Companies like HelloPrint’s procurement teams took a look at their own promotional strategy, they found that spending less on cheaply made swag reduced annual spend, and the company’s logo was seen for longer. It takes up less square footage to store 1,000 reusable cups than it does compared with a year’s worth of paper cups.

Supply chain considerations for bulk promotional orders

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when ordering high-quality promotional products. The lead time on custom drinkware products is typically two to four weeks, so buyers need to estimate the correct quantity early and often. Minimum orders vary widely from supplier to supplier: some have minimums of 500 units, while others are willing to work with you for less.

Quality control presents another challenge. Successful strategies for procuring include avoiding large orders until samples are tested and included in contracts that have strict quality standards.

HelloPrint solves a lot of these problems! When you order some item like the custom Stanley Cup, you get all digital proofs and material samples sent before any production work gets started. This method reduces the number of review rounds that usually add 7-10 days to delivery schedules.

The sustainability angle procurement that teams can’t ignore

Promotional merchandise choices are put under the microscope of corporate sustainability reports. For companies with 1,000 employees, that’s half a million fewer disposable products annually.

Life-cycle assessments are now being used more and more by purchasing departments when assessing products. The vast majority of corporate branded drinkware well exceeds this, it is typical for regular users to get 200+ uses from a two-year period.

Inventory management strategies that work

Well-informed buying teams think of promotional merchandise as a stock line like any other. Just-in-time purchasing reduces stockholding costs, but is contingent on suppliers having consistent delivery lead times. Add safety stock to account for spikes in seasonal demand, including conference season and new employee ramp.

Those using HelloPrint’s systems enable customers to re-order previous designs at the click of a button, without the need for new artwork and therefore reducing the previously typical 48 hour design approval model down to less than four hours. This efficiency becomes important when you have last minute event increases to your in-house staff or the new hires are more than you forecasted.

The move towards quality, captain of corporate swag isn’t just about brand perception. It’s a new way of thinking about how procurement organizations consider total cost of ownership, as it relates to their promotional products spend.