COAH: Scaling a Curated Multi-Vendor Marketplace with Onport’s Automation

Background

Founded in 2021, COAH began as a marketplace for Christian-owned businesses and unite relevant brands under one platform. James Lacey, the founder of COAH, thought of creating a marketplace that would spotlight faith-based brands offering a variety of products, including clothing and homeware.

As the platform’s concept developed, James faced significant operational challenges. Scaling the marketplace required a solution that could handle the complexities of vendor management, real-time inventory tracking, and streamlined logistics. COAH turned to Onport to power their ambitious project.

Challenges Before Onport

James explains: "When we started COAH, one of the biggest challenges was managing the operational and logistical side of scaling. We had to figure out how to seamlessly bring multiple businesses together on one platform and structure shipping and order management in a way that didn’t involve endless manual data entry."

The search for the right solution was daunting. Alternatives in the market were either prohibitively expensive, requiring significant custom development, or lacked the flexibility COAH needed to integrate various ecommerce systems.

“We realized automation was the only way forward. Without it, scaling simply wouldn’t have been possible.”

Why Onport?

After exploring various options, COAH chose Onport for its flexibility, comprehensive features, pre-built integrations with other systems and the ease to onboard new vendors.

James recalls: “Onport gave us an engine capable of handling our requirements. The platform streamlined vendor onboarding, automated order flows, and simplified inventory management, allowing us to focus on what mattered most—building relationships with our vendors and growing our customer base.”

Key reasons COAH chose Onport included:

• Real-time inventory tracking: Minimizing manual processes by syncing data across multiple vendor platforms.
• Streamlined shipping and payments: Reducing complexity in multi-vendor order fulfillment.
• Ease of integration: Supporting diverse ecommerce systems without additional overhead.

Results with Onport

Onport transformed how COAH operates, bringing significant improvements to efficiency and scalability.

“The onboarding process for vendors and the automated order flow have been game-changers,” says James. “From onboarding a vendor to a customer receiving their order, the entire process is seamless. It’s saved us countless hours and allowed us to focus on growth.”

By automating repetitive tasks, COAH freed up resources to strengthen vendor relationships and expand its community outreach. James highlights: “We’ve been able to engage deeply with our partners, ensuring their needs are met while also focusing on customer acquisition and brand awareness. That’s only possible because we aren’t bogged down by manual tasks anymore.”

Advice for Aspiring Marketplace Founders

James offers this insight for others looking to build a marketplace: “Start with a reliable engine. Whether it’s a platform like Onport or a custom-built solution, ensure it’s robust enough to handle your foundations. Test your product-market fit, prove the demand, and focus on automation from day one. Marketplaces are complex, and automation is the key to scaling without burning out.”

He adds: “Building a marketplace is far more complex than starting a single brand. It requires significant investment and careful planning. But when done right, it’s incredibly rewarding.”

Conclusion

COAH’s journey highlights how a strong vision combined with the right technology can overcome operational hurdles and achieve meaningful growth. With Onport’s support, COAH is empowering businesses and connecting them with like-minded customers, fostering a community united by the same purpose.