To best illustrate the auctioneering service for FreeFlow's clients in the electronics or telecommunications industries, the process overview for an inventory liquidation event starts with FreeFlowAuctions, allowing members (who do not pay any subscription fees, but that have to be preapproved by the manufacturer) to view, bid, and purchase discounted inventory directly from manufacturers. FreeFlow, along with its strategic partners, has developed a target-pricing model that forms the underlying bidding process of the auction site. Thus, all inventory advertised on the site will have a target price assigned to it which will enable the bidding party to ascertain what the minimum expected recovery is on certain items. By bidding on or above the target price, bidding members will secure their allocation of this inventory automatically on the assumption that the inventory is still available.
However, by bidding below the target price, allocation is not guaranteed and the inventory will remain on the auction site until the strategic partner either decides to accept the lower bid or wait for another member to bid the target price. All target price bids are answered within twenty-four hours. If multiple bids for the same inventory are received within a twenty-four-hour period, the strategic partner (that is, the seller or manufacturer) will ultimately either allocate the inventory to the highest bid or to the oldest bid if all bids are equal. Once a bid is accepted, the successful bidding member will be contacted, and upon receipt of a purchase order (PO) and payment, the inventory will be dispatched from the strategic partner's facility via its carrier. Standard freight fees apply to all dispatches from the partner's facility, with the buyer absorbing freight costs.
All new users (in this case prospective buyers) must open an account with FreeFlowAuctions, which is a fairly simple process. All it requires is filling in a few customary details (company name, address, e-mail address, etc.), and each applicant can decide its own user identification (ID) and password. Still, in addition to restricting access to approved buyers or brokers only, this step allows the manufacturer to screen each applicant from a trade and compliance perspective. After a user has successfully logged in, the user must click on the "Search Product" tab to search for available product, and will then be asked to enter the search criteria. Although it is compulsory to click on at least one tab to bring up a result, it is however, better to enter the manufacturer and the description or part ID, as the description tabs will only return results if the name the user enters is part of the product name. The "Packaging" tab has two separate categories: "Generic Boxed" (classified as refurbished material; product that has been returned but legally cannot be sold again as new) and "Retail Boxed" (a new and factory-sealed product). The process for searching components via the "Search Component" tab is basically the same, with the difference being that the search engines for components are "Packaging" (for example, reel, tape, tube, etc.), "Component Type" (SDRAM, linear, logic, chips, etc.), and "Manufacturing Date" (that is, date of manufacture).
Once the user or bidder has located the product or component of interest, he or she can enter a bid which is placed based on the target price requested by the manufacturer (in this case, the seller). Once a bid is placed, FreeFlowAuctions will return with a response within twenty-four hours via an e-mail that will highlight whether a bid was successful or not. If the bid is accepted, then the member must submit a PO via prescribed fax or e-mail accounts. Upon receipt of a PO, FreeFlow will arrange for the manufacturer to ship the product, and in turn will provide tracking details for its shipping. The tracking number is provided by the manufacturer to the auctioneer and is placed up on the web site next to the shipment. Once this is completed, FreeFlow will request payment from the buyer (a minimum order value of $3,000 [USD]). Payment up to $4,000 (USD) can be made by credit card (Visa and Mastercard only), and for amounts over $4,000 (USD), by wire transfer. A currency converter is provided online to assist the conversion of US dollars into the member's own currency.
Once shipping details are issued by the manufacturer, a tracking number is provided and is uploaded to the site. The member can then track the shipment by logging onto the site and clicking on the tracking link relevant to the bid. The inventory is shipped out using the manufacturer's current freight forwarders only, whereby freight fees will be applied to each shipment using the preferential rates that the manufacturer has agreed upon with its forwarder. All shipments from the partner's facilities are on a delivery duty unpaid (DDU) basis, and once a bid is accepted, shipments will be dispatched within forty-eight hours. FreeFlow's commission ranges from 8 percent to 50 percent depending on the level of support it gives to the auction process. That is to say, some companies might require pre- and post-auction support (where, for instance, products need to be catalogued and counted so that they can be advertised properly), while others simply provide a list of available stock. FreeFlow administers the auction, but the client ships out the inventory. All FreeFlow auctions are private auctions, and the customer approves the members or bidders. Getting started is fairly easy, as upload templates are populated with simple extracts from the customer's inventory management system.
