How Does Direct Seller Fulfillment Work? That’s a interesting question to answer, but first we should make clear what Direct Selling is.
Direct Selling is simply doing business person-to-person instead of shopping at a retail location, like a department store. It gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to launch a business without making a huge financial investment and with the support of an experienced, credible company.
In the same way that attorneys have the American Bar Association, direct sellers have the Direct Sellers Association or DSA. The DSA is, in essence, a trade association for companies that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers through individuals making up a sales force.
One of the many things the DSA does is to set ethical standards for direct selling. Most of us have been exposed to direct selling, and we may know someone who represents a product. We also may have heard of multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes. A good way to judge the integrity of a company is to verify membership in the DSA.
To qualify for membership, each company must complete a year-long screening process to make sure every aspect of their business operation complies with the DSA Code of Ethics, including these key areas: Truth in advertising, ethical recruiting practices, factual financials, support and accountability, and consumer protection. As you can see, the Association protects both the seller and the customer.
Many years ago, before the DSA was needed, the Watkins man would drive around selling Watkins products. His arrival would be an exciting event, as these products couldn’t be found in stores. Today the population has grown so much that we truly need consumer protection, seller protection, and assistance for sellers in making their business successful. Today’s direct sellers present their unique and often high quality products at house parties, social events, Internet websites, exhibitions, in malls or even door to door. It’s a great way to buy, and a very respectable business model.
It is estimated that 18 million Americans are involved in direct selling. This means that hundreds of millions of products are being manufactured, warehoused, picked, packed and shipped, and maybe even assembled prior to shipping. This is Direct Seller Fulfillment. People seldom think of a fulfillment company as being a vital step in direct selling, but in fact, the right fulfillment company is key.
Imagine that you are a direct seller of Amway products, for example, and you have customers waiting for their orders. For your business to thrive, you’ll want those products to arrive on time and in perfect condition. Great fulfillment provides a boon to your business and poor fulfillment can really harm it.
Among the top 20 companies that are members of the Direct Sellers Association are Amway, which has more than 50 years in the business, Avon Products Inc., Mary Kay Inc., Herbalife, The Pampered Chef… all companies with great products and very ethical reputations. These and many others are hugely successful DSA companies; people are proud to represent these products, their pricing is fair, and customers are devoted.
AMS Fulfillment is pleased to do Direct Seller Fulfillment. We have DSA member companies as clients, and we would welcome more as we work exceptionally well with them. As one of the larger fulfillment companies in the US, our core expertise is in the distribution of branded consumer products. One of the benefits DSA clients enjoy when choosing AMS is our postage/freight rates. We have negotiated extraordinary shipping discounts with multiple carriers. In many cases, the shipping discounts are so substantial that clients save enough on shipping to completely cover fulfillment services.
Getting inventory items shipped accurately, routed properly and delivered on time is of course an imperative for our Direct Sellers Association Member clients as well as all of our clients. Our model for success is simple: When our clients succeed, we succeed! We take that to heart.
