With 550 members in more than 95 countries, global marketplace Spiritrade continues to assist major brand owners with its state-of-the-art technology
Introduction
With 550 members in more than 95 countries, global marketplace Spiritrade continues to assist major brand owners with its state-of-the-art technology
Spiritrade’s platform provides brand owners with the opportunity to upload their stock for free and determine where it can be sold. While upgrading and investing in technology is the biggest cost to the business, it is vital for user success. “It is quite simply our engine,” says Jimmy Metta, Spiritrade CEO.
“Spiritrade’s technology is bespoke for the drinks industry, and is not an off-theshelf package. Since 2017, our mission has been to create a dedicated platform that was built from scratch to enable traders to trade stock whilst utilising the latest technology available.”
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He adds: “Our platform is constantly evolving, and our intention is to roll out many new features in the coming months to firmly establish the Spiritrade exchange in the global drinks industry.”
Spiritrade’s developers have built a bespoke tool with drinks industry brand owners in mind. The platform enables all sellers to negotiate online, have full control over their listings (which can be amended at any time), and select which markets they want products to be sold in. New features will enable members to present bid prices to automatically cross match, and Spiritrade also plans to introduce pricing charts to view the price performance of all products. Spiritrade continues to help its users sell products in specific markets while reducing overhead costs, with particular success in selling excess stock to the African and South East Asian markets.
The platform grew rapidly in the final quarter of 2021, providing more than 550 members in over 95 countries with the opportunity to sell stock into new and emerging markets in a more economical and targeted manner. “Our customer base is growing daily, and we’ve had an incredible reception from most continents,” says Metta. “Our focus is Europe and Asia, but we are seeing a lot of demand coming from Africa, the Middle East and Australia. We will be putting a lot of attention in new markets like India and the US in the months to come.”
Conclusion
Sustainability is also a vital part of the brand’s ethos. As part of Spiritrade’s latest exclusive distribution agreements, stock is guaranteed to be sent to one of the platform’s warehouse partners for inspection before being distributed, limiting the risk of damage and unnecessary waste present in the current supply chain model.
This streamlined approach helps brand owners meet their sustainability target by reducing needless journeys, lowering the carbon footprint of a global transaction and reducing overall cost. “The drinks industry is one of the most polluted in the world,” says Metta. “Goods are transported endlessly between continents and on many occasions destroyed due to inefficiencies in how businesses are run. The antiquated nature of the industry means goods can be passed on several times between customers in different countries without being consumed.”
He adds: “Our goal is to ensure goods are sold well, into the right markets and into the right hands, essentially reducing wastage. We have seen a massive reduction in stock being destroyed due to Spiritrade’s ability to connect buyers and sellers more efficiently, and we are very proactive when it comes to educating our customers into taking a smart supply route.”
