Print Solutions Magazine, February 2005 -- Case Study: Promotional Products

Fulfillment Program Entices Brokerage Firm

Each year, more than 19,000 employees of an international brokerage firm volunteer in their local communities as part of a coordinated 10-week program. Mailroom attendants, division heads and the CEO all participate in charitable walks, bathe animals at shelters, read to blind children, improve houses for the needy and more. Spread across the world, they have one thing in common: Each volunteer receives a hat and T-shirt from the firm.

Joe Corbo, vice president of operations at Vanguard Direct, New York City, knew the program existed and persistently cold called the firm until he identified its purchaser. Intrigued by Vanguard’s collateral material, the purchaser invited Corbo to meet. “My prices on the shirts were probably the same as everybody else’s,” Corbo says. “I was not getting this order if I had to compete shirt for shirt with someone else.”

Corbo discovered that the hats and T-shirts were being delivered to the client’s site, where office personnel packaged and distributed them over the 10-week period. He offered to take fulfillment out of the firm’s hands. The firm would provide a spreadsheet before each event with the participants’ names and shirt sizes. Vanguard would bag the hats and shirts according to the event and deliver them with a packing slip identifying the event and its team leader.

Within days, the purchaser agreed to Corbo’s proposal, pleased that the company could eliminate inventory and avoid the hassle of fulfillment. “They had never had anybody offer them distribution before on a weekly basis,” Corbo says. “It separated us from others making the pitch to get the T-shirts. I came across as a solutions provider.”

The firm specified brands and custom colors, and Vanguard made good on its promise to deliver the hats and shirts, even shipping the products to events in Europe and Asia. Along with the shirts, hats and bags in which the apparel was packaged, Vanguard also sold the firm a safety kit for the home improvement volunteers. It included work gloves, dust masks and nail aprons, as well as hats and T-shirts. The distributorship since has earned more of the brokerage firm’s printing business.

—Andrew Brown

Tips

Have solid warehousing and distribution in place. Whether completed in house or through a partner, warehousing and fulfillment services can help secure an order. Joe Corbo, vice president of operations at New York City-based distributorship Vanguard Direct, landed a major account this way. “We took away the distribution headache form them,” he says.

Make an impression with eye-catching collateral. Powerful marketing material can separate your company from the countless solicitations that print buyers receive.

Don’t sell what others sell. When competition for large accounts focuses on price, the distributor’s value is lost. A more effective strategy is to sell solutions. “I try to go with what will separate me from the pack as quick as I can. When that works, I’m usually successful,” Corbo says.