We enabled Aprilaire, a B2B-heavy HVAC and indoor air quality manufacturer, to launch direct-to-consumer commerce and consolidate scattered customer data into a unified cloud platform—unlocking a new revenue channel and 3x faster SKU launches.
Aprilaire had built a strong B2B business serving HVAC contractors and installers through a network of distributors. But consumer interest in indoor air quality was rising, and the company had no infrastructure to sell direct. When they tried to launch D2C initiatives, they hit a wall: customer data was fragmented across a legacy on-premises CRM, spreadsheets, and installer networks. It took weeks to scope a new product line for the consumer channel because the data layer couldn't move fast enough.
Beyond that, they couldn't leverage consumer feedback to inform product development. They couldn't run targeted retention campaigns because historical purchase data lived in silos. And they couldn't forecast demand accurately across channels because the B2B and consumer data never synchronized. Every new D2C SKU felt like starting from zero—new integrations, new workflows, new manual processes.
The friction wasn't technology skepticism. It was architecture. A monolithic on-prem CRM and scattered data sources meant the organization couldn't ship a consumer-facing business fast enough to capture market momentum.
Deployed a production-grade eCommerce platform purpose-built for direct-to-consumer HVAC products. Built for education (installers often advise homeowners), inventory management (complex SKU matrix), and compliance (ENERGY STAR certifications, state-level regulations). The platform integrated seamlessly with the unified data layer, so every purchase immediately enriched the customer profile. Launch-to-revenue: 12 weeks.
Migrated all customer data from legacy CRM to a modern cloud data warehouse. Consolidated B2B distributor data, installer transaction records, consumer interactions, and service history into a unified schema. Real-time sync pipelines continuously fed D2C transactions, support tickets, and engagement data into the lake. For the first time, the company had a single source of truth for customer behavior across channels.
Deployed an agentic workflow that automates SKU onboarding for new product lines. Feed product specs, compliance docs, and marketing copy into the system; it orchestrates data entry across the commerce platform, inventory system, marketing tools, and compliance tracking. What used to take 4-6 weeks now takes 3-5 days. New D2C SKUs launch 3x faster.
Built a segmentation and propensity engine that identifies high-value customers, predicts churn risk, and recommends targeted campaigns. The system surfaces product upsell opportunities based on purchase history and maintenance schedules. Retention campaigns can now be deployed in days instead of months.
New products that took 4-6 weeks to launch now deploy in 8-10 days. The agentic SKU onboarding workflow eliminated manual data entry, spec sheets, and compliance tracking friction. Aprilaire can now launch new product variants, filter subscriptions, smart sensor bundles, seasonal offerings, at consumer-market velocity. This speed translated directly to first-mover advantage in emerging D2C segments.
D2C channel reached $2.4M ARR by end of Year 1, with a path to $6M+ by Year 3. Average order value 18% higher than B2B channel due to premium consumer positioning. Direct-to-consumer now represents a viable new revenue pillar for the business.
Marketing and product teams now get real-time dashboards of D2C and B2B customer behavior. What used to require manual reporting (2-3 day lag) is now updated hourly. Decision velocity increased measurably, enabling faster product iterations and campaign adjustments.
The cloud data lake replaced the on-prem CRM entirely, eliminating legacy system maintenance costs and enabling faster data queries. Teams across sales, marketing, and product now access the same customer view, reducing context-switching and improving decision quality.
How to build autonomous workflow systems that compress cycle times for SKU launches, product onboarding, and operational tasks without brittle integrations.
Moving beyond legacy systems and spreadsheets. The architecture shift required to enable data-driven decision-making and autonomous operations.
How infrastructure improvements compound. D2C channel launch, data lake efficiency, and retention gains create multiplying ROI over time.
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