Print
Solutions June 2006
Cover
Story
TOP100distributors
Distributor
Superheroes: Faster Than the Speed
of Print
East
Coast Design & Print delivers
a rush job for a new customer.
In
Brief
New
Jersey distributor showcases superhero
service and attention
to customers in a last-minute
turnaround.
Company:
East Coast Design & Print
# 85
Headquarters:
Manasquan, N.J.
Principal:
Joe Sodano
Employees:
16
In
late November last year, Joe Sodano,
president of Manasquan, N.J.-based
East Coast Design & Print
(ECD), accepted a fairly straightforward
4-color print job requiring 100,000
direct mail pieces. However, the
client wanted the piece inserted
in another publication and delivered
the next day to 80 stores nationwide.
“It
was a little hectic in here, with
the proofing back and forth,”
Sodano says. “The real hitch
came when we needed some answers
to shipping questions and the
whole marketing company was out.”
It was the day after Thanksgiving.
Luckily
for ECD’s client, Sodano
used his connections from nearly
two decades in the print industry
and made several phone calls.
The job was printed and shipped
FedEx overnight.
“Ultimately
we pulled it together,”
he says, “But I wonder sometimes
if the client really understands
the complexity and effort it takes
to pull off rush jobs.”
The project went through proofing,
printing, bindery and shipping
in record time.
“They
were playing beat the clock on
their end, too,” Sodano
says of his client, who came to
him on a referral. “The
customer was under the gun with
last-minute edits and changes.
They asked us to help them out,
which we could do with our infrastructure
of vendors.” The direct
mail piece was the client’s
first order from ECD.
“This
order was unique in many different
aspects,” Sodano says, but
the company strives to provide
such service to all customers,
all the time. “I really
think our service is second to
none,” he continues. It
may be this commitment to clients
that contributed to East Coast’s
dramatic sales growth last year.
“The
nature of this industry, unfortunately,
puts us in the rush scenario much
too often,” Sodano says.
“We’ve been in the
situation where we’ve had
to deliver rush in the past, but
never to so many locations. It
was a significant achievement.”
Sodano,
like many distributors, has delivered
print jobs in his own car –
“too many times,”
he laughs, “as all sales
people have. It’s how we
build our reputation.” Sodano’s
strategy for future growth lies
in expanding on this key premise:
give the customer what they want,
whenever possible, no matter what.
“We’re
very loyal to our clients and
our vendors,” Sodano says.
“We’re honest, up-front,
and all of us are very pleasant
to work with.” In the next
year, the company also plans to
invest in marketing itself to
the end user via direct mail,
trade shows, and community group
connections.
—Rebecca
Trela
