The right way to manage wholesale trade can provide you with impressive income. However, it is worth remembering about security issues. It's just as important as customer acquisition. Unfortunately, there are plenty of fraudsters on the market, and even random situations beyond the control of anyone risk losses. So how can you protect yourself against such events and how to deal with crisis moments?

Transport safety

When placing an order with a larger supplier, you should take care of transport issues. The goods are exposed to damage and various types of failure. It is worth making sure that the process of delivering products is carried out by professionals using the appropriate tools. It is good to agree with the contractor that the delivery is on his side. Otherwise, you should take care of employing valued forwarding companies that will take responsibility for the safety of transported goods.

How to ensure adequate transaction protection?

The security of transactions is also a very important issue in wholesale trade. It looks a bit different than in the case of retail sale. The average value of invoices is much higher and the provisions protecting consumers do not apply here, because the essence of this type of projects is not to buy products for one's own needs, but to purchase with the intention of resale. There are several ways to increase security in this area.

Ordering samples

When purchasing goods from manufacturers, it is usually possible to order samples. It is not a big investment and allows you to pre-check the quality of the products, and thus assess their resale potential. It is worth using this option, especially if you plan to buy a lot of goods.

Inspection of goods during personal collection

Much of the wholesale trade is face to face. This solution allows for a fairly accurate view of the purchased goods in the seller's warehouse. It is easier to avoid any misunderstandings and doubts about the condition and quality of the products.

Letter of credit

This option is especially recommended for foreign trade. When deciding on it, the transaction is secured by the bank's trustee, who becomes a party to the contract. Usually, an appropriate document is prepared in which the obligations of both the buyer and the seller are clearly defined. When such a contract is concluded, the person ordering the goods transfers to the bank a specific amount due for the products, and the exporter receives the money only after fulfilling the conditions. A letter of credit is therefore a security for both parties - it protects the importer in the event of problems with the delivery and goods, and the seller in the event of the buyer's insolvency.

A document securing against failure to comply with the terms of the contract

Large losses for wholesalers and distributors may cause delays in deliveries. For example, if the competition introduces a given product to the market earlier, the financial liquidity of the company may be disturbed. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to each provision in the contract - even the smallest point can be of great importance. The document should contain information on deadlines, advance payment, quantity of ordered goods and other terms of the transaction. Financial penalties for failure to comply with the provisions contained in the contract should also be specified. This will act as an incentive to refrain from any fraudulent attempts.

Insurance of goods in a warehouse

Wholesale trade is also associated with the storage of large amounts of goods in warehouses, where they can be damaged or become the subject of theft. It is very important to have adequate insurance. Whether the insurance company decides to cooperate depends on several factors. If the warehouse has modern security features, such as alarms, monitoring, security or anti-burglary doors and windows, there should be no problems with it. In addition, it is worth checking the efficiency of the fire, hydraulic and gas installations. If everything meets the appropriate conditions, you can count on a satisfactory amount of insurance against fire or flooding.

Security in e-commerce

E-commerce is becoming more and more popular. It gives great profit opportunities, but also carries a lot of risks. Business is conducted online, so cybersecurity issues are of the utmost importance.

The greatest threats

There are four main categories of attacks on e-commerce businesses (hackers often use several forms at once):

  • malicious software,
  • interception of information, i.e. skimming - it consists in extracting information left by customers on websites;
  • hackers pretending to be portals and using an appropriate system intercept data in real time,
  • DDoS attacks (service disruptions) - allow complete system hijacking and disrupt its operation; the hacker demands payment in return for the control return,
  • phishing, i.e. a situation in which a criminal impersonates another person or institution; there is classic phishing, which consists of sending e-mails in which a hacker who claims to be a well-known person asks for help. Another form is spear phishing, i.e. targeted attacks targeting a specific person or group of people. In this situation, the offender may also ask for help or for providing personal data.

The best security

The best way to fight DDoS is to constantly monitor the so-called inbound traffic. Any unlawful requests should not be able to consume your bandwidth - make sure that this option is only available to proven legitimate traffic sources.

When it comes to phishing, a way to prevent this type of crime is by improving your online safety skills. In addition to these solutions, there are also other solutions:

  • firewall,
  • managing and generating passwords using a special manager,
  • penetration testing.

A firewall hinders attack attempts and deters potential hackers. The services it offers, such as web filtering, are helpful in detecting anything that might get through your security. Keep in mind that a firewall used on its own will not provide complete protection, so it makes sense to use it in conjunction with other methods.

The second option is to protect against internal attacks, but also bypassing authentication by stealing or guessing passwords. So let's make them as difficult to break as possible - they should contain various types of signs, numbers and letters. It's also a good idea to update them regularly. It is also recommended to use multi-factor authentication, consisting of at least two elements.

Penetration test consists in conducting a controlled attack on a system and on its basis the security status assessment. This procedure allows for the detection of methods used by hackers that could threaten a given company. Analysts investigate, among others how quickly a criminal would be able to gain control of systems. At the same time, the other person checks what can be done when this happens. Penetration testing provides valuable information on vulnerabilities that still need to be addressed and how you can make it more difficult for a hacker to break into and control your system.