow with a distributor that can’t scale up their services and operations according to your requirements. Look for a reputable office supplies distributor that can scale when needed and not the one that gives up when you need them the most.
What you have to do is see the list of clients that your distributor provides services to. Then see how big those brands are. You can also test the scope for scalability at the early stages of growth. Changing distributors later when you are a big brand can affect your business negatively.
Reliability
The reliability-measuring factors for an office supplies distributor are product availability and order fulfillment. First of all, your distributor must have all the products that are displayed on your site for sale in sufficient quantity. Then, they should have a fast order processing and shipment.
These days, many distributors provide one-day shipping, next-day delivery, and other convenient order processing features. If your office supplies distributor can provide all of that, you can provide your customers with faster deliveries. This in turn can boost your sales significantly.
Easy Payment Terms
Oftentimes distributors and resellers find themselves at an impasse and it is mainly because of payment issues. Before it develops into a serious issue and you face trouble later, it is better to have clear payment terms with your distributor.
Make sure that you establish a clear dialogue when it comes to payment terms. Since you are a reseller looking to take your business forward, you can negotiate from a position of strength. Choose the payment methods that are suitable for you.
Integration with Your eCommerce Platform
All of the above factors are quite necessary and if your office supplies distributor fulfills all of them, here are some more features that you can look out for:
Catalog Transfer
One of the biggest challenges while starting an online store is the transfer of the product catalog to your eCommerce store from the office supplies distributor. If you do it the old way, there can be a lot of errors and inconsistencies that you can’t afford. That is why you should look for a distributor or an eCommerce platform that can provide seamless catalog transfer.
For example, VARStreet has partnerships with over 45+ distributors and when you choose VARStreet as your eCommerce platform, the entire catalog is transferred seamlessly via FTP to your eCommerce store.
Smooth Onboarding
The onboarding process for any office supplies distributor can be overwhelming if you are new to this business. But at the same time, onboarding is extremely essential for your eCommerce store to work smoothly. Your office supplies distributor should assign a rep that can walk you through the entire transition and help you in case of any problem. For example, with VARStreet, you get a team of experts who guide you through the onboarding process and make your journey easy.
Dropshipping
If you are an online office supplies reseller business then you should look for office supplies wholesale distributors who can provide you with the dropshipping feature. With the dropshipping model, you need not worry about the packaging and shipping of the orders at it happens at the distributor level. This can significantly bring down the costs of setting up a new business as you do not have to invest in a warehouse and office space. Dropshipping helps you start an online business right away.
Closing Phrase
Those are some of the key factors to keep in mind when choosing an office supplies distributor for your reseller business. Make sure you choose a vendor with good product quality, good reputation, and great pricing. On top of that, you can also look for some other features such as dropshipping, dynamic pricing, etc.
We hope this guide helps you to find the right office supplies distributor for your online business.
