Back in 2011, around seven million people vaped. 12 years later that number has increased almost tenfold. This dramatic increase in demand would have placed pressure on any supply chain at the best of times. But these have not been the best of times, and in 2020 and 2021, there was the added complication of those strange months during which even static distribution channels were pushed to the limit in the US and beyond.
Those difficulties were shared across every multinational industry, but vapers found that retail outlets selling vaping products were not always allowed to even open their doors. Whether vapes are an “everyday essential” is a debate we will save for another day, but the fact was that even those US retailers who could open were finding it difficult to stock their shelves and meet demand.
Online ordering on the increase
It is often said that opportunity lies in adversity, and this was certainly the case for vaping providers who were geared up for e-commerce. Perhaps the best example of this principle in action is CCELL distributor Hamilton Devices. The California-based distributor has an exclusive distribution partnership with CCELL, and makes use of multiple distribution channels to meet customer demand on a global basis.
Core to this is online B2C sales through its online store. CCELL is a new type of vaping technology that uses a ceramic cell to deliver smoother vaporization than alternative products. It also encompasses a high-performance lithium battery and a range of pod devices in different colors and styles. Hamilton Devices has an online store and sells the complete range of CCELL products and accessories direct to customers all around the world. But that is only the beginning.
Serving innovative distribution channels
Hamilton Devices serves a diverse and global customer base. But the company has been quick to acknowledge that not every CCELL customers necessarily wants to purchase online from a business that is based in the USA.
For a variety of reasons, many consumers feel more comfortable doing business with a company or supplier that is closer to hand, even when shopping online. Instead of simply writing off these customers, Hamilton has been at the forefront of building a 21st century distribution network that is comprised of local retailers and online sellers who use a dropshipping model.
Hamilton has an exclusive partnership with CCELL and works with various distributors downstream in the supply chain through a number of distribution channels. The dramatic growth of the market of the past decade has opened up some very tempting opportunities for online sellers, especially in the dropshipping line.
The basic business model here is to operate as lean and efficient a supply chain as possible. Dropshippers do not hold any inventory at all. Instead, they act almost as procurement agents, processing orders and payments from their local customers. These orders are then passed to Hamilton Devices, who dispatch the order directly to the customer.
Over the past three years or so, e-commerce customer expectations have become more exacting. People are simply not prepared to wait for a week for something to be delivered, especially when it is something that, as mentioned earlier, might be categorized as an everyday essential or at least a welcome luxury. Hamilton had worked tirelessly, not to mention investing heavily, in the latest order fulfilment software to help distributors make a success of the dropshipping model. As the distributor says on its own site, there are “huge profits” to be made, and the sales model has set the business world buzzing on such platforms as Forbes, CNBC, Huffington Post and many others.
