Technology to Streamline Federal and State Brand Label Registrations

How ShipCompliant Market Ready Helps

Meet Sovos ShipCompliant’s Market Ready, a cloud-based software solution for distribution compliance management. This series of videos will introduce you to the what, why and how of Market Ready, including features that streamline federal COLAs, state brand label registrations and more.

What problems can a distribution compliance solution solve? These videos demonstrate how ShipCompliant Market Ready can:

  • Streamline and automate state product and brand label registrations
  • Act as a central repository for all brand compliance data
  • Provide a centralized project tool to keep track of state requirements and forms, and important license renewal deadlines
  • Guide you through all distribution compliance, including state license forms, brand registration requirements and tax compliance
  • Instantly search all federally approved beverage alcohol labels with LabelVision

What is Market Ready?

Why Market Ready?

Create and Manage COLAs

State and Brand Label Registrations

PRO States

Additional Features of Market Ready

Analytics Reports

Solicitor Management

LabelVision – Label Research and Monitoring

Technology Streamline Federal State Brand Label Registrations

See Market Ready in Action

Request a demo

A Better Way to Manage DtC Shipping Compliance

DtC Shipping Compliance Basics & How ShipCompliant Direct Helps

There’s a lot to manage when it comes to compliance for direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine, spirits or beer shipping. The stakes are high, with unwanted agency scrutiny, fees or even loss of licensure at risk.

If you are shipping to more than a handful of states or actively entering new states, you might be thinking about how to centralize and streamline your DtC shipping compliance. This series of short videos walks you through all the regulations that DtC shippers must comply with, as well as how Sovos ShipCompliant’s automated software solution, Direct, can ease the burdens of compliance.

What problems can an automated compliance software solution solve? These videos demonstrate how ShipCompliant Direct can:

  • Streamline the burdens of DtC compliance, including license management, brand registrations, age verification, customer volume limits, tax determination and reporting, and record retention
  • Mitigate risk and difficulty tracking, managing and understanding regulatory complexity and changes
  • Streamline workloads, saving time and effort by moving away from manual processes
  • Centralize data while providing visibility for multiple team members
  • Provide better preparedness in case of audit

First, let’s remind ourselves why any of this matters. Here’s a quick look at the risks of being out of compliance when it comes to DtC shipping across state lines. 

Next up: Licenses and how to manage them. 

Now, a look at product registration requirements and product restrictions when shipping DtC. 

Other key regulations on DtC shipping include age verification and customer volume limits.

States are eager to ensure they collect all appropriate taxes from DtC shippers. 

Keeping track of everything is essential in case of an audit. 

Compare the two main ways of managing your DtC shipping compliance. 

Want to learn more about how ShipCompliant Direct can help you get a handle on the many aspects of direct-to-consumer shipping compliance?

Request a demo

DtC 101: The Essentials of DtC Shipping Compliance

Direct-to-consumer shipping can be a profitable part of how your business sells to consumers. To avoid fines, fees or other unwanted scrutiny — even loss of licensure — it’s essential to comply with states’ rules for DtC shipping. There are six main categories to think about and we’ll talk you through the basics of each in this video series.  


How to Get a DtC Shipping License


Age Verification for DtC Shippers


Volume Limits for DtC Shippers

 

Brand Label Registration


Alcohol Not of Own Production

 

Tax Determination and Reporting

Want to learn more about how ShipCompliant Direct can help you get a handle on the many aspects of direct-to-consumer shipping compliance? Request a demo. 

2022 Sovos ShipCompliant Beverage Alcohol Summit Recordings

The 2022 Sovos ShipCompliant Beverage Alcohol Summit took place virtually, March 16-17, 2022. The event turned the spotlight on challenges and opportunities across both the three-tier and DtC distribution channels for beverage alcohol companies of all types.. 

Access all recordings from the 2022 Beverage Alcohol  Summit here — free! Here’s a look at what’s included:

Growing a Beverage Alcohol Business With Empathy
Alexi Cashen, Elenteny Imports and St Hildie’s


Analysts’ Lens: Beverage Alcohol in Strange Times
Danny Brager, Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting; Dale Stratton, Independent Consultant; Wine Market Council


Executive Order on Competition: What Might Lie Ahead
Christopher Riano, Holland & Knight LLP; Kaj Rozga, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Alex Koral, Sovos ShipCompliant (moderator)


TTB Regulatory Updates
Dave Wulf, TTB; Chris Thiemann, TTB; Alex Koral, Sovos ShipCompliant (moderator)


Regulatory Landscape for BevAlc: Today, Tomorrow, and Post-Pandemic
Adena Santiago, McDermott Will & Emery; Ryan Malkin, Malkin Law; Alex Koral, Sovos ShipCompliant (moderator)

Direct-to-Consumer Spirits Shipping: Why and How Now
Margie Lehrman, American Craft Spirits Association; Bob Budoff, DISCUS

Access all recordings from the 2022 Beverage Alcohol Summit here — free!

Get to Know Our Integrated Partners

Video conversations featuring Sovos ShipCompliant integrated technology partners talking about their products and our integration

One important way Sovos ShipCompliant enables efficiencies for our clients is by being connected to the most commonly-used technology platforms in the beverage alcohol industry. Our expansive network of integrated tech partners — 60+ and growing — allows ShipCompliant customers to enjoy seamless operations via integrations spanning ecommerce, front end and point of sale (POS) systems to ERPs and fulfilment houses, from carriers to even state agencies — all integrated with our robust compliance solutions.


Our integrated partners are industry-leading software and on-premise solutions with which we’ve created direct integrations for real-time, alcohol-specific tax rates, compliance checks, order data and product SKU syncs.This allows different systems to “talk” to each other seamlessly.

