Views: 88 Author: Shirley, Shengyuan Publish Time: 2022-04-21 Origin: Site
As the cross-border e-commerce industry enters its second half, new species and new forces are emerging in the entire cross-border e-commerce ecosystem, and the collaboration model of all parties is also undergoing profound changes.to this end,[China Cross-border E-commerce Fair] joins hands with [Sellers Home] to launch a series of reports 'Cross-Border E-Commerce Fair'·New Power》, conduct in-depth visits to new forces in the cross-border e-commerce upstream and downstream industries, share their entrepreneurial stories and future thinking, look for new certainty in the industry, and promote more frequent and in-depth exchanges and cooperation between industry belts, sellers, service providers and e-commerce platforms through cross-border trade fairs, and jointly Xiang event.
Produced by: China Cross-Trade Fair, Seller’s Home
author:Shirley, Shengyuan
edit:Shirley
Having been deeply involved in the home furnishing and memory foam fields for more than ten yearsFujian Dafang Sleep Technology Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as'Dafang Technology') is a new force for cross-border e-commerce.
This company belongs to the old home textile group, the listed company Mengjie Home Textiles (002397)’s companies will only start testing cross-border e-commerce in 2021.
In just one year, Dafang Technology’s supply value to cross-border sellers reached40 million, and its business scope covers pillows, mattresses and other home furnishing areas.Among them, a cross-border pillow core product created by Dafang Technology,annual sales volume600,000 items, ranking first on Amazon’s US and UK sites, and achieving the best seller ranking。
People can't help but wonder,Dafang Technology, which encountered huge changes in the industry when it entered the game, how did it realize cross-border e-commerce?The span from 0 to 1?
At the same time, Dafang Technology plans to invest inA huge investment of 200 million was made to expand the factory and signed strategic cooperation agreements with many internationally renowned brands.At a time when cross-border e-commerce is facing the impact of many uncertain factors, how does Dafang Technology view the second half of cross-border e-commerce, and what changes are taking place in the cooperation methods between suppliers and sellers?
Cross-cross meeting·New Power》This brings you closer to Dafang Technology to find out.
01
The hidden champion who emerged from the mountains
Dafang Technology is a Fujian company, but it is not located in the coastal zone where industries gather.
In 2010, this companyNan'an City, Quanzhou is adjacent to Shishan Town in Yongchun County, a low-key start among the hills and mountains.
In Nan'an at that time, Dafang Technology could be said to be a lone traveler in the field of pillows and mattresses.No one expected that just a few years later, Dafang Technology would becomeOwned by a few in the countryMDI soft foam technology and mass productionCompanies that use memory foam household products.
It is understood that Dafang Technology has established a complete industrial chain from the research and development of production formulas to the production and sales of semi-finished products and finished products.154 patents, established a long-term cooperative R&D relationship with Wanhua Chemical, the giant MDI material development company, and cooperated with Xiamen University and Suzhou University in R&D to jointly build MDI laboratories.
Dafang Technology core strength display chart
On September 26, 2016, Mengjie Co., Ltd. (002397) issued an announcement on external investment, spending 160 million yuan to acquire 51% of Dafang Technology’s shares..In Mengjie Home Textiles (002397), it has further consolidated its leading advantages in the two categories of memory pillows and mattresses, and has become a core supplier of many well-known domestic brands.
Dafang Technology, which came out of the mountains, obviously wants to go further.
In 2020, the outbreak of overseas e-commerce markets has allowed this hidden champion to see the way to overseas markets.Affected by the epidemic, in the Q2 quarter of 2020 alone, U.S. e-commerce sales jumped 49%, and the three-month growth rate was equivalent to the sum of the past ten years.A large number of overseas supply chain orders are pouring into the country.In particular, the home textile and home furnishing industry has benefited from the 'stay-at-home economy' and has seen a sharp increase in order volume.Dafang Sleep, who has a keen sense of smell, has also begun to enter cross-border e-commerce.And inIn March 2021, Fuzhou's first cross-trade fair met a large number of sellers and began to walk on two legs in the domestic and overseas markets.
