Why product quality should be king for UK SMEs

By Roland Palmer, Basic Supervisor of UK, Benelux and Nordics, Alibaba Group

For UK SMEs, retaining and enhancing their gross revenue margin is the final word aim. In response to the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics, roughly half of UK companies reported value inflation or power costs as their predominant reason behind concern. To counteract these points and retain margin, 16% have reported altering suppliers or discovering various options to get the wanted supplies, items, or providers. For some companies, this will imply “buying and selling down” to supply various merchandise or eradicating product traces altogether.

Nonetheless, within the hunt for margin acquire, UK SMEs should not neglect that product high quality is king. Analysis from world regulatory compliance agency Ideagen discovered that whereas the price of dwelling has positioned higher emphasis on value, customers should not prepared to compromise on the standard of products.

But, regardless of demand from prospects for greater high quality, 1 in 10 customers have reported a notable decline within the high quality of the merchandise acquired over current years. That is doubtless due to UK patrons prioritising margin over product high quality, within the hope of progress. This doubtlessly creates a spot between the expectations of the buyer and the provide of the model and will flip them off the model sooner or later. In actual fact, in line with KPMG, product high quality is an important consider constructing buyer loyalty – higher than worth for cash, customer support and a straightforward purchasing expertise.

So how do UK SMEs faucet into this demand and guarantee they don’t miss the mark with regards to product high quality? Along with macroeconomic challenges, we all know that sourcing has change into troublesome for UK companies lately. Provide chain managers are getting tougher to seek out, whereas archaic and outdated on-line techniques are irritating practically half of all B2B buyers. This makes it exhausting for UK patrons to have a look at alternate options and keep updated with the wants of customers.

The excellent news is that there’s a answer: B2B on-line marketplaces. Harnessing one of the best of B2C marketplaces, B2B on-line marketplaces allow B2B patrons to buy round from a nearly limitless variety of world suppliers to make extra environment friendly and efficient sourcing choices. They sometimes host hundreds of thousands of merchandise, provided immediately from producers all over the world, which give the identical high quality of products at reasonably priced costs.

To take it one step additional and assist UK SMEs ship on high quality, Alibaba.com – a number one platform for world B2B e-commerce that serves patrons and suppliers from over 200 nations and areas all over the world – has not too long ago launched its European Pavilion, a devoted useful resource for EU/UK-certified merchandise and merchandise sourced from verified suppliers.

Working in partnership with TUV Rheinland, a number one product testing and certification supplier, the European Pavilion additionally helps B2B patrons on Alibaba.com determine dependable and respected suppliers. It centres round enhancing belief and transparency throughout the B2B panorama. TÜV Rheinland, with its experience in product testing and certification, collaborates with Alibaba.com to validate the credibility of suppliers on their platform.

Initiatives like this allow UK SMEs and enterprise patrons to make higher buying choices. With on-line marketplaces, patrons can supply extra successfully, connecting with high-quality suppliers, providing prime quality merchandise at reasonably priced costs.

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