SupplyChain Magazine March 2016 | Page 13

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY need an army of sales people hitting the phones , this isn ’ t the case .
A complete , online liquidation auction solution is one way to make this happen . The best solutions available can be customised , integrated , and scaled based on your unique needs . They will also come with thousands of active , interested buyers who will compete for your stock via online auctions . When done right , this type of remarketing solution can boost recovery by 30-80 percent and sometimes much more . It also automates the sales process , delivers a faster sales cycle , and generates proprietary market intelligence in the form of real data on market prices .
Take this example : one of the world ’ s largest home furnishings and décor e-retailers was experiencing higher volumes of customer returns due to explosive growth in primary sales . The inventory was being sold to a small group of buyers for a pre-negotiated price but as the amount of merchandise grew , so did the need for more buyers .
By launching a branded B2B online liquidation marketplace , the e-retailer made its inventory accessible to thousands of new business buyers who were able to bid directly on it via competitive online auctions ; this boosted recovery rates by more than 30 percent despite a 138 percent increase in stock volume . What ’ s more , this platform allowed the e-retailer to offload most all of the operational work associated with selling their stock while accelerating the cash cycle .
Refurbish before resale ? While demand typically exists for products across all conditions , certain products are better suited to be sold as refurbished or remanufactured . This means you can invest money in repairs , cleaning and repackaging to gain a recovery that is much higher , even after those costs . Keep in mind that refurbishing takes longer to realise recovery and requires more oversight but should certainly be considered if product value is prioritised over expediency . If bandwidth to handle such repairs doesn ’ t exist in-house , consider leveraging a trusted partner to handle the process .
Finally , even if your product itself is not in demand in the secondary market there are options for recovery through parts harvesting , as there
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