Start a Traditional Foreign Trade Company's Transition to Amazon

Traditional foreign trade companies often have deep pockets in terms of capital as they have been working in the industry for decades. However, if they do not actively seek transformation, they may be unable to feed their workers and may finally be eliminated by the times.

For such foreign trade companies, branding is an appropriate solution. As their products are popular among overseas consumers, platforms like Amazon can be ideal for showcasing these fine products. However, the problem is that they often lack an e-commerce mindset, experienced operational talent, and a clear sense of branding.

The core of an e-commerce mindset is keen market insight and foresight. Companies need to select products accurately, predict which ones are likely to be the future breakout ones, and prepare accordingly. At the same time, they need experienced operational talent to guide the entire e-commerce business.

However, the reality is that many foreign trade companies are weak in this area. They may be used to the OEM model and lack sufficient attention to brand building. This makes them feel lost in the transition process and not know how to start.

In view of this situation, I put forward the following suggestions:

Change the previous thinking pattern

1. Foreign trade companies need to accept the shift from B2B to B2C, understand the characteristics of small batches and multi-species orders, and develop enough patience to adapt to this change.

2. Management style must also be adjusted accordingly to cater to the needs of e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

Build an efficient team

1. The owner needs to have some knowledge of e-commerce in order to supervise the overall business.

2. Recruit experienced operational talents to lead the startup team in realizing the breakthrough quickly.

3. Team members should be proactive and self-driven to cope with the various challenges in the early stage of the startup.

4. Streamline the team size and improve work efficiency while focusing on talent cultivation.

5. Set up a reasonable performance appraisal mechanism to stimulate the enthusiasm and creativity of team members.

Gradually establish brand awareness

Brand building is not an overnight job. It needs to be gradually accumulated based on the popular product. The company can first register the trademark of the destination country to lay the foundation for brand building. At the same time, it needs to create explosive products in order to enhance brand influence and attract more consumers to buy through the brand search.

In short, foreign trade companies in the transition process need to focus on three aspects: thinking change, team building, and brand building. Only by making a breakthrough in these three aspects can the company be invincible in the fierce market competition.