Print
Solutions January 2006
Mailbag
The
following letters are part of
a discussion that took place on
DMIA’s members-only broadcast
email system. The discussion centered
on experiences that distributors
have had with promotional products
manufacturers.
I’ve
always felt the “mistake
ratio” for promotional product
suppliers is much higher than
DMIA print suppliers, and as a
result I rely heavily on SAGE’s
rating system and will only deal
with plants with a ‘B’
average or higher. It really helps
weed out potential nightmare scenarios.
Plus, I provide this information
to my clients when presenting
proposals, explaining the value
of the higher ratings vs. the
lowest price.
Carrie
Fireoved
President
Print
Solutions Plus
Vineland,
N.J.
I
have experienced none of these
problems. We use the SAGE tool
and its suppliers, as well as
a host of other suppliers for
apparel. Do you have follow-up
procedures in place after an order
is placed, which would alert you
to these problems earlier? We
find constant follow up is critical,
especially for promotional products
suppliers because they don’t
always have the same procedures
as many of their print counterparts.
There are some very good companies
in the field as well.
Bill
Strobridge
President
Data
Resources
Farmington
Hills, Mich.
I,
too, am frustrated with the promotional
products industry. I learned that
some of the major promotional
product suppliers are actually
competing with distributors by
selling direct. Norwood has formed
an alliance with Office Depot,
Bel Promo and Goldstar, just to
name a few. There are many others.
If you’re interested, there’s
a web site where valuable promotional
products information can be obtained.
Go to www.distributortalk.com.
The site was created specifically
for distributors, and the forums
are very open and honest.
Jan
Weaver
President
ArtForm,
ink.
Tampa,
Fla.
Many
promotional products companies
are just as customer oriented
as the forms industry. It just
seems to be a smaller percentage.
I recently placed an order with
a plant, and upon trying to follow
up, nobody would answer the phone
or return my calls for days on
end. My follow-up procedures are
exacting, but the promotional
products industry just doesn’t
seem to care as much. Since the
industry is so large and successful,
maybe they don’t feel they
have to work as hard to please
the customer. It is also a great
concern that so many companies
sell direct. They should remember:
What goes around, comes around.
Denny
Weiss
CEO
Fast
Forms
Clemente,
Calif.
I
think we should define the promotional
products industry to shed some
light on what we’re dealing
with. Most of our suppliers in
the printing business have substantial
investments in plant and equipment.
They also have the experience
and expertise that got them to
the point that they are running
these operations. They manage
press operators, order entry and
customer service staff and some
form of a sales force or marketing
operation.
On
the other hand, promotional products
suppliers are not that easily
defined. They may be people who
were already manufacturing products
for retail without any customization.
They might be people who just
bought a Brother embroidery machine
and work out of their house. They
might have virtually no people
skills at all, but found an industry
that would do their marketing
for them with SAGE, ASI and PPAI.
Many
of the big catalog operations
sell the exact same stuff made
in China, and it all boils down
to who do you trust to do the
imprinting and make timely delivery.
One thing that’s sure, we’ll
see more direct sales because
the industry is more part-number
oriented and has less need for
print professionals than the custom
printing industry (which has plenty
of direct sales too).
The
internet will present a real challenge
to all who have focused their
resources on this industry. It’s
just too easy for end users to
find what they’re looking
for without our help. I am not
surprised that the manufacturers
are positioning themselves for
direct sales. I was hesitant to
dive into it for this very reason
more than a few years ago. But
I’m in it now and will continue
to work for growth until I see
a reason not to. There’s
just too much money to ignore.
Robb
Tipton
CEO
Star
Business Products
Kemah,
Texas
When
we started into the commercial
printing area, I think a lot of
us went through the same things—finding
suppliers who understand distributors,
would pack and ship under our
name, not sell direct and be responsive.
I think there are plenty of good
promotional products manufacturers;
it just takes time to sort through
the bad ones and build the relationships
you need. It goes back to the
relationship. Maybe we don’t
have to sell the 29 cent pen.
Instead, we can sell the Bic pen
from a company that we trust,
but costs a little more.
Kris
Bilyeu, CDC
Vice
President of Sales
Tabco
Business Forms Inc.
Terre
Haute, Ind.
I
once dealt with a supplier that
had a beautiful catalog and an
extensive product line. I
ordered an item to be delivered
4 weeks before the event (a major
NYC parade). There were three
components to this job. My supplier
outsourced everything. I found
out they do nothing in house.
They just have a nice catalog.
The job was very badly coordinated
by them, and I even had to pay
one of their vendors by an overnight
check because they were on credit
hold. My job was delivered
to my customer 2 days before the
event. I aged 5 years in
30 days.
Neil
Rosen
CEO
Brooke
Business Forms & Supplies,
Inc.
Morganville,
N.J.
Talk
to Us
We
encourage feedback about stories
published in Print Solutions,
as well as in DMIA’s E-Weekly
and Independent Management Report
e-newsletters.
Question
of the month: What must happen
in order for your company to exceed
its 2006 sales goals?
