Missing People
Simplifying merchandise fulfilment, supporter engagement and fundraising through a centralised online shop
Urban Planet partnered with Missing People to develop and manage an e-commerce platform that supports fundraising activities, supporter engagement and branded merchandise fulfilment through one centralised system.
The platform provides a practical and scalable solution that allows the charity to distribute event-related items, offer branded products and generate additional fundraising income without the operational challenges associated with stock management and order fulfilment.
The challenge
As a national charity, Missing People needs to engage supporters, fundraisers and partners through a variety of campaigns and fundraising activities.
Managing merchandise, event giveaways and supporter items internally can create unnecessary administrative burden, particularly when resources need to remain focused on delivering frontline services and support.
Traditional stockholding models also create challenges around forecasting demand, storage requirements and the risk of holding excess inventory.
The challenge was to create a flexible solution that could support fundraising initiatives, merchandise sales and supporter engagement while minimising operational complexity and financial risk.
The solution
Urban Planet developed and continues to manage a dedicated online shop and fulfilment solution for Missing People.
Built around an on-demand production model, the platform allows products to be produced and fulfilled as required, removing the need for large stock commitments while maintaining a professional supporter experience.
Alongside the platform itself, Urban Planet manages production, fulfilment, quality control and customer support, providing the charity with a fully managed solution that reduces administration and supplier management.
The delivery
The project includes:
e-commerce platform development and management;
supporter merchandise;
fundraising event products;
branded promotional items;
on-demand production;
order fulfilment;
customer service support;
quality control;
product sourcing and management;
ongoing platform maintenance and development.
The platform supports both fundraising activities and ongoing supporter engagement, providing a simple and accessible way for individuals to connect with and support the charity's work.
The outcome
By centralising merchandise sales and fulfilment through one managed platform, Missing People benefits from a more efficient and scalable approach to supporter merchandise and fundraising products.
The solution has helped improve:
operational efficiency;
supporter accessibility;
fulfilment management;
stock control;
supplier simplification;
fundraising opportunities;
brand consistency across merchandise and promotional products.
Most importantly, the charity can focus more of its time and resources on supporting vulnerable people and families, rather than managing merchandise logistics and fulfilment processes.
Why it matters
For charities, membership organisations and fundraising teams, managing merchandise and supporter products can quickly become resource-intensive when ordering, stockholding and fulfilment are handled manually.
Urban Planet helps simplify this process by combining e-commerce, branded merchandise, on-demand production and fulfilment into one manageable system.
The Missing People platform demonstrates how charities can create new engagement and fundraising opportunities while reducing operational complexity, minimising stock risk and maintaining a professional supporter experience.