Capital and personnel required to export through Alibaba

1. Understand the B2B Model on Alibaba and how this e-commerce platform works

Before investing money, businesses need to clearly understand the nature of operations:

Connection model:Alibaba.comoperates as a global business directory, where sellers (Sellers) display production capacity and buyers (Buyers) actively seek supply.
Sales cycle: Unlike retail (B2C), B2B orders have a cycle of 1-6 months from approach to contract closing.
Rating mechanism: The floor operates based on the trust score algorithm (Star Rating). The more capital invested in advertising and good operating personnel, the higher the ranking.
Role of Alibaba Vietnam: This is the focal point to support training, payment and consulting on opening stores in accordance with the legal characteristics and business culture of Vietnamese people.

To operate a professional booth, businesses need to prepare the following 4 core cost groups:

This is a fixed annual fee to maintain the Gold Supplier booth:

Starter package: About $1,999/year (Suitable for businesses with a lot of operating experience)
Basic/Standard package: Ranges from $2,999 - $5,999/year (Most popular package, supports many marketing tools).
Premium Package: Over $10,000/year (For large businesses that want to dominate the industry).

International customers buy through "eyes" before buying with "contracts":

Product photography: $200 - $500 (White background photo, lifestyle photo, material detail photo).
Factory video: $500 - $1,500 (Film production and warehouse processes to create credibility).
Booth design (Minisite): Supported by Alibaba team.

Sending samples: Businesses usually pay the sample production fee, customers pay the shipping fee (or vice versa).
International certificates: Costs for ISO, CE, FDA, OEKO-TEX... depending on the industry (this is the "passport" to sell into the US and Europe).

A small factory does not need too many people, but needs the following versatile positions:

Tasks: Post products with SEO standards, track Star Rating, optimize advertising keywords.
Skills: Understand Alibaba algorithm, know basic photo editing, KWA budget management.

Duties: Live chat 24/7 (TradeManager), answer Inquiry, quote RFQ.
Skills: Good business English, negotiation skills, understanding of delivery terms (Incoterms).

Tasks: Prepare export documents, contact forwarder, package goods according to international standards.
For small factories, the Sales position can concurrently handle this part if the orders are not too many.

Instead of researching on your own, finding a consulting unit to open a booth will help save 50% of time and avoid wasting capital:

Market analysis: The consulting unit's AI will tell you which market (US, Japan or EU) needs your product the most.
Keyword optimization: Instead of guessing, experts will list the set of keywords with the highest conversion rate.
Skills training: Instruct the Sales team on how to handle when customers ask for discounts or difficult payment terms.
Technical support: Handle business authentication issues (Authentication & Verification) quickly.

To optimize the amount of capital spent, businesses should follow the roadmap listed below:

January: Complete the legal framework, open a booth, design a Minisite and post 20 key products.
February: Start running KWA ads, proactively seek 10-20 RFQs (Request for Quotation) per day.
March: Collect feedback from customers on prices and designs to adjust production processes.
April: Focus on potential customers who have submitted samples, follow up via WhatsApp/WeChat.
May: Closing the first trial order via Trade Assurance.
June: Evaluate effectiveness, increase budget for targeted keywords and upgrade Star Rating.