One of the hardest things an organisation can attempt.

The company had tried D2C twice before and failed twice before. The first attempt died at the technology selection stage, six months of meetings, no launch. The second died when the distribution team blocked it on channel conflict grounds, which was a legitimate concern dressed up as a bureaucratic objection. By the time this engagement started, the leadership team was cautious in a way that only comes from having been burned. They needed a plan that actually accounted for the reasons the previous two had failed.

Four weeks of discovery: 20 customer interviews and a close look at how three comparable FMCG brands had managed the distributor conflict issue. The key insight, the one that unblocked the distribution team, was that D2C needed to offer different pack sizes from the modern trade range. A clean enough separation that distributors couldn't credibly claim cannibalisation. The board approved the business case at week six. Technology (Shopify + subscription app) locked by week eight. Fulfilment model (3PL in Bhiwandi, 4 regional spokes) confirmed by week twelve. MVP live in month five.

This reflects the type of challenge our consultants are built to solve, drawn from real industry experience. Revenue was lumpy, AMC renewals were informal handshake agreements, and 3 of the previous year's 9 new customers had simply not paid their annual maintenance. The founders wanted to move to subscription but had watched two competitors attempt the same transition and stumble through 18 months of declining revenue before recovering. The board wouldn't approve without seeing the cash flow curve first.

A transition financial model with three scenarios, high, mid, and low existing-customer conversion rates, showing the revenue recognition dip in each. Under the mid scenario, the dip was ₹2.8 Cr in months 4–8. The board approved with a ₹3 Cr bridge from existing investors. New customers from month 1: subscription only. Existing customers: offered a 15% rate lock for 24 months in exchange for conversion. The 15% incentive existed because it was real value, not because the company couldn't hold firm, the modelling had made that clear.