Advertising giant WPP has unveiled a new fully managed service that provides FMCG brands with an outsourced direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce solution.
Called Everymile, it aims to help FMCG brands develop DTC commerce “simply and cost-effectively”, establishing new routes to market and helping them build their own customer data.
Everymile builds on WPP’s existing global omnichannel commerce capabilities in strategy, customer experience and technology development, adding demand generation, online trading and merchandising, supply chain and logistics.
The new service will be led by Mark Steel, previously Director, Retail & Consumer Industry at Google Cloud and before that Digital Director at Argos, where he worked with WPP CFO John Rogers, who is an executive sponsor of Everymile. The company noted that its team has been drawn from a range of commerce disciplines, including logistics and fulfilment, customer service, technology and CRM, and from companies including Sainsbury’s, Disney Store, and ASOS.
Everymile will look after the entire process from the minute a customer visits a brand’s website (having first helped the target audience to find that website) and clicks to order, through to the delivery of their purchase. The company highlighted that its solution can be tailored to an FMCG brand’s specific demands and expectations, allowing brands with a business and commerce strategy in place to overcome the operational challenges in e-commerce, such as lack of customer data and cost to entry. It aims to give FMCG brands new digital commerce capability with full ownership of the brand experience, customer data and relationships.
Everymile is built on a proprietary e-commerce technology platform, drawing upon the commerce and technology proposition offered by WPP’s Cloud Commerce Group, which has already helped deliver omnichannel commerce to global brands. The platform gives FMCG clients full ownership of their online brand experience and first-party customer data. They can then use these insights to create personalised experiences and build customer relationship. WPP agencies will also partner to integrate their creative and media solutions and to give “cost-effective global reach and scale.”
As a fully managed service, Everymile claims it can bring products to market quickly and at lower barriers to entry.
Everymile has a revenue share model which the firm noted ensures all teams are focused on delivering results.
“DTC offers FMCG brands new ways and routes to reach their customers. However, getting it right operationally is complex,” said CEO Mark Steel.
“Everymile can help with our proven go-to-market strategy, purpose-built technology and partnerships. Everymile will reduce the need for third-party management and allow FMCG brands to engage directly with their customers to nurture relationships. We see ourselves as a growth partner for clients, leveraging our expertise in brand building and audience identification, and ensuring brand consistency across every touchpoint. And our shared success model means we offer a simple and transparent pricing model. We look forward to working with the world’s most exciting brands to deliver their DTC commerce ambitions.”
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, added: “The last couple of years have changed the way people shop forever. The acceleration of e-commerce, the shift to customers buying direct from brands, and the increasing importance of social in the commerce journey, have all meant that there is a demand for a fully managed service with omnichannel expertise.
“WPP is a leader in commerce services, with existing strength in strategy, creativity and integrated experience, and now is the perfect time to launch the Everymile service.”
