3 Ways Manufacturers Reduce Cost Using Miva Merchant

This is a guest post by Sabine Sharp of Glendale Designs. The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Miva Merchant.

Retailers have selected Miva Merchant as their shopping cart platform for years, but now, more and more manufacturers are jumping on board!  Manufacturers commonly “print” a lot more tangible product information sales tools, and these costs are rising.  Miva Merchant is a great way for manufacturers to update product information rapidly and distribute it to their distributors fast!  Company strategies can vary depending on the marketing goals; however your objectives can be accommodated in a professional effective way.  Listed below are some ways manufacturers utilize their Miva Merchant carts:

Option 1–Online Catalog Only (B2C)

One approach to help build your brand and reduce costs is to provide all your product information on a website that directs to your authorized retailers for purchase.

• Showcase your products with product imagery & product information with an MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price).
• Consumers can locate current product information and technical information.
• Provide a list of retailers where consumers can purchase online or at a brick-n-mortar store.

PreciousJewelryCollections.com

Precious Collections, an authorized Disney children’s jewelry company, uses Miva Merchant to showcase products to customers and guide them to a retailer online or locally to buy.

Option 2–Online Catalog plus Wholesale Section (B2C & B2B)

You can expand on the first option by including a wholesale section where distributors can order with an online account

• Showcase your products; provide product imagery, product information with a MSRP.
• Provide a secure login area so the distributors can purchase products directly from the site.
• Display a list of retailers where consumers can purchase online or at a brick-n-mortar store

Toysandmodels.com

Toys and Models Corporation , a great example of the second approach, specializes in collectible scale model aircrafts with a site that appeals to customers and distributors.

Front end–MSRP Find a dealer

Wholesale view

Option 3–Online Retail Sales Section Plus Wholesale Section (B2C & B2B)

The next evolution a manufacturer might take is to allow customers to buy online at the retail price and distributors to buy at wholesale price all from the website.

• Provide an online retail store for consumers–often manufacturers will retail their products slightly higher than their distributors in order to not to compete.
• Provide a secure login area so the distributors can purchase products directly from the site.
• Display a list of retailers where consumers can purchase online or at a brick-n-mortar store

Stampotique.com

Stampotique not only has a wholesale but also a retail section.  On the retail end they show customers a completed arts and crafts project then give you the option to purchase all items needed to recreate the project. This is a great way for customers to buy components.

Option 4–Other Options and Examples

Many manufactures offer discount tiers to their retailers (less 20%, less 5%, less 10%, based on volume for instance). These discounts can be pre-structured and assigned when the store owner sets up and approves a wholesale account.

Bottom Crawlers

Bottomcrawlers.com After a wholesale customer logs in, the category page is setup to add multiple items with options to order, so you can for one product buy 20 large, 15 small, 10 medium, all with one add to basket. This is a great way to place bulk orders/reorders for retailers.

Among other manufactures utilizing Miva Merchant for their online presence, The Laundress, Inc.  and BaronLFI offer not only retail but also dealer logins to assist customers.

The Laundress, Inc

The Laundress was covered previously on the blog for its design and the site is a great example for other product manufacturers.

Baron LFI

Baron LFI focuses on auto & truck accessories to both consumers and registered dealers who resale licensed accessories from Harley Davidson ® to Hummer to Lexus.

Now it’s your turn–what ways have you seen manufacturers use Miva Merchant? Share your favorite sites by leaving a comment.