Structuring MLM Growth for a Fragrance Brand
Learn how Global MLM Solution designed and implemented a centralized MLM platform for Scentlink Africa to manage distributors, commissions, and network growth.
Meet Scentlink Africa
Expanding a Fragrance Brand Beyond Traditional E-Commerce
Scentlink Africa serves customers across South Africa. The brand creates oil-based fragrances inspired by international scents. It has operated for over ten years. The brand handled its e-commerce through Shopify.
Project Scope: Designed and deployed a unified E-commerce MLM platform for Scentlink Africa. Also migrated user data from Shopify and offered MLM consultation, admin training, and post-launch support to ensure stable operations.
Integrations
The Challenge
Supporting MLM Growth beyond a basic e-commerce setup
Scentlink Africa used Shopify to handle its e-commerce business while manually handling their MLM operations. The business faced challenges such as:
No MLM Support in the Existing Setup
The business ran product sales on the Shopify e-commerce platform. But the system did not support distributor hierarchies, commission calculations, or referral-based growth.
Disconnected Sales and Distributor Activity
The sales data stayed separate from network performance. This made it hard to link sales to the specific distributors, making the commission calculations difficult.
Unclear compensation structure
The existing compensation plan lacked clarity and completeness. There was a need to design an accurate and workable compensation structure.
Unsuccessful Commission Payouts
The payout system failed to process payouts accurately. This led to multiple issues. Eligible distributors missed commissions, while ineligible distributors received incorrect credits.
Project Goals
Creating a Stable and Scalable
Direct-Selling Platform
During the initial meeting with the Global MLM Solution Team, Scentlink Africa defined clear goals to fix operational gaps and support long-term business growth.
Unify e-commerce and MLM operations
Earlier, the client managed product sales through Shopify while handling MLM activities manually. This fragmented setup created operational gaps. The business wanted one system to manage both e-commerce and MLM operations.
Introduce the Independent Business Owner Program
The company wanted to support budding entrepreneurs through a structured IBO model. This program allowed individuals to start their own business by selling Scentlink Africa's oil-based fragrances and skincare products.
Design a balanced compensation plan
The client did not have a fully structured compensation plan. It needed a clear model that rewarded IBOs for sales and networking efforts while maintaining business profitability.
Integrate shipping into the core system
The business wanted to manage orders and deliveries through a single workflow. This helped improve fulfillment speed and reduce manual handling.
Define clear rank advancement criteria
The existing structure lacked defined rank progression rules. The company wanted transparent criteria to help IBOs move from one rank to another with clarity and motivation.
Enable reliable payment processing
The platform needed stable payment methods for customers and distributors. This ensured smoother checkouts and avoided payout delays.
Our Solution
Designing a Unified and Scalable MLM Ecosystem
After the project goals were laid down by the client, the Global MLM Solutions team proposed a structured platform approach to address Scentlink Africa's business gaps and future growth needs.
Creating a Unified e-commerce platform integrated with Unilevel MLM Software
The team recommended the platform to manage product sales and distributor operations. This removed dependency on disconnected tools and manual processes.
Setting up the Independent Business Owner Program
The team proposed a low-entry IBO model to support aspiring entrepreneurs. The structure enabled individuals to sell fragrances without high start-up costs.
Defining rank-based qualification logic
The team also offered consultation to make the compensation plan better. They created 5 IBO ranks with clear progression rules. Advancement required personal sales, team sales, or both, maintained for 3 consecutive months. Salary eligibility began at the Manager rank.
Planning Integrations for smooth workflows
The platform was to be integrated with Pargo for shipping management, PayFast for the payments, and Mailgun for setting up automated e-mails.
Including custom KPIs
The client also requested a custom KPI to match their operational needs. This tab showed how many registered and non-registered users were logged in to the website in real time.
Enabling Account Manager–Led Support
The dashboard included a separate tab for user queries. A dedicated account manager handled these requests and resolved issues efficiently.
Strategy and Execution
Turning Business Intent into a Working Platform
The Global MLM Solution team followed a phased execution approach to translate Scentlink Africa's business rules into a stable and scalable system.
Understand the business and operating model
The team worked closely with the client to understand sales flows, distributor roles, and growth plans. This helped align the system with real business needs.
Finalize compensation and rank structures
MLM consultants defined earning rules and rank progression logic. They validated personal and team sales criteria across multiple scenarios.
Configure the unified platform setup
The team set up products, user roles, and MLM structures within one platform. Currently, there are 162 products in 17 categories.
Integrate the third-party services
The team connected the selected third-party APIs within the system. Various testing scenarios were conducted to check their functionality.
Migrate users from Shopify
The team imported over 19,000 users from the existing Shopify setup. They validated the data to ensure accuracy and continuity.
Train teams and support the launch
The team trained the client directly on navigating the platform. They also provided post-launch support to help stabilize the platform after go-live.
Results
Translating Project Goals into Measurable Outcomes
The implemented solution helped Scentlink Africa achieve operational stability and measurable growth. The KPIs below are taken from the live production system and cover a five-month period.
Growing User Base
The unified platform supports a large and expanding user community, including both migrated customers and new sign-ups after launch.
Streamlined Order Processing
Orders now move smoothly through an integrated sales and shipping workflow, due to the improved coordination between purchase and fulfillment.
Reliable Transaction Handling
Payments are now processed consistently through a stable checkout system. This has led to an increase in trust and operational reliability across the platform.
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