It is not uncommon for management to assume that performing an activity in-house is less expensive and more efficient than outsourcing the work. However, this may not be the case with fulfillment of literature and other marketing materials. When you consider the staff time and space allocation required, it soon becomes apparent that in-house management and fulfillment are less convenient and cost-effective than may have been thought.
By utilizing a management service that includes fulfillment, distribution, and storage/warehouse services, the process is greatly simplified and much easier for your team to handle. With Premier Print Group’s high-performing management and fulfillment systems you avoid the ongoing expenses of dedicated personnel and storage and work space. Premier has all the required infrastructure, software, experience, and expertise in place.
7 Benefits of Outsourcing Inventory and Fulfillment of Printed Marketing Materials to Premier Print Group
1. Dedicated Personnel
Often the most challenging part about ordering and shipping printed marketing materials is managing it all. With Premier’s customized marketing materials fulfillment programs, staffing concerns are shifted from your company to ours. You will no longer have to allocate your staff’s time to manage and process orders. You will benefit from professionals working in an environment that has been specifically engineered for management, inventory, and fulfillment processes.
2. Pick, Pack, and Ship Expertise
Premier’s fulfillment programs are designed to allow for efficient and timely processing, packaging, and distribution of your materials. Our experts are experienced with all types of packaging and shipping requirements. While individual programs are customized to each customer’s needs, the basic flow is the same for all.
Once we have your plan in place and your materials in inventory, the pick/pack/ship process moves forward flawlessly. We receive an order at Premier’s fulfillment center and forward it to the team for processing. Items are pulled from inventory and packed in appropriate containers. Labels are created and affixed to the packages after being weighed. The package is now ready for one of our carriers, all of which make daily pick-ups.
Premier inventories a wide array of stock carton, stay-flat, and padded mailer sizes. All of our cartons are 275-pound test, strong enough to endure any journey. It is not uncommon for us to order and inventory special shipping containers that are more appropriately sized for our customers' orders.
Premier has partnerships and negotiated rate agreements with UPS, FedEx Air and Ground, and numerous national LTL carriers. This allows us to offer you the most economical shipping rates to all destinations in the U.S. and beyond.
3. Saves Storage and Work Space
One of the significant benefits of an outsourced fulfillment solution is that it gives you secure offsite space to store and fulfill your print marketing materials and other related collateral. Needless to say, boxes of printed material are heavy, bulky, and take up valuable space in your facility.
By outsourcing literature fulfillment, your materials are stored in Premier’s secure, insured, climate-controlled service center. This not only eliminates space concerns within your facility, but it makes your fulfillment program scalable. It becomes a simple transition when your order volume increases, additional inventoried items are added, or you choose to expand your inventoried quantities.
4. Integrated Print and Fulfillment Services
Procuring printed materials from multiple sources results in increased shipping costs and transit times. By having Premier cost-effectively supply your printed materials, everything is streamlined under one roof, eliminating these additional costs.
Premier Print Group offers a full suite of printing, bindery, and finishing services which include assembly, collating, and kitting. Premier is also your source for promotional items and branded apparel.
Premier’s fulfillment services include storage of your materials, gathering, packaging, and distributing your marketing materials. These may include books, booklets, brochures, sell sheets, manuals, catalogs, and other branded materials such as coffee mugs, pens, apparel, and much more.
5. Kitting
Kitting is a trade term for preassembling components or customized packets for future use. Depending on your requirements, this can take many different shapes with kits being distributed individually, or in bulk as in the following example of what kitting services can offer.
Let’s say you have an upcoming conference or convention and you are responsible for having welcome packets available to be handed out at the registration desk. It is expected the event will draw hundreds or maybe thousands of attendees.
The welcome packet will consist of multiple pieces. There might be a gusseted pocket folder suitable for containing a bound conference program (booklet), an exhibitor’s index with a separate exhibition hall layout map, if applicable, abstracts of research to be presented, a conference-themed notepad and pen, and the list goes on.
In this example, all components are produced, collected, assembled (kitted), and bulk-shipped to the convention site in advance of the event. This is just a sample illustration of the advantages of kitting. What will your customized kit look like and be used for?
A pre-assembled kit does not have to be boring. Creative packaging is a plus with any fulfillment activities, but kitting opens the door to many possibilities. For example, if your package contains one or more product samples, think about a uniquely designed box. Then cushion the contents with colorful crinkle or tissue paper to add an attractive and memorable touch.
6. Inventory Management
Premier Print Group will store and track all of your marketing and other printed collateral in our secure climate-controlled fulfillment service center. With our inventory management system, you will no longer need to keep track of your assets. Our reporting system makes all the information you need available at your fingertips anytime you need it.
7. Distribution-friendly Shipping Point
Premier Print Group is located in Champaign, Illinois which is situated near the center of the U.S. We are served by three Interstate highways — I-57, I-74, and I-72. Due to our ideal shipping corridors, the regional hub for FedEx Ground is located in Champaign. Mailing from Champaign offers two distinct advantages. First, the Champaign, Illinois post office is a U.S.P.S. Sectional Center Facility which allows mail to enter the postal stream faster. Second, mail delivery times are evened out across the U.S. due to our centralized location.
Other Print & Fulfillment Services to Consider
Print-On-Demand (POD)
On-demand print services operate on a per-order basis where an order is placed and the product is printed, packaged, and shipped directly after. This means that you can order a printed product as it is needed, which results in no wasted materials.
Print-on-demand projects usually require smaller quantities, typically up to a couple hundred copies of single sheets or booklets. POD is ideal for projects where data is likely to change, thus avoiding the burden of having obsolete materials. It is excellent for materials to be handed out at group presentations
Variable Data Printing (VDP)
Variable Data Printing is perfect for direct mail campaigns. This may include postcards, self-mailer brochures, or booklets. Use it anytime you want your message personalized and seen as a one-on-one communication.
E-Commerce Storefronts
Premier Print Group is equipped with a powerful e-commerce platform for hosting Corporate, B2B, and B2C custom storefronts. This platform populates your storefront with a variety of items and simplifies how users locate and order whatever they need when they need it. Built-in security gives you control over who can access the site and which items they can view and order.
Print-on-Demand and Web2Print features are included in all storefront packages. Custom-designed, branded templates allow users to easily personalize items with minimal keystrokes. This allows users to personalize corporate assets and maintain brand integrity at all times while approval workflows help ensure compliance.
With this solution, you can offer your customers, employees, and business partners a convenient way to acquire virtually any variable data or static printed products, branded promotional items, wearables, corporate office supplies, and more. Your store will be open 24/7.
In Summary
As your fulfillment partner, Premier Print Group simplifies distributing printed materials and other marketing collateral to your customers, field reps, branch offices, franchise locations, dealers, and others. We have all the resources and expertise needed to perform these tasks efficiently and economically. Whether you are looking for world-class commercial printing, fulfillment services, storefront development, and implementation, or storage and warehousing, we have the perfect customized solution for you. Contact us today and let’s get started.
This article addresses fulfillment of only print marketing materials and other branded collateral. Premier’s services for many clients include the bulk storage and distribution of products, samples, swatches, point-of-purchase displays, and more. Check with your Premier rep for details.
