Top 40 distributor Custom Ink (asi/173232) is looking to turn competitors into customers with a just-launched, end-to-end swag-management platform for promotional products distributors.

A white label solution, Swag Space aims to streamline the entire buying, production and distribution process so that distributors can focus more time on sales, relationship-building and prospecting, rather than managing the order process, according to Jeremy Parker, who founded the offering.

Jeremy Parker, founder of Swag Space

With Swag Space, Custom Ink is providing an ecommerce platform; automated design support and digital enhancement; and order production on behalf of distributors. The offering also includes a smart dashboard that allows distributors to monitor orders in real time; customer/lead tracking; a Shopify integration that enables the launch of company stores for end-clients; custom box and kit creation using online tools; and fulfillment solutions that include warehousing product and distributing it.

“Using automation and our backend capabilities, we’re removing for distributors so much of the work it takes to get a sale over the finish line so that they can focus on growing their businesses,” said Parker, the founder and former CEO of tech-forward ecommerce-driven distributorship Swag.com (asi/287954), which Custom Ink acquired in 2021.

Swag Space represents a building out of the technology that has powered Swag.com. Parker told ASI Media that there’s no upfront charge to use Swag Space; Custom Ink makes money by taking a percentage of sales that distributors conduct through the platform. The ecommerce solution involves the creation of a site branded to each distributor – a site that’s packed with upwards of 10,000 products from about 20 well-known industry suppliers, including Top 40 firms like SanMar (asi/84863), alphabroder (asi/34063), Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) and PCNA (asi/66887), Parker said. End-customers can shop the sites and buy products online from each Swag Space distributor.

During beta testing, Parker said that less than 5% of distributors involved expressed concern about working with/sharing information with Custom Ink – a merch ecommerce leader and competitor. “We’re being transparent: Swag Space is an offering from Custom Ink, but we want distributors to think of us as a supplier – a partner,” he told ASI Media. “We recognize that business is built on trust. It would be very stupid of us to damage our credibility by trying to poach end-clients from distributors who are our customers. It’s a line we’re not going to cross.”

Based on estimated 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $650 million, Custom Ink ranked fourth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.