A company with six offices usually has six people who buy swag. Each one has a favorite vendor, an old logo file and a different idea of the brand blue. By the second year, the polos in Denver do not match the polos in Boston.
One partner for every location fixes that, if you pick the right one. Price per piece is the easy number to compare. The questions below are the ones that decide how a multi-location program runs after the first order.
The checklist
1. One partner for apparel and promotional products
Many teams buy shirts from one vendor and tumblers from another. That means two art files, two proofs and two ship dates. Ask if the partner supplies both. We decorate apparel in our own building and supply promotional products such as drinkware, bags and pens through the same contact, so one approved logo covers the full order.
2. Who decorates the apparel
Ask which decoration methods the partner runs in-house. A partner that sends every order to a different shop cannot keep a color the same from one run to the next. We run screen printing, embroidery, digital printing and laser engraving in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
3. How brand guidelines are enforced
Send your guideline PDF and your hardest logo. Ask who keeps the approved art on file and whether every order gets a proof, at every quantity. With complex corporate brand guidelines, the proof is the control. If a local office can upload its own logo, the guidelines stop working.
4. How each office orders
Ask how sizes and addresses are collected. A spreadsheet per office does not scale past three locations. A swag store with an approved catalog lets each office or remote employee order their own size, and nothing outside the catalog can be ordered. We covered the mechanics in how one swag store keeps every location on-brand.
5. Recurring employee swag orders
Recurring orders are where a partner earns the account. Ask what happens on the second order. Is the art on file? Is there a new setup charge? Does a reorder have a minimum? Our bulk orders usually start at 12 pieces, and reorders have no minimum.
6. Employee onboarding kits
Ask if kits can sit in stock and ship when a new hire starts, to an office or a home address. A kit that is built to order each time arrives after the first day. See how to compare employee onboarding kit vendors for the full list of kit questions.
7. Trade show promotional products
For trade shows, count back from the show date and ask when the production clock starts. Our standard turnaround is under two weeks from payment. Ask if the partner can store show stock and ship it straight to the venue, then take the leftovers back for the next show.
8. Storage, kitting and shipping
Multi-location fulfillment is a warehouse job. Ask where stock is stored, who packs it and whether every shipment has tracking. If you have staff outside the United States, ask about international shipping before you sign. We store, kit and pick-and-pack under one roof, and we ship worldwide.
Questions to ask on the first call
- Do you supply apparel and promotional products on one order?
- Which decoration methods do you run in your own building?
- Who keeps our approved art, and do we get a proof on every order?
- Can each office or employee order their own sizes and get them shipped direct?
- What does a reorder cost in setup, and what is its minimum?
- Can you store kits and show stock, and ship them on a date we set?
- When does the turnaround clock start?
Red flags
- Each office gets its own account and its own art file.
- No proof on reorders.
- A turnaround quote with no start date.
- A second vendor appears when you ask for a non-apparel item.
- Nobody can say where your leftover stock is.
Where The Swan Brothers fits
We are a print shop with a warehouse. Apparel is decorated in our Pittsfield, MA facility, promotional products come through the same contact, and swag stores are free to set up with no monthly fee. Stock for onboarding kits and trade shows is stored with us and shipped to each office, home or venue.
Bring your list of locations and your guideline PDF to a free 15-minute call, or send us a message.