02
stormy sea2021
Entering cross-border e-commerce for the first time and catching up againDafang Technology, which is experiencing huge changes in the industry in 2021, also has a special feeling in its heart.
'When we were under the highest pressure, we had 15 containers of goods in the warehouse.' Hong Zhenxiao, head of cross-border e-commerce at Dafang Technology, said that the big difference between cross-border e-commerce and domestic e-commerce is that cross-border e-commerce involves heavy asset investment and has a long collection cycle.
For factories, by cooperating with domestic e-commerce companies, they can receive payment quickly in basically half a month to a month.Cross-border e-commerce sellers need to prepare goods in advance and transport the goods overseas through cross-border logistics. There is still a long platform settlement period after the goods are sold. Sellers often hope that suppliers can provide long payment terms..However, providing account terms means only earning fixed profits, preferring low-risk suppliers, and having to bear high risks.
Inside Dafang Technology Factory
This risk lies inIt will begin to appear intensively in May 2021.Like many cross-border people, it was difficult for Hong Zhenxiao to sleep well for a long time.Under the wave of store closures, a large number of sellers' funds have been frozen, and the risk of capital rupture has increased sharply.Factories that are closely related to sellers naturally have a hard time.
Under normal circumstances, we can ship 8 to 9 containers of pillows and 6 containers of mattresses a month. Hong Zhenxiao said that the wave of store closures last year added two months of idling for Dafang Sleeping, which put a lot of pressure on factories with low gross profits.
In the darkest moment, many factories encountered sellers abandoning goods, and warehouses were filled with goods for which only advance payments had been made.Suppliers jointly defend their rights, and news about demanding payment for goods also floods the screen from time to time.Fortunately,Dafang Technology and its cooperating sellers understand each other, and strive to reduce the operational pressure on sellers.Sellers activated other unblocked stores to ship goods as soon as possible, and worked together to weather the turbulent wave of store closures.'After five months of use, this batch of goods was finally cleared.'
03
responseUncertainty of 2022
But Amazon is closing stores,However, it has greatly changed expectations and collaboration models in the industry.
IfBefore May 2021, both sellers and suppliers hoped to increase shipments, use distribution scale and cost-effectiveness to seize the market and gain profits. After experiencing this store closure crisis, all parties have become cautious.
At present, Dafang Technology has taken the initiative to raise the threshold for cooperation with sellers.According to Hong Zhenxiao, the companies we are currently cooperating with are basically sellers worth over 100 million yuan.
At the same time, Dafang Technology is also actively building a flexible supply chain to shorten sellers’ stocking cycles and reduce stocking costs.
In the past, sellers wouldFor major marketing nodes such as Prime Day, Black Friday, and Christmas, the production and logistics cycles are calculated in advance, and stocking for the second half of the year is determined at once.However, sellers currently face many uncertainties in their operations.Dafang Technology further recommends that customers only prepare goods for about two months at a time.
To this end, Dafang Technology has offered'Three-axe'.First, a long-term supply agreement was signed with the upstream, ensuring that sellers have sufficient material supply after placing orders and reducing the material preparation cycle.Secondly, Dafang Technology plans to invest inWith a huge investment of more than 200 million, it began to expand production capacity.On this basis, Dafang Technology also carried out assembly line transformation.
With the support of flexible supply chain, Dafang Technology is more adaptable to e-commerce'Multiple batches and small batches'The supply demand has also given strong support to cross-border e-commerce sellers who are facing more uncertainties.
04
The end point for cross-border suppliers is the product
It has invested heavily in expanding production capacity and is raising the threshold for sellers to cooperate. So why does Dafang Technology have the confidence to absorb the skyrocketing production capacity?
Only the ultimate product strength can attract high-quality sellers and brand owners to invest.
From the perspective of Dafang Technology,First, we need to have a deep understanding of overseas user groups and conduct targeted development.Dafang Technology’s two main products, mattresses and pillows, have been compared between the domestic market and overseas markets.'The domestic market prefers square pillows, but the overseas market prefers various functional pillows. We have developed various pillows suitable for side sleeping and playing with mobile phones while lying on the stomach.' Hong Zhenxiao introduced, Dafang Technology A pillow core launched has achieved annual sales of 600,000 units, becoming the best seller in the category.But the situation with mattresses is just the opposite. All kinds of fancy and multi-functional mattresses are very popular in the domestic market, but overseas consumers prefer simple and simple styles with single functions.
