Netflix has been in the news for their new shop.

In this space about 5 years ago DeliveryAgent declared bankruptcy and left a big crater in the licensed goods agency space (think GSI Commerce for networks/studios). It used to partner with many different TV networks, etc., to run its eCommerce businesses.

These days, Shopify (and other cloud platforms) are simple enough that many tech-forward companies are running their merchandising in-house. Which is not a normal workflow movie/TV studio. What are the keys to making this work?

• Independence. The eCommerce team executing marketing and operations needs the ability to run separately from groups within Netflix that are responsible for the content.

• Integration. Although the eCommerce team needs freedom, if they are blindsided by the needs of the studio, the whole thing falls apart. Planning needs to be integrated from the beginning. When a new episode drops, the hot merch needs to be on the homepage. Period.

• Supply chain. Netflix needs to take a lesson from Shein. Trends live to site in 5 days. Possible? Definitely.

  (One improvement: I didn't like about the Netflix vs HBO was Netflix didn't tell me when my package would arrive at checkout. Shop HBO did, and was less expensive.)