We Found All of Our Competitors’ Suppliers in 23 Minutes. Here’s How!

First question: what if you could see how many sales your competitor is making each month? If I asked you that, you’d probably yawn. Nothing new, right? After all, Amazon product research technology has been around for as long as, well…Jungle Scout.

Tracking your competitors’ sales is old hat at this point.

So my second question is this: what if you could find out who your top competitor uses to manufacture their products, in 10 minutes or less? That might raise a few eyebrows, right?

Well, check out this amazing and straightforward way to find the best Amazon FBA suppliers!

Say hello to Jungle Scout’s Supplier Database

Recently, we rolled out the new Supplier Database as part of our suite of Amazon seller tools. What this new Database does is it lets you find suppliers quickly and easily, without having to use a site like Alibaba. In addition, you can reverse engineer your competitors’ vendors just by typing in their brand name.

So, as a test, we decided to check out all of the suppliers used by Jungle Scout’s Jungle Stix competitors. We wanted to verify the accuracy of the Database’s information.

Step 1 – Making a list of our competitors using Extension

In order to do this right, we needed to know the names of our competitors. The fastest and simplest way to do this was to go to a keyword search results page for ‘marshmallow roasting sticks’, and then opening up Extension.

Based on the information displayed, these are our biggest competitors:

Step 2 – Entering our competitors’ names in Jungle Scout’s Supplier Database

Next, we logged into our Jungle Scout account and clicked on the ‘price tag’ icon on the left-hand side of the screen. From there, we picked ‘Supplier Database’, located below the header ‘Find Suppliers’. Then, when the Supplier Database page opened, we made sure the ‘Search By’ field was set to ‘Company’.

Finally, we typed in our competitors’ names one by one.

For example, when we typed in ‘Sumpri’, one of Jungle Stix’s competitors, this is what we got:

Step 3 – Double checking the suppliers

After searching for Sumpri’s suppliers, we were presented with two different manufacturers. And based on the type of products each supplier listed (plastic products vs umbrellas/walking sticks), we scrolled down and clicked on supplier Jiaxing Tonyimportexp Co Ltd.

Right away, we could tell that this was Sumpri’s marshmallow roasting stick supplier. Not only had the manufacturer shipped many of the same style of products to Sumpri, they shipped similar items to other companies as well.

Step 4 – Getting the supplier’s information

Once we knew the name of the manufacturer our competitor was using, all that was left to do–IF we wanted to use their supplier, instead of our own–was to contact the supplier directly.

And while the Supplier Database did list Jiaxing Tonyimportexp’s phone number, we wanted to reach out via email. We found that by clicking on the ‘Search for Contact Info’ at the top of the supplier card.

This pulled up Google’s search results and allowed us to find the rest of their contact information without going through a third-party site like Alibaba.

Step 5 – Repeating the process

From there, it was just a matter of repeating the process. We quickly built a list of suppliers that were already vetted by our own competitors.

After all, if top sellers are using them, surely they must be good, right?

Twenty-three minutes later…

Using the exact techniques above, we checked out the suppliers for the competitors of all of our active case study products: Jungle Stix, Jungle Snugs and the Jungle Slider.

Ironically, a few of our competitors were using the same suppliers that we use. But don’t worry if that happens to you too. This is fairly common. For example, did you know that YETI Coolers and Starbucks use the same factory for their vacuum sealed double-wall stainless steel tumblers?

That means that if you want to create your own line of stainless steel tumblers, you can use the exact same factory that YETI coolers and Starbucks use. How cool is that?!

Reading Between the Lines

So what else can we learn from this data? Quite a bit actually.

Not that long ago, when we found a product to sell on Amazon, we had no choice but to turn to Alibaba or Global Sources. Blindly sourcing our products, we’d hope the claims the manufacturers were making were based on fact.

Now, with the Supplier Database, we can see exactly which manufacturers the big dogs use. It gives us a ton of useful information that may not be immediately apparent:

1. These factories have already been vetted by major companies. We no longer need to worry about their trustworthiness. After all, if YETI Coolers is trusting millions of dollar inventory with a particular supplier, then it’s probably okay for us to do the same.
2. We’re probably not dealing with a trading company. Again, because big companies are using the supplier, chances are there’s no middle man to add to the price of the deal. It’s a safe bet that we’d be dealing with the factory directly.
3. The price will be right. Big brands have teams of professional buyers working to find the best price for the best product. And while most of us will have to negotiate our own sweet deals, there’s a very good chance that suppliers working with well-known brands can offer us a good price too. Or, at the very least, we’d get good value for quality products similar to those of the big brands.
4. No third party to complicate things. Finally, there’s no third party organization like Alibaba forcing us to use their system and payment methods. This keeps our costs down, since we can communicate directly with the manufacturer.

Start searching suppliers today

Now that I’ve shown you this amazing new tool, I’m sure you’re chomping at the bit to play with it. If that is, in fact, the case, then I have great news! The best part about this cool little tool is that it’s included with every Jungle Scout in-app product research subscription.

So, if you’re already a Jungle Scout user (excluding the Chrome extension), then you can start using the Supplier Database today. No additional charge! All you have to do is login to your Jungle Scout account and try it out.

And if you don’t have a Jungle Scout subscription, then you’re in for a treat. Jungle Scout is not only great for sourcing suppliers, it also comes with additional tools to guide you through the entire Amazon FBA seller journey. Product research, keyword research, listing building. Jungle Scout can help you do it all!