Dafang Technology Planet Children's Pillow
In order to achieve targeted product development, Dafang Technology will continue to listen to feedback from sellers and brands. The R&D department will also regularly collect product reviews from users to form product co-creation and achieve product iterative upgrades.
At the same time, Dafang Technology also attaches great importance to consumers' consumption experience, helping partners better shape their reputation and reduce costs.When we just started cooperating with cross-border e-commerce sellers, Dafang Technology discovered thatCross-border logistics accounts for a large proportion of operating costs.Its two major products, memory pillows and mattresses, are soft and fluffy and occupy a large space, and the corresponding logistics costs are also high.However, if the product is excessively compressed just to reduce logistics costs, it will affect product flexibility.
To this end, Dafang Technology has made targeted technical improvements. The original size isThe volume of a 60cm*40cm*12cm pillow is less than 1/4 of its original size after compression, and the number of cabinets can be greatly increased.And in order to adapt to the long shipping time,The rebound time of three months has also increased to six to eight months.
It is precisely with the hard power of products that Dafang Technology can enter the field of cross-border e-commerce suppliers. In just one year, it has become the core supplier of many top sellers and overseas brands.
05
The trillion-dollar business opportunity in the sleep economy has just begun
In addition to its own strength, the global sleep economy market that Dafang Technology is based on has amazing potential, which is also a source of confidence for it to fly against the wind.
Affected by the epidemic, everyone's life pressure has increased sharply and health awareness has increased. The whole world is using various methods to'sleep tight'.
GundamThe US$432 billion global sleep economy market is dominated by home hardware, sleep aid apps, and auxiliary products.in,Home hardware, mainly including pillows and mattresses, holds the key to people's dreams and has become the most important wealth code for playing in the home furnishing industry.
● According to a MarketWatch survey, in the United States, household products such as mattresses are considered 'consumables' with an average service life of only 2-3 years.Moreover, overseas consumers are more receptive to functional products.
● Some institutions predict that inThe market value of memory foam pillows and mattresses will exceed US$17 billion in 2026.
● According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total export value of my country’s furniture, bedding and other stuffed products is only inIn January 2022, it reached 85.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%.
Massive market share is waiting for ambitious new players to enter.
But the difficulty lies in cross-border e-commerce, which is essentially e-commerce.How to solve cross-border problems based on the nature of e-commerce business, there are still too many things that require Chinese suppliers and sellers to work hard to improve.Take mattress products as an example. In China, fast and low logistics costs allow consumers to sleep first and buy later.A peer launched it on Taobao platform'100-day sleep trial plan', free return within 100 days if you are not satisfied with the sleep trial.But for cross-border e-commerce, if consumers want to return or exchange goods, they face problems such as being unable to compress the mattress back to its original shape and high reverse logistics costs.Once a return occurs, the seller can only choose to discard it, which will seriously affect profits.
But as the saying goes, it is difficult to pass, but it is difficult to pass.High-quality suppliers can better build their brands and go global with the help of sellers; only through dialogue with a large number of sellers and stable suppliers can the product quality be guaranteed..Don’t let good products and good sales pass you by,[China Cross-border E-commerce Fair]It came to pass.
The scene of the first cross-trade fair
In 2021, the first cross-border trade fair attracted more than 60 industrial zones, more than 5,000 suppliers and 130,000 cross-border sellers, and received unanimous praise from the industry.Dafang Technology, which also came to the conference with the mentality of giving it a try, became an instant success in just three days and gained many heavyweight high-quality customers.
At the second cross-border trade fair in 2022, many cross-border e-commerce forces will make a collective appearance.Cross-border river basins and the new e-commerce ecology are all at the event.The most cutting-edge cross-border e-commerce cooperation opportunities are waiting for you to join!
