Consumers expect to be able to purchase goods, groceries, wine, beer and spirits online. That desire has been there for many years and the experience of the pandemic over the last 12 plus months has only increased that desire and expectation. Many states relaxed Direct-to-Consumer – DTC laws during the pandemic in order to safely meet consumer demand. Several states are now actively working to make these temporary measures permanent for intrastate and interstate shipping of spirits. As a result, many new industry relationships are being formed to help distillers deliver spirits safely to consumers.
Alcohol beverage compliance company Sovos ShipCompliant and craft alcohol digital solution platform Spirits 360 Solutions have announced an integration of their services, providing an expansive suite of sales and distribution management options, while ensuring beverage alcohol clients have an easy, effective and legal DTC sales channel.
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Craft Distillers Should Not Step into the DTC Waters Alone
The recent increase in consumer demand for DTC shipping of distilled spirits has left many producers and small retailers struggling to navigate the regulatory hurdles to maintain compliance and also meet the needs and expectations of their customers. Seventy-five percent of consumers agree wine and spirits should be subject to the same DTC laws, but in reality rules vary from state-to-state, and based on the type of alcohol. As many as nine states plus D.C. permit DTC shipping of distilled spirits, while 47 states plus D.C. allow direct shipments of wine.
The integration of Sovos ShipCompliant adds a full-service compliance solution to Spirit360’s cloud-based ecommerce platform, enabling craft beverage producers and retailers to seamlessly handle the complexities of DTC shipping, taxes and regulations. Now, each Spirits360 customer’s branded sales portal will be equipped with Sovos ShipCompliant’s real-time compliance checks and data for monthly reporting – eliminating the need for manual calculations and entry. The company says the combined suite will alleviate the compliance concerns typically shouldered by these small business owners, allowing craft alcohol brands to expand their reach.
“The COVID-19 pandemic sped up an already existing shift toward consumer demand for online shopping and doorstep delivery, and we know from a recent DISCUS survey that spirits lovers are no exception. Eighty percent of respondents believe distillers should be allowed to directly ship their products to legal-age consumers in any state,” said Larry Cormier, Vice President and General Manager, Sovos ShipCompliant.
“Spirits360 is a leader in helping distillers use ecommerce to meet consumer demands, and our partnership enables both producers and retailers to quickly implement successful and compliant DtC strategies.”
“Sovos ShipCompliant is the industry leader for compliance in DTC shipping, and this integration allows us to assure our clients they can easily and legally expand their sales channels to reach new and existing customers on a national scale,” said Spirits360 CEO Patrick Dorsey.
“Consumers want easy access to their favorite spirits, and we want to help our clients deliver, without having to navigate the nuances and complexities of DtC shipping on their own.”
Sovos was built to solve the complexities of the digital transformation of tax, through complete, continuous, connected solutions for shipping compliance, tax determination, continuous transaction controls, tax reporting and more. The company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) products and proprietary Sovos S1 Platform integrate with a wide variety of business applications and government compliance processes. With this integration, Sovos ShipCompliant continues to provide producers, importers, distributors and retailers with the automated compliance tools they need to ensure they can reach customers where they are, while meeting all federal and state regulations for DtC shipping and three-tier alcohol distribution.
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