By Philly Marketing Labs

Consumer goods manufacturers have typically struggled to shift sales to direct-to-consumer (DTC). When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and retail stores were ordered to shut down, this challenge became a priority to solve—many manufacturers struggled and got left behind. Not anymore!

We’re excited to announce Philly Marketing Labs is partnering with Analog Commerce, a DTC e-commerce provider, to help manufacturers enable online DTC sales without costly infrastructure changes. Previously, in order to sell directly to consumers online, most consumer goods manufacturers would have to change their accounting systems, including tax and inventory practices, to accommodate online sales in multiple tax jurisdictions. This process could take anywhere from several months to more than a year and cost millions of dollars.

Now, Philly Marketing Labs (PML) and Analog Commerce are working together to offer a simple solution. Analog’s ecommerce solution operates independently of the brand manufacturer’s financial and inventory infrastructure, yet is still owned by the brand and can sit within the brand’s website. This means the branding, analytics and data ownership of the new ecommerce site all remain with the manufacturer. This setup allows for Analog, PML and the brand to stay close to the customer, understand shopping behavior and reach out with complimentary products through loyalty programs or remarket to them as they shop and surf across the web.

PML builds the brand’s website and manages the digital marketing, while Analog handles everything involved with online transactions, including customer service, payment processing, inventory forecasting, fulfillment, sales tax collection and remittance—everything that goes into the behind the scenes of an online store. This all comes with a very accessible price point for any sized consumer goods manufacturer, little to no risk, no disruptive or costly infrastructure changes, and online sales can be up and running in as little as four weeks!

Though the partnership is new, we have already signed up four major consumer brands for the Analog/PML service and have multiple contracts pending. And, earlier this year, PML made a six-figure investment into Analog Commerce’s seed round to facilitate Analog’s accelerated growth as consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands scramble to launch DTC initiatives. 

Regardless of how long the pandemic affects consumer behavior and makes a continued reliance on the usual selling channels so uncertain, ecommerce—online DTC sales—is here to stay. If you are a consumer goods manufacturer looking for an easy way to shift to or add online DTC sales, contact us today.