| bottom-link"> | | | | down the price of goods - all good for the consumer - |
| With a chess retailing site concentrating on quality for | | | | carriage is built into the equation. If a customer returns |
| demanding customers, how do you balance the needs | | | | a faulty chess set, then the merchant would generally |
| of high quality product, profit, time management with | | | | cover the cost of the return trip. If a refund is given, |
| the poor quality production of the home of chess | | | | two trips have been charged by the courier company, |
| production - India? | | | | in many cases representing a net loss. If a |
| Increased Competition - need for low costs of goods | | | | replacement is sent then the carriage has been paid |
| and time. With a surge of online business, much | | | | for three times - only once covered by the original |
| competition is experienced accross all industries. With | | | | purchase. This too often represents a net loss. But |
| chess retailing many companies have sprung up to | | | | that's not all. Good customers produce - on average - |
| take advantage of what the internet affords us - a | | | | two further customers over a future time period. Once |
| relatively easy way to put up a commercial store. The | | | | a fault is experienced this is reduced to zero with a |
| increased competition has had three main effects: 1. | | | | slight possibility of recovering the customers |
| Now the goods have to the right goods, be of good | | | | confidence and appreciation if handled well. All this |
| quality and be worth their price. 2. The profit margin is | | | | because a suppier in India cannot be fully trusted to |
| reduced through the competition. 3. The cost of being | | | | produce good quality chess sets. The obvious short |
| seen by customers through such mediums as web | | | | term solution? The merchants do their own quality |
| advertising (adwords, etc.) has risen significantly as | | | | control. As earlier discussed, at western salary prices |
| merchants see the front page as the new High Street | | | | profit is constrained even more. |
| Mall. Therefore more than ever (and clearly set to | | | | Urge better supplier quality standards. We have to |
| become more critical) there is a need for suppliers to | | | | urge our Indian suppliers to change things. We cannot |
| provide high quality goods for a low price. In the case | | | | just tell them the issues, insist on replacements or |
| of ChessBaron chess sets, chess boards and chess | | | | partial/total credit and expect things to improve. Lip |
| pieces, once the goods are imported, tax paid, | | | | service asserting agreement is common but often |
| packaging bought, packers paid, etc. the cost of the | | | | results in little change - it's not the answer. They must |
| goods are such that little profit is seen. Poor quality in | | | | realise that their quality control has to improve, |
| terms of scratches, chips and such may well render a | | | | something has to actually change to produce an |
| sale as just break-even or even a loss. Every area in | | | | improvement. Ranting and raving won't necessarily |
| chess set retailing needs to be watched - but the | | | | solve the issue, the suppliers must make some |
| most difficult factor is dealing with a third world country | | | | changes in the procedure and their attitude to make |
| where quality is just not the same as we have come | | | | the stream a healthy one, to result in profit for all |
| to expect in the commercial, industrialised and | | | | parties. But we're here, and they're there. If the supplier |
| demanding west. | | | | makes trips abroad annually, that may be the time to |
| Need to trust suppliers. If time is taken by operatives to | | | | get the 'quality message' over, but the level of exertion |
| examine every item that comes through to the chess | | | | needed for this is often underestimated. Visits to the |
| warehouse, the product's profit is impacted. but it's not | | | | area ourselves may be needed But clearly the mantra |
| only that - it's difficult to motivate someone that doesn't | | | | is an ongoing message. One factor to assist is to |
| have a shareholder relationship with the company to | | | | make the suppliers feel the pain by recording each |
| even do that kind of time consuming and tedious work. | | | | blemish and insisting on rectification. This is an effective |
| But the need to do this is clear if you can't fully trust | | | | way to make the point clear and one which affects |
| that the supplier has quality checked the goods and | | | | his own profitability. |
| they are without blemish or defect. The overwhelming | | | | Why not just change suppliers? With chess design |
| need is for the chess set retailer to be able to trust | | | | being so specialised, when initially setting up an online |
| that the supplier has performed due diligence in checing | | | | store, so much is involved in photography and |
| the quality. But it's just too tempting for a third world | | | | descriptions that changing the supplier to an apparently |
| supplier to ignore one chess piece defect when it | | | | more worthy one is not an easy step, although in |
| impacts the entire set. Further, with some of the more | | | | severe cases it's the only sensible one. The supplier |
| complex chess pieces taking two days or even more | | | | may excel in areas of innovative design and just let |
| to carve a single chess piece (as with some knights), | | | | himself down in the quality control area. Leavin gthe |
| there is an impact on the suppliers profit margin if | | | | supplier may mean leaving the suppliers designs, the |
| another two days is required to complete the chess | | | | essence of the business. Besides, it may be a case of |
| set. The result? 'Include the piece and see what | | | | 'jumping out of the frying pan into the fire' - difficult to |
| happens - we may get away with it'. The chess | | | | know if the new one is even worse. Unless the quality |
| retailer needs to be able to trust the supplier with | | | | issue is severe, it may well be best when dealing with |
| respect to blemishes and defects - if not, the whole | | | | this sector of the world, to keep the quality message |
| chain to market success is precarious. Of all areas for | | | | flowing, insist that they feel the pain of blemishes and |
| stores selling chess sets - this is the most pressing - | | | | take every occasion to pump the quality requirement |
| we have to get to a point where you can trust the | | | | message to an Indian supplier. It's the part in the chain |
| suplier so much that we have confidence that what is | | | | of manufacture to consumer that results in the most |
| labelled on the box is correct and that the contents of | | | | gain. |
| the case are appropriate quality. | | | | All we need to do now is to get the domestic courier |
| True cost of customer returns. With competiton driving | | | | price down. But that's another story. |