(Yicai Global) Oct. 14 -- Many Chinese contract manufacturers have started to strike out on their own thanks to the rise of online shopping and the number of Chinese suppliers that have registered brands on US e-commerce titan Amazon’s global sites has increased dramatically, according to the vice president of Amazon China.

There are now 40 times more Chinese brands registered on Amazon’s worldwide sites than in 2018, Yang Jun told Yicai Global.

Before, manufacturers were not able to reach overseas consumers directly, but the rise of e-commerce and other digital tools has changed things, Yang said. In the past, only importers were familiar with their customers’ needs. But now, Chinese producers can find this information out themselves.

Reaching out to consumers directly can help, manufacturers, especially those working for other companies, lower production costs.

Cutting intermediate links is the most efficient way to reduce costs in the sales process, Chen Long, chairman and chief executive officer of business-to-business vendor Zhenkunhang Industrial Supermarket, told Yicai Global.

For instance, Typical Mind International, a maker of commercial kitchen devices, has set up its own brand Kitma and is now one of the top five vendors in Amazon’s industrial commercial products category. And Winner Medical, which produces medical disposables, now sells Winner-branded medical masks and dressings to medical institutions abroad.

Hand tool maker GreatStar Industrial also plans to follow suit. It is necessary to be patient, though, as brand building needs at least five to 10 years, said Senior Vice President Li Feng.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor