Selling wholesale without physical inventory
Most wholesalers spend years building warehouses, printing catalogs, and relying on sales representatives to walk buyers through their product range. Pot Factory Connect decided to do the opposite.
The Australian startup launched with no warehouse and no physical inventory. Products move directly from manufacturers to customers, eliminating unnecessary storage costs and allowing the business to stay lean from day one.
It was a smart way to build a wholesale business. But it also created a much bigger question: how do you convince someone to place a large pottery order when they can't see, touch, or experience a single product in person?
Without a physical showroom, their digital catalog couldn't simply display their products. It had to replace the showroom altogether.
The online experience needed to communicate everything a buyer would normally discover in person, from size and color to texture, quality, and product variations, and give them enough confidence to make significant wholesale purchasing decisions remotely.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“We wanted something that felt real. The use of videos and interactive content was one of the main reasons we chose Flipsnack.”
So when the team started looking for a catalog platform, they weren't really looking for a better way to put a PDF online. They needed to recreate as much of the physical buying experience as possible, digitally.
They explored multiple catalog platforms, comparing features, ease of use, and automation capabilities. But most solutions still felt like digital versions of the paper catalogs the industry had always used.
Pot Factory Connect was trying to build something different: a digital showroom where customers could experience the products, explore their options, and ultimately place wholesale orders without ever stepping into a physical space.
Choosing a digital platform that could power the business from day one
Launching a new business meant making smart technology decisions from the very beginning. Instead of adopting the same paper-based workflows used throughout the industry, Pot Factory Connect wanted to build a digital-first operation that could scale quickly.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“Launching a new business, we wanted to take advantage of every technology available. We wanted to be pioneers in our industry rather than chasing everyone else.”
After researching several solutions and speaking with Flipsnack's Enterprise team, they realized the platform could support much more than digital publishing. It could become the foundation of their entire sales workflow.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“We looked at several different platforms. Flipsnack had everything we wanted, and then more.”
From supplier PDFs to 900+ products in one live catalog
Like many wholesalers, Pot Factory Connect receives supplier information as PDFs. Traditionally, someone would manually recreate every page, copy product descriptions, upload images, add pricing, and repeat the process every time suppliers released updates. For catalogs containing hundreds of products, this could easily take five to ten days.
With hands-on guidance from Roxana on Flipsnack's Customer Success team, Pot Factory Connect built a workflow that transformed supplier data into structured product feeds. Supplier PDFs were converted into spreadsheets, connected to Flipsnack's Catalog Generator, and automatically populated into professionally designed catalog templates.
The initial implementation involved daily collaboration over several weeks, but once the system was in place, the team became fully self-sufficient.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“If tomorrow a supplier sent us a new catalog, we could pretty much have it uploaded in under a day because the system is so easy to use.”
Instead of rebuilding catalogs from scratch, they now simply update their product feed. One click refreshes hundreds of pages automatically, in one day, not five.
The updated catalog remains available through the same live link, so buyers always access the latest version without the team having to redistribute it.
Using AI to automate supplier data and bring products to life
Building the workflow also introduced the team to AI. Using guidance from Flipsnack, Pot Factory Connect began using AI tools to transform supplier PDFs into structured spreadsheets. Within a week, they had learned the process well enough to handle future supplier imports independently.
To make products feel more lifelike, the team also experimented with Flipsnack's AI Animation feature. Instead of showing static product photos, they created subtle animations that added movement to plants, decorative arrangements, and interior scenes. For buyers who never visit a physical showroom, those small details made the products feel much more tangible.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“One of our favorite features is AI Animation. You literally upload a picture, click 'AI Animate,' and suddenly you've got plants moving in the wind or people walking through a hallway. It lets customers experience the products almost the way we see them.”
Turning the catalog into a 24/7 B2B ordering experience
For Pot Factory Connect, the catalog isn't simply a collection of products. It's the company's entire sales experience. Customers browse collections, compare colors and sizes, watch videos, explore interactive content, and build orders entirely online.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“For us, Flipsnack isn't just our catalog. It's actually our whole B2B sales system.”
Every product includes selectable attributes such as colors and sizes, allowing buyers to customize orders before submitting them. Instead of emailing spreadsheets or calling sales representatives, customers simply browse and shop whenever it's convenient.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“It wasn't just a digital catalog anymore. Our customers were actually shopping through it.”
To help buyers navigate this new experience, Pot Factory Connect even created a short onboarding video embedded directly inside the catalog. The twenty-second walkthrough explained how to browse products, build a shopping list, and submit an order.
It quickly became one of the most-clicked elements in the catalog. One catalog view generated 128 clicks on the walkthrough, showing that buyers were actively using it to learn the new ordering experience.
Updating hundreds of prices with one feed change
Managing pricing is particularly important for import businesses where exchange rates frequently change. Previously, every pricing update would have required editing hundreds of individual catalog pages. Today, pricing changes happen automatically.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“For us, exchange rates change. Instead of manually updating every page, we simply update our feed and the pricing changes across the whole catalog.”
The time savings are significant. What previously represented days of repetitive work now takes only minutes.
More than a catalog, valuable customer insights
One more benefit was visibility into buyer behavior. Printed catalogs never reveal which products customers actually look at. Flipsnack's analytics changed that. Using heat maps and page-level analytics, Pot Factory Connect can see:
- check_circleWhich products receive the most clicks
- check_circleWhich pages customers spend the most time viewing
- check_circleWhich collections attract the highest engagement
- check_circleHow buyers navigate through the catalog
Those insights directly influence future marketing campaigns and merchandising decisions.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“We could see exactly where people were clicking, what they were spending time looking at, and which collections interested them most. That helps us decide what products to feature next.”
One catalog collection, one link for every buyer
As the business continues growing, Pot Factory Connect expects to publish multiple supplier catalogs and customer-specific collections. Rather than sending new links every time something changes, they organize everything inside a branded digital bookshelf, creating one centralized catalog collection that customers can return to whenever they need it.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“The Bookshelf feature has been fantastic. Instead of customers calling asking where a catalog is, everything lives under one link.”
Even when new catalogs are published, customers continue using the same URL. They can also track how individual catalogs perform, giving the team visibility into which publications inside the Bookshelf attract the most interest.
Faster production and a digital sales channel
Expanding the same digital model to partners and commercial buyers
Pot Factory Connect is already expanding beyond wholesale. The team is building retail catalogs for landscapers and garden centers, allowing partners to present products directly to their own customers.
They're also developing premium buyer's guides for architects, designers, and luxury hospitality projects: interactive, presentation-ready catalogs designed for large commercial sales.
As Flipsnack continues introducing AI-powered features, the team expects to simplify their workflow even further.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“We're always looking at what's new because being tech-forward is part of who we are. If you're not moving forward with technology, you're always chasing everyone else.”
Their advice: Explore the tools and build the workflow around your business
Despite having no previous experience with automated catalog creation, Pot Factory Connect believes the learning curve was far smaller than expected.
Mitch BurkePot Factory Connect
“We had no idea what we were doing when we started. But once you get into it, you learn. It's like getting a new phone, you have to explore it. Flipsnack gives you the tools. It's really up to you how far you want to take your business.”