How did Etsy resolve the global supply chain crisis in one move?

As supply chain issues continue to ferment around the world , large retailers and many small businesses are facing severe challenges. Cross-border e-commerce practitioners will feel this problem is imminent , but it is not a big problem for local merchants . At least, not for Etsy , a peer-to-peer e-commerce marketplace with a valuation of US$28.57 billion .

Etsy was largely unaffected because it wasn’t all goods that were in short supply. Rather, it was locally produced goods that could be shipped domestically that were in short supply. Etsy ’s resilience in dealing with the supply chain crisis can be attributed in part to its “small shop” philosophy .

However, while Etsy is positioned as a platform for small artisans, it does not mean that it is only a platform for local artisans. Etsy has more than 4 million sellers from 234 countries around the world . It stands to reason that it should face the same challenges as online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart , but this is not the case .

The reason is simple : Etsy does something that no other large online retailer does : it provides complete transparency, allowing customers to search for products and sellers by geographic location.

Not only can users filter for domestically produced products, they can also lock it down to only show sellers from their home state. This puts a lot of control in the hands of consumers, giving them the ability to choose where their products come from.

For example, consumers looking for gift- quality matcha are more likely to buy it from a producer in Japan , while consumers looking for a plaid cashmere shawl are more likely to choose a seller in Scotland.

In other words, Etsy is changing the way we trade to be closer to the way people traded goods centuries ago, buying local for everyday goods and buying local specialty goods from specific countries and regions .

Etsy puts global goods at the fingertips of platform users in a more transparent way , empowers users and provides them with a more informed and comfortable shopping experience . In this way, it creates a mutually beneficial e-commerce ecosystem.

At present, the global supply chain crisis will be an ongoing problem, and e-commerce sellers need to think ahead and seek solutions like Etsy . This is also the reason why Musk regards the " 85% rule " as a long-term strategy for Tesla , because if you don't think ahead, you will soon find yourself falling behind.

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