However, by bidding below the target price, allocation is not guaranteed and the inventory will remain on the auction site until the strategic partner either decides to accept the lower bid or wait for another member to bid the target price. All target price bids are answered within twenty-four hours. If multiple bids for the same inventory are received within a twenty-four-hour period, the strategic partner (that is, the seller or manufacturer) will ultimately either allocate the inventory to the highest bid or to the oldest bid if all bids are equal. Once a bid is accepted, the successful bidding member will be contacted, and upon receipt of a purchase order (PO) and payment, the inventory will be dispatched from the strategic partner's facility via its carrier. Standard freight fees apply to all dispatches from the partner's facility, with the buyer absorbing freight costs.
All new users (in this case prospective buyers) must open an account with FreeFlowAuctions, which is a fairly simple process. All it requires is filling in a few customary details (company name, address, e-mail address, etc.), and each applicant can decide its own user identification (ID) and password. Still, in addition to restricting access to approved buyers or brokers only, this step allows the manufacturer to screen each applicant from a trade and compliance perspective. After a user has successfully logged in, the user must click on the "Search Product" tab to search for available product, and will then be asked to enter the search criteria. Although it is compulsory to click on at least one tab to bring up a result, it is however, better to enter the manufacturer and the description or part ID, as the description tabs will only return results if the name the user enters is part of the product name. The "Packaging" tab has two separate categories: "Generic Boxed" (classified as refurbished material; product that has been returned but legally cannot be sold again as new) and "Retail Boxed" (a new and factory-sealed product). The process for searching components via the "Search Component" tab is basically the same, with the difference being that the search engines for components are "Packaging" (for example, reel, tape, tube, etc.), "Component Type" (SDRAM, linear, logic, chips, etc.), and "Manufacturing Date" (that is, date of manufacture).
Once the user or bidder has located the product or component of interest, he or she can enter a bid which is placed based on the target price requested by the manufacturer (in this case, the seller). Once a bid is placed, FreeFlowAuctions will return with a response within twenty-four hours via an e-mail that will highlight whether a bid was successful or not. If the bid is accepted, then the member must submit a PO via prescribed fax or e-mail accounts. Upon receipt of a PO, FreeFlow will arrange for the manufacturer to ship the product, and in turn will provide tracking details for its shipping. The tracking number is provided by the manufacturer to the auctioneer and is placed up on the web site next to the shipment. Once this is completed, FreeFlow will request payment from the buyer (a minimum order value of $3,000 [USD]). Payment up to $4,000 (USD) can be made by credit card (Visa and Mastercard only), and for amounts over $4,000 (USD), by wire transfer. A currency converter is provided online to assist the conversion of US dollars into the member's own currency.
Once shipping details are issued by the manufacturer, a tracking number is provided and is uploaded to the site. The member can then track the shipment by logging onto the site and clicking on the tracking link relevant to the bid. The inventory is shipped out using the manufacturer's current freight forwarders only, whereby freight fees will be applied to each shipment using the preferential rates that the manufacturer has agreed upon with its forwarder. All shipments from the partner's facilities are on a delivery duty unpaid (DDU) basis, and once a bid is accepted, shipments will be dispatched within forty-eight hours. FreeFlow's commission ranges from 8 percent to 50 percent depending on the level of support it gives to the auction process. That is to say, some companies might require pre- and post-auction support (where, for instance, products need to be catalogued and counted so that they can be advertised properly), while others simply provide a list of available stock. FreeFlow administers the auction, but the client ships out the inventory. All FreeFlow auctions are private auctions, and the customer approves the members or bidders. Getting started is fairly easy, as upload templates are populated with simple extracts from the customer's inventory management system.
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