Branded merchandise can be great in theory, but a real challenge in reality. Frustrations can include stocking multiple locations with required items, ensuring speedy delivery and reporting your sales and inventory. There’s also the issue of different locations choosing different vendors, making brand control, logistics, and quality of products a true nightmare.
The solution isn’t to give up on branded merchandise but to make it easier with an online company store. Streamlining branded merchandise with an online company store brings benefits not only for marketers, but to everyone else throughout your company.
Six benefits of an online company store:
1. Ease of Access
You can set authorizations for different sections of your online store, giving marketers, employees and even the general public access to specified items. That means your marketing team can order branded materials with a few quick clicks, while others can do the same with branded merchandise that aligns with their needs. The time savings will add up allowing employees to focus on other tasks instead of chasing down internal team members or vendors for order placement.
2. Minimized Administration
A major advantage of an online company store is having a centralized dashboard that lets administrators control everything that’s going on with your branded merchandise. Admins can quickly add new products, update existing ones, delete discontinued ones, and otherwise manage your entire inventory of branded merchandise for all company departments and locations.
Approvals can also be given in advance by adjusting user authorizations, allowing for quick and easy ordering without an extended waiting period.
3. Controlled Branding
Brand consistency helps to maintain your company reputation, and an online shop makes it a breeze. Since all your branded merchandise is controlled from a main dashboard, you can ensure all items are supplied by vetted vendors and use corporate-approved branding elements that meet specifications. Every promotional product will enjoy the high-quality standards that your company put into place to maintain its integrity.
See Also: Eliminate Brand Abuse with an Online Company Store
4. Controlled and Reduced Costs
When a company attempts to procure branded merchandise from various vendors, both complications and costs can go through the roof. Without a streamlined system in place, procurement costs for branded merchandise can be as high as 20% or more. An online company store gives you a streamlined system that allows you to efficiently manage and order what you need from a single, trusted source.
With the ability to order on-demand instead of in advance, you’ll also eliminate the high cost of storing backlogs of branded merchandise that’s at risk of being ruined, lost or outdated before it’s even used.
5. Custom Reporting
Instead of sifting through emails, paper notes or calling your various company locations, you’ll be able to track what’s going on with your branded merchandise by logging in to your online shop. Custom reporting options let you filter and sort criteria to give you the exact information you’re looking for. Order histories, marketing material distribution, product performance and other statistics are at your fingertips.
6. Same-Day Shipping
When it comes to getting the branded merchandise your marketing team needs, no one has time to wait around. Not only can it take time to get the right information in the vendor’s hands, but waiting for it to be shipped out can be another excruciating delay. With all the information already stored in the database, an online company store ensures items get shipped out the same day they’re ordered.
From fast shipping to easy access, an online company store is packed with benefits that can make your marketing team happier and more productive. The same can hold true for everyone else who takes advantage of your online shop.
