As COVID bore down on North America last March, companies and organizations scrambled to figure out how to take their events virtual and promo firms were quickly tasked with keeping people connected by sending branded merchandise to private homes. For those suppliers and distributors that hadn’t done much of this type of kitting and drop-shipping work before, it was definitely a year of transition.

Now, as health fears linger, people continue to work and learn at home, and events are still virtual or hybrid, industry companies have had to continue to hone and perfect their fulfillment practices. Mitch Silver, vice president of marketing and sales at Printable Promotions (asi/299458) in Chicago, says his company’s capabilities expanded this year and have become a “well-oiled machine.”

“We pivoted, we retooled. We had to do that to stay alive. We had to do a lot of things differently.” – Mitch Silver, Printable Promotions

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Silver talks with ASI Executive Editor Sara Lavenduski about what he and his team have learned over the past 12 months and his predictions for how COVID will change what customers expect of their promo partners.

“We pivoted, we retooled. 2020 was that year where we had to do that to stay alive,” says Silver. “We had to do a lot of things differently.”

Podcast Chapters (only available on desktop)
1:01 Amping up fulfillment offerings in 2020
3:38 Recent kitting projects at Printable Promotions
5:56 Favorite shipping software
8:45 Addressing large virtual event attendee numbers
13:22 Opportunities to create jobs
15:04 Where is the demand for fulfillment going?
21:55 Big takeaways

Among the projects the team at Printable Promotions has worked on recently are a mystery box for an overnight camp, drinkware gifts and swag for a financial conference.

Mitch Silver, Printable Promotions

An overnight camp client wanted a mystery box of items shipped to guests’ homes.

Make sure to find shipping software that works for your needs, says Silver (his company uses Pirate Ship), and be aware of the countries that can be difficult to ship to, like Brazil, India, Russia and Eastern Europe generally, because of poor shipping infrastructure. Communicate on the front end about what shipping logistics and costs may look like, and codify your price list from the beginning with all relevant details so there are few surprises for clients.

A pop-up shop that Printable Promotions set up for a client let people choose a piece of YETI drinkware for shipment to their homes.

This is especially important for virtual events with large attendee numbers, which means it’s highly likely that someone from overseas will be expecting a shipment. That’s presented the biggest learning curve for Silver’s team, he says.

A company offering a virtual training session tasked Silver’s team with sending out branded items and a letter to recipients.

“It seems simple to do fulfillment, but it’s a lot of work,” he says. “You’re going to make some mistakes along the way. But don’t be afraid to charge for kitting and fulfillment services.”

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