commonsku

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Dear skummunity,

2024 was a wild year: stock market record highs, inflation woes, tariff scares, a volatile US election, AI’s embeddedness in our every day, major industry consolidation, not to mention average overall industry sales growth.

Despite these challenging circumstances, our industry, and specifically our community at commonsku, found ways to persevere through adversity to find new pockets of success and growth. We are so proud to share these many stories of entrepreneurial and creative success in the skummunity as they are the reason we get up each and every day.

At commonsku, we’ve weathered a host of changes right along with you: our team grew by 35% to 59 employees, nearly 1 million projects flowed through the platform, and electronic purchase volume to suppliers continues to grow at a rapid pace. We also loved seeing so many of you in person, be it at skucon, commonsku University, skucamp or one of many customer visits throughout Canada, United States, Mexico and Europe.

The team shipped an extraordinary number of new features and enhancements, thanks to ideas submitted by the community, and the feedback from the many Beta groups who committed time to test and improve new releases.

commonsku distributors inspire us everyday, leading the industry in creativity, innovation, and growth. We have always been very proud to be a platform built by promo for promo, and building a best-in-class experience for best-in-class customers is what continues to drive us. We have many exciting plans to continue to drive value for your businesses and look ahead to 2025 with fierce optimism.

To a bright and bold 2025,

Mark and Catherine
Co-founders, commonsku

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commonsku Milestones in 2024

+140%

Shops Created

+1M

Projects Created

+30%

ePO Volume

WATCH: A Look Back, A Look Ahead: Industry Trends and Outlook for 2025

2024 brought unprecedented change, from geopolitical tensions to technological leaps like AI integration and industry consolidation. In this insightful webinar, commonsku’s co-founders Catherine and Mark Graham, and industry expert Bobby Lehew reflect on the year’s key milestones and explore the trends that will define 2025. Discover the impact of AI, the expanding global market, and how merchandise is evolving as a powerful medium.

Features Released in 2024

Shops Upgrades

2024 was another incredible year for commonsku Shops! To make the Shops experience even more seamless and impactful for our customers, we introduced a range of powerful updates. These included validating shipping addresses, calculating taxes directly at checkout, bulk printing of receipt exports, and exciting design upgrades to elevate aesthetics. Additionally, we enhanced product personalization features, empowering distributors to create highly customized shopping experiences for their clients.

New and Updated Reports

Better data leads to smarter decisions. This year, we introduced the new Rep Comparative Report, enabling distributors to compare the performance of sales and client reps month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year. We also updated the design for easier navigation and improved financial tracking.

Enhanced Integrations

We’ve been hard at work implementing comprehensive integrations and partners library to serve your unique business needs. In 2024, we shipped high value integrations at some of our most critical integration requests, such as Zapier, and updated the existing QuickBooks and HubSpot integrations to ensure a smoother, more efficient experience for our users.

Connected Workflow Improvements

Building better business workflows is at the heart of what we do, and in 2024, we delivered impactful updates to streamline operations. We expanded ePO integrations to include HIT, SanMar, and Cutter & Buck, making order processing more efficient. Collections improvements introduced smarter tools for managing product assortments and enhancing the order submission process—keeping workflows seamless and efficient.

skummunity Forum

This year marked the incredible launch growth of the skummunity Forum—a dynamic space for collaboration, learning, and connection. Over 2,000 commonsku users came together in this safe and vibrant community to discuss best practices, share recommendations, and exchange tips for thriving in the promotional products industry.

New Features Coming in 2025

Workflow Automation & Acceleration

Efficiency is the key to success, and in 2025, we’re taking workflow automation to the next level. These updates will streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and save valuable time. Streamlined payment workflows will enable clients to approve and pay seamlessly, while automated reminders for unpaid invoices ensure a smoother process and minimize manual follow-ups.

Product Discovery & Recommendations

Finding the right products has never been easier. With our new AI-powered recommendations, adding products to your presentation becomes a breeze. By clicking the "AI Recommendations" button, you’ll receive tailored suggestions based on your past projects, making it simple to revisit previous ideas and find the perfect match for your clients.

Third Party eCommerce Integrations

We’re expanding Shops capabilities with powerful third-party integrations in 2025. New connections with leading eCommerce platforms like Shopify and others, along with fulfillment tools like ShipStation, will create a more connected and efficient workflow for managing Shops from start to finish.

Introducing Enterprise APIs

As a platform dedicated to helping distributors grow, we’re excited to introduce new ways to integrate commonsku with modern Enterprise Resource Planning, Warehouse Management, Marketing Automation, and Business Intelligence systems. New Enterprise APIs will enable enhanced data access, record-keeping, audit capability, and access controls - empowering your business to scale efficiently and handle advanced enterprise use cases.