Should SME’s leverage a B2B liquidation marketplace for returns?

This post has been guest written by Ben Whitaker – Director of EMEA at B-Stock Solutions.  Ben is an expert in his field and we asked him about the opportunity that lies in liquidation of returns and excess stock.  Over to Ben…

When it comes to the survival of a small business, profitability is essential. Whilst larger businesses can afford to take greater risks, small businesses must ensure every cost is accounted for and that loss is minimal.

For many small retailers, one of the biggest areas of financial stress is from overstocks and customer returns: product returns alone cost UK retailers around £60 billion per-year[1]. What’s more, a lot of this inventory can’t or won’t go back on store shelves, and instead is slated for liquidation; this makes it essential for retailers (small and large) to have a liquidation plan in place that offsets as much loss as possible for the merchandise.

The Liquidation Opportunity

Any retailers still relying on a small pool of buyers or a liquidator to take unwanted stock at a rock-bottom price are leaving money on the table and missing a vital opportunity to squeeze out more margin.

Removing the dependence on a small number of buyers and instead apply

ing technology to your liquidation program can dramatically increase profits.

The most effective technology-driven program comes in the form of an online auction marketplace that allows thousands of buyers to compete for the inventory, pushing prices up versus a handful of buyers negotiating them down.

Leveraging a business-to-business online auction liquidation marketplace is one way to access this buyer base.

The most valuable marketplaces come with an established and vetted base of thousands of active buyers.  This type of solution, when used properly, can boost recovery by 30-80% and sometimes much more. Additionally, it will help deliver a faster sales cycle, quickly turning your returned and excess inventory into cash, whilst automating the process and generating proprietary market intelligence in the form of real data on market prices

The Proof Is In The Results

For example, a small, family-owned electronics wholesaler was looking for an easy-to-use, cost effective B2B solution to help increase recovery on refurbished electronics.

The company leveraged a reputable multi-seller B2B online auction liquidation marketplace and was able to quickly turn its stock into cash by having thousands of buyers compete for it.

As well as this, an increase in exposure and competition allowed for a triple digit rise in recovery (658%) as well as a repeat buyer rate of 74.7% – a huge accomplishment for the business.

The modern retail sector is hugely competitive and every pound recovered or saved through reducing expenses adds up and impacts the bottom line.

With high return rates that show no sign of slowing down, leveraging a B2B liquidation marketplace to establish a properly effective program could be the ideal solution to one of the most common and critical e-commerce dilemmas faced by small retailers across the country today.

[1] https://yocuda.com/blog/reduce-your-returns

Author bio

Ben Whitaker is Director of EMEA at B-Stock Solutions, a technology company powering the largest network of private-label B2B liquidation marketplaces. Hundreds of retailers, including seven of the top 10 U.S. retailers, have leveraged B-Stock Solutions’ technology and service offerings to sell billions of dollars in consumer returned and excess inventory. For more information please visit http://bstock.com.

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