Why outsource your marketing merchandise and print fulfilment?

Having spent money on your print and promotional items having them in the hands of salespeople at the exhibition is key. Too often we hear of promotional items arriving late to the event, which makes them useless. So if you agree the logistics important the next thing to consider is do we do it in-house or use an external company.

So, why outsource your marketing merchandise and print fulfilment?

1. Expertise and Specialisation:Outsourcing to a specialist storage and fulfilment service provider ensures that your marketing merchandise and print collateral are handled by experts in the field. Beware of the large fulfilment companies that gain most of their revenue from Shopify type stores. They will not understand exhibitions and events and certainly will not organise pickups from events
2. Cost Savings: In-house storage and fulfilment can be expensive. It requires dedicated space, personnel, and equipment. Outsourcing allows you to pay only for the services you need, reducing fixed costs and freeing up capital for other business priorities. It is not the role of the Marketing Manager to pack boxes for shipping!
3. Scalability: Outsourcing can quickly adapt to your changing needs, whether you're running a small-scale promotion or a large-scale marketing campaign. You can scale your storage, fulfilment, and distribution services up or down as required, without the burden of fixed infrastructure or staffing costs.
4. Streamlined Processes: Outsourcing partners often use web stores, from where sales and marketing personnel in various locations can see stock, order and organise shipments. And generally, they have  sophisticated stock management tools.
5. Focus on Core Activities: By outsourcing storage, fulfilment, and distribution, your team can focus on core business activities such as event organisation, marketing strategy and customer engagement.
6. Reduced Administrative Burden: Managing stock, orders, and shipments can be administratively burdensome. This is particularly true when products are sent to an exhibition and then some returned. It takes a degree of effort to sort, count and inspect items before they are returned to stock
7. Enhanced Quality Control: Reputable fulfilment partners employ quality control measures to ensure that your marketing merchandise and print collateral are handled, stored and distributed in optimal condition. Materials returned to stock from exhibitions can be inspected against agreed standards before returning items to stock. This maintains the integrity of your brand.
8. Access to Advanced Reporting and Analytics: PDI offers detailed reporting and analytics to help you track and measure the performance of your marketing materials. This data can be valuable for making informed decisions about future campaigns. Including decisions about which promotional items to purchase. It also allows for clearer and more sophisticated budgeting and control.
9. Global Reach: If your marketing efforts extend beyond local boundaries, outsourcing can facilitate international distribution. Experienced providers can navigate complex global logistics and customs documentation, ensuring your materials reach their destination.

If you are considering outsourcing you print and promotional activity PDI is happy to have chat and share experiences without obligation.

AUTHOR

DAVID PLATT – BA, BSC, MBA Dip M – David has run a promotional products business for over 25 years and has seen up close the successful and not so successful merchandise campaigns. Experience and academic research gives an insight into the way the industry can provide value.

david@pdi.co.uk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-platt-a84b12b8/