Why do integrations matter?

Integrated technology platforms help eliminate time-consuming work, like transferring data from one system to the next, saving aggravation and minimizing the risk of human error. The time saved allows users to focus on other priorities within the business.

Meet the partners

The informal conversations featured in these videos are meant to explain in straightforward terms what each company offers and how their integration with Sovos ShipCompliant solutions works. We hope you find these chats helpful. You can also search for integrated partners by name, product type or integration level (e.g., platinum, certified) on our Integrated Partners page.

Partner Spotlight Video Series

Meet Bloom

Build on top of Shopify’s best-in-class e-commerce platform, Bloom provides everything a growing winery needs to sell online and manage their club memberships.

Meet VineSpring

VineSpring enables wineries, breweries and distilleries to manage ecommerce and club customers, orders, products, and inventory from any web-enabled device. VineSpring is a Sovos ShipCompliant Platinum Certified Partner.

2021 Sovos ShipCompliant Wine Summit Recordings

The 16th annual Sovos ShipCompliant Wine Summit took place virtually, May 18-19, 2021. The event was packed with a mix of regulatory updates, education and inspiration for wineries of all sizes and their business partners.

Here’s a look at what’s included:

Sovos ShipCompliant Welcome & Updates
Larry Cormier, VP, General Manager, Sovos ShipCompliant and Lexie O'Neill, Director Product Management, Sovos ShipCompliant

Keynote: Reaching Emerging Wine Enthusiasts
Will Blackmon, Founder, The Wine MVP
Will starts speaking at 28:08 in the recording

General Session: Updates from the TTB
Mari Kirrane, Wine Trade and Technical Advisor, TTB

Breakout: Sales Tax and the DtC Shipper
Chuck Maniace, VP, Regulatory Analysis and Design, Sovos

Breakout: Kentucky State Regulatory Updates
Joshua Newton, General Counsel, Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control and Alex Koral, Senior Regulatory Counsel, Sovos ShipCompliant

Keynote: State of the Industry
Steve Gross, Vice President, State Relations, Wine Institute

Breakout: The Shifting Beverage Alcohol Regulatory Landscape
Bahaneh Hobel, Partner, Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty and Teri Quimby, Former Commissioner, Michigan Liquor Control Commission

Breakout: Unlock DtC Profitability with Data Insights
Mary Jo Dale, Founder & CEO, Customer Vineyard and Danny Brager, Owner/Operator, Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting

Breakout: Online Marketplaces and Wine Sales: An Uneasy Understanding
Rebecca Stamey-White, Partner, Hinman & Carmichael LLP and Shamus Donlon, Director, Luxury DTC Marketing & Operations, E. & J. Gallo Winery

Breakout: California State Regulatory Updates
Matthew Botting, General Counsel, California Alcoholic Beverage Control and Alex Koral, Senior Regulatory Counsel, Sovos ShipCompliant

Mark your calendar now for the 2022 Sovos ShipCompliant Wine Summit, April 13-14 at the Napa Valley Marriott. We hope to see you there!

Access all recordings from the 2021 Wine Summit here — free!

Meet Sovos ShipCompliant!

This one-minute video provides a quick introduction to our compliance and reporting solutions for wineries, breweries, distilleries, cideries, distributors, importers and other members of the beverage alcohol industry.

Delivery Management Software

A loyalty-building customer experience may start in your tasting room or on your website, but it doesn’t end there—certainly not if you’re working with ShipCompliant Delivery Experience tools to manage your direct-to-consumer shipping process.

License Management for Wineries

With this cloud-based delivery management software, you can:

  • Improve first-attempt delivery rates
  • Drive customer loyalty and improve reorder rate
  • Build customer satisfaction through customized email communications at key shipment milestones
  • Minimize expensive, frustrating returns
  • Measure your fulfillment performance to identify areas of improvement

Curious to learn more about how Delivery Experience provides all of the benefits described here? Take a peek at these mini demos—a series of six short videos that offer a detailed look at the different components of our delivery management software, including a quick overview, getting to know the dashboard, unshipped packages and en route views, email tools, and performance metrics.

Delivery Experience: Overview


An introduction to Sovos ShipCompliant’s delivery management software capabilities and what they can do to strengthen your DtC shipping processes

Delivery Experience: Dashboard


A look at DEX’s shipping command post, which provides visibility into the entire shipping process, from before a package goes out to after it is delivered

Delivery Experience: Unshipped Packages


How Sovos ShipCompliant’s delivery management software surfaces key order information before shipping to ensure nothing gets held up

Delivery Experience: En Route View


A look at how Sovos ShipCompliant’s delivery management software displays where all packages are in the shipping process in real-time

Delivery Experience: Email Communication Tools


An overview of how DEX’s automated and manual custom-branded email tools help you keep customers up-to-date on their shipments

Delivery Experience: Performance Metrics


How Sovos ShipCompliant’s delivery management software analyzes your DtC shipping return rate, delivery rate, and other shipping performance metrics, along with NPS

Want to see what Delivery Experience can do for you?

Request a Demo

Video: 4 Steps to Get Started Shipping DtC

Direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping of beverage alcohol products is a $3 billion dollar market that continues to grow annually. DtC shipping can be a great way to grow your business by reaching new audiences, expanding your customer base, and increasing your sales. But, before you can take advantage of this growing market, there are some steps your business needs to take in order to remain compliant and avoid state penalties and fines.

Here is a four step guide to getting started shipping DtC:

 

Starting your DtC operations doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Following this guide as a starting point can help you simplify and manage the process of getting licensed to ship DtC, allowing you to take advantage of this growing market and get your products in the hands of more customers. 

Want to know even more? Get in touch with an expert.