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A paradox is happening in the manufacturing space. As retailers and brands are accelerating their product development cycles at a rapid-fire pace to meet consumer expectations, manufacturing is experiencing more slowdowns than ever. A recent survey of B2B companies found that more than half have seen purchasing timelines increase over the past year.
This growing discrepancy between retailer demand and product output is leading to manufacturers leaving millions– if not billions– of dollars on the table. The startup Keychain is working to solve this billion-dollar program by leveraging technology.
The brainchild of serial entrepreneur CEO Oisin Hanrahan, CRO Umang Dua, and co-founder Jordan Weitz, Keychain.com is poised to revolutionize the manufacturing industry through its innovative AI-powered platform. The New York City-based startup is on a mission to alleviate a common pain point amongst consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers and brands – finding a reliable and high-quality manufacturer.
By optimizing how retailers, brands, and manufacturers interact, Keychain promises to deliver financial benefits across the supply chain and boost manufacturers’ bottom lines.
Today’s manufacturers operate in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape. Retailers, keen to stay ahead of consumer demand, offer more stock keeping units (SKUs) than ever and are constantly accelerating product launches to keep up with shifting tastes and trends.
While retailers are quick to adapt to changing consumer preferences, manufacturers face the opposite problem—slow-moving sales cycles, sometimes taking over 12 months to secure new business.
Despite the proliferation of technologies that could accelerate the sales cycles, many manufacturers have resisted meaningfully incorporating these tools into their sales processes. Slow adaptation paired with post-COVID supply chain issues has brought sales cycles to a crawl. A recent survey of B2B buyers found that buying timelines have increased since 2021, stretching to more than 18 months for some industries.
Traditional B2B sales have relied on in-person touchpoints, such as trade shows, to move sales forward. These outdated marketing methods further restrict manufacturers’ reach, making it difficult to tap into the full potential of the global consumer goods market, valued at trillions of dollars.
Keychain founder Hanrahan was inspired to enter the CGP space after encountering a procurement issue of his own- finding a nut-free product that was safe for his daughter. During his search, he noticed a significant increase in private-label products in the retail space. The motivation for these store-branded items is often cost, but private labels allow retailers to offer specialized products aligned with their target consumers’ tastes and preferences.
The trend towards private labels has increased retailer demand for manufacturers, a boon for the industry. Unfortunately, much of this potential revenue is lost as retailers struggle to identify, vet, and form partnerships with manufacturers. Bottlenecks throughout the process hamper manufacturers’ ability to connect with these brands and increase operational costs.
This is untenable for many retailers, who require agility and speed to meet consumer demand. Manufacturers who are able to harness technology can stand out among the competition.
Keychain’s AI-powered platform provides ideal solutions by significantly streamlining the sales cycle. Through the Keychain database, manufacturers can easily showcase their products and production capacity and connect instantly with thousands of the world’s largest brands and retailers.
Hanrahan estimates that Keychain’s platform could slash the product development timeline by up to 50%. This efficiency boost means manufacturers spend less time hunting for clients and more time fulfilling contracts, leading to higher sales volumes and increased revenue. By cutting down on the customer acquisition phase, manufacturers can handle more business and secure a larger market share.
Keychain also offers a unique angle in the retailer/manufacturer matching process. Manufacturers can type in their machinery and current capacity, and the platform’s AI technology will generate a list of in-demand SKUs that the company can easily add to their product lines. This element helps manufacturers quickly jump on emerging trends without heavy investment. The Keychain database is populated with more than 1 million products, which means manufacturers who join the platform can greatly increase their output and potential customer pool.
Keychain.com has changed the game for manufacturers seeking a one-stop solution to cutting down the sales cycle, increasing agility, and boosting sales. Since launching in 2023, the firm has raised over $18 million in seed funding and already hosts a database of 30,000 manufacturers and 66,000 brands.