FollowA recent post in a Facebook Group for Promotional Product Professionals had a distributor upset 
because a supplier didn’t contact him to tell him the ship date wasn’t going to happen as noted on his order. Supply chain issues, staffing shortages and the effects of COVID have made it a stressful time for distributors and suppliers, and these issues are expected to continue until the end of the year if not longer! What can you, a promotional products sales professional, do to make the situation less stressful and avoid missed shipped dates and mishaps on orders from becoming even more common?
The answer is to set up systems in your office for all your daily activities. Here’s a system I use for every order to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.
1. Check inventory with the supplier ahead of placing the order. As I side note, I really appreciate it when suppliers have inventory levels on their website. It saves me a ton of time and effort.
2. Double check that I sent the supplier requested form of art.
3. Make sure the delivery address information and in hands date on the order are accurate.
4. If I haven’t received an automatic confirmation, check with the supplier the day the order is sent to make sure it was received. As I side note to suppliers, it’s great to receive automatic confirmations!
5. If a proof is requested and sent, get approval from my client as soon as possible to make sure there are no delays with the order.
6. Check with the supplier every week to make sure everything is on track to be delivered on time.
7. Get tracking numbers from the supplier the day the order is shipped and send the tracking number to my client.
8. Call my client the day the order is supposed to arrive, or a day later, to make sure they received it and everything looks good!
9. Thank my client for their business with a follow up phone call, email, personal note or gift.
Of course, no system is fool proof. Mistakes may still happen, but I can tell you from actual experience having a system will save you a ton of time and effort and make your day-to-day activities much more pleasurable!
Here’s to your success!
© 2022 Rosalie Marcus
