Retail Channel Planner
What could a retail channel add to your revenue?
Getting into Walmart, Target, Amazon and the like is pretty tough. Winning the buyer meeting is one thing, then your fulfillment has to meet their vendor requirements. This shows you what a given channel could be worth to your business, and what you need to do to unlock it.
01
The opportunity
So we can size what the channel is worth to you.
The requirements below change with the channel you pick.
This sets a starting point for your target below.
$
Roughly what you do now through your own store.
%
As a share of your current DTC revenue.
Buyers rarely take a full catalog on day one.
%
After the wholesale discount or platform fees.
02
Where you are now
Two quick ones on where you are in the process.
Have you approached this channel before?
Applications, buyer meetings, trade shows, or an approach from them.
Could you fund the inventory a first order would need?
Wholesale POs are paid on terms, commonly net 30 to net 90 after delivery.
03
Your readiness
Answer honestly. “Not sure” counts as a gap, because they will treat it as one.
Can you send and receive EDI documents?
Purchase orders (850), invoices (810) and advance ship notices (856). Big-box retailers run on it.
Do your products carry GS1-registered UPC barcodes?
On your own company prefix, not resold or generated barcodes.
Can you produce compliant carton and pallet labels?
GS1-128 shipping labels carrying the required data, applied in the right place on every carton.
Could you transmit an ASN before the shipment lands?
Advance ship notices are time-bound. Miss the window and it typically triggers a compliance chargeback.
Have you worked to a retailer routing guide before?
Carrier selection, delivery windows, appointment scheduling, pallet build rules.
Can you pack to their case-pack and inner-pack spec?
Fixed units per case, inner cartons, and packaging that survives their handling.
Could you hit a distributor lead time on repeat orders?
Reorders come without much notice and are expected to ship complete.
Can you ship inside the platform handling window, every time?
Marketplaces measure late dispatch and suppress listings for it.
Do you upload valid tracking to the platform on every order?
Tracking that scans, uploaded before the deadline, not after the parcel has moved.
Is your inventory synced so the channel cannot oversell you?
One stock pool across your own store and the platform, updating in near real time.
Could you handle the platform's returns volume and policy?
Marketplace return rates usually run above your own store, on their terms rather than yours.
Could you fulfill a spike from this channel without slowing your DTC orders?
A single wholesale PO, or a marketplace listing taking off, can beat a normal month of direct orders.
Do you hold the insurance a vendor agreement asks for?
General and product liability at the limits named in their agreement.
Fill in every field and answer every question, then try again.
What this channel would add, at the target you set
$0
How that breaks down
Your current annual DTC revenue-
Channel revenue at your target-
Gross profit on that revenue-
Average revenue per SKU in the channel-
Requirements you already meet-
You meet 0 of 0 vendor requirements
Backed by BoxHero
- ✓No long-term contract
- ✓No storage or receiving fees
- ✓No Q4 surcharges