115 replies to this topic

[tmertz]

In our environment all the labels would be attached together via perf.

If they make a mistake at least the shipping label and the branding will match:):):).

This is one of the reasons we are looking at adding a thumbnail of the proof to the shipping label (to cut down on mis-labeled shipments). With the thumbnail picture being so small switching to color would further ensure that the label matched the imprint on the product.

I have not scoped this out to the DC programmers yet so adding the Distributor's logo label can be worked on when they are adding the proof to the shipping label.

Would like comments from Distributors.

Edited by tmertz, 18 February 2010 - 03:25 PM.

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

LouieM said:

Ok Everyone on DT I am going to bite on this one:

Here is the offer

$2.50 per box

You supply what you want printed on the label. We will print and apply 1 label per blank box.
( We will use Avery 2" x 4" labels) applied right next to UPS label

You can also brand the bottom of a coolie with your information at no additional cost as long as you use the same color imprint as your client logo.
Be careful with this as some clients may reject the order if it has your info on bottom.

This will be a test to see how it goes for DT only.

All orders will need to be emailed to me Louie@coolergraphics.com and in the PO be very clear to use labels. I will report back in 2 weeks as to haw many people tried it

Good idea, Louie. I just send some pix of your products to a customer earlier today, for a family reunion. If they order your items, it won't be til late Spring. Hope your offer still stands!
Margie
PS Also sent pix of Dooley cups.

[bdp656]

jimknecht said:

Why is it my job to brand you, the distributor? I brand my company with you distributors, as I should. But why can't you brand yourself to your clients?

I would think that if my brand is shown it may lead to someone calling me for the same product you did for me.

They could be from another department or the replacement employee in the same company or maybe my clients client who happens to have a need and see the box.

It has happened to me because discount labels prints on the label dispenser: to reorder call (my info).

[jimknecht]

bdp656 said:

I would think that if my brand is shown it may lead to someone calling me for the same product you did for me.

The point is not that branding works... it obviously does. The point is, who's job is it to brand you? Why would you expect your suppliers to do so for you?

As we have discussed, there are some things that suppliers might be able to do, but all have issues. Keep in mind, this is a huge industry & not every distributor would want this branding. So now, anything we do would have to be selective, & boy does that open up a world of difficulty. Because now, unlike the shipping labels, which my employees know have to be on every box, you add to the mix something that may or may not need to be on the box. But even then, how effective would be a one color label slapped on a box? How many folks would even notice?

The best distributor branding is done by folks like Stanley, which provide their own labels to be attached to the box. Then the label can be multi-color & have your logo on it. Problem is, very few folks actually send us an order anymore... they all came by fax or email.

No easy solutions here.

[royster13]

And Jim, I am sure many of your orders would ship long before paperwork caught up....

[rosec]

Hi All,

Funny thing happened yesterday. I received a p.o. from a PPD. In the quoting process I told him that it is a rush job to meet his in hands date but I would not charge and there is time to put the job through. so far, so good....

He e-mails a p.o.....

On the bottom of his p.o.. "Adhere enclosed XXXPromo labels to product boxes". I check the e-mail...no attachments for labels. I e-mail the client that I am not understand his directions about the label. He reply's I will send them U.S. postal. I tell him that my facility for the laser is off site and this is a rush that the labels will not meet up with the product properly. I would be glad to make the labels and adhere them for $1.50 per carton for him. His reply was you will get them in the mail and you will put them on!!!

So is this how the PPD's are going to deal with this? Are these the problems I am going to run into now that this is an industry issue? Every time there is something new like this PPD's seem to want to do things their way and I am to follow the directions without regards for my own business model. Well to tell you the truth, I am here to make a product and ship it. Do that correctly. After this first taste....I am rethinking any favorable thoughts about this labeling....


:eek::confused::eek: Rose

[royster13]

Rose do you think some of the "crankiness" is due to how desperate some folks in this industry are?....I always try to be kind and respectful to those I am dealing with but some days they can sense the "frustration" in my voice...

[rosec]

Seriously....this went from bad to worse
Suppliers night mare 101....
In the interest of time for the rush.. per his directions"make sure you do not send contact information on your proof....YOU MUST RESPOND TO MY SPAM CONTROL..... i do a proof and a virtual...send it back ask him for an approval and credit card to process......
"thats not the right art".......he resends a peice of four color art that would have to be knocked out in order to make it one color for engraving. I tell him I need one color art and he tells me to change it and do a knock out. I tell him that iI will have to charge him to do that.....not a half miniute later does the right one color peice of art come to me in an e-mail. And I immediatly send back a new proof....
I then get "Ihave been in this business for XX years why do you need a credit card...I explain....GET THIS>>>> Well I have to call you tomorrow because all of my credit cards are maxed out. I might have to put this on two cards. I tell him to call me first thing in the morning so we can meet his in hands date. I sent him an e-mail near noon informing him that when he calls me with a credit card I will let him know when we can complete production. As of yet no credit card!!!!

MY LAST NERVE>>>


Hear you guys got a new goalie??? ay!;)

R

[Schlep]

rosec said:

Hear you guys got a new goalie??? ay!;)

R

Tough talk coming from a girl from Michigan, "You know" we sure do and he stays in the net. :D

Did anyone see the goal where the puck went right through the netting?

[rosec]

You would be lurking around these parts when I make that comment......
:tongue:
The next game between them is going to be the best hockey game ever played!!! I swear!!!!


Loved the black poop track on the net!

R

[jimknecht]

**** Yankees talking hockey. :)

[Chris Miller]

Rose,

Not to be an a-hole about it, but our PO's state OUR TERMS - that's what a PO is all about. If you don't like those terms, just let the distributor know and then we can choose to get over it, or move on.

We have a number of terms on our PO's. If a supplier cannot follow them, we move on. If they move forward without following those terms, then things get even more interesting for them. ;)

[Allan]

It is amazing how many times I have put on the PO to be called for Credit Card information. I know of only one supplier that has actually called me. Most have sent a credit application. I do not fill them out. If they want the order, I will pay for it by credit card. It seems that it is a problem for them to contact me directly to get that information. I don't send it via a fax or email. I want to talk to someone and get their name when I give out the number.

What policies do you have on your POs, Chris?

[tmertz]

Second request for Distributor input:

We are looking at adding the functionality to DistributorCentral to print out additional labels with the Distributor's logo when Suppliers use our order management solution and print out their shipping labels.

These would be printed BLACK AND WHITE using the label printers used to print shipping labels. It is on a 4 by 6 inch label.

Since many of you are using DistributorCentral for your numerous websites I would assume that you would want the label "personalized" based off the website the order came from if possible. Otherwise there would be one label design per account.

What are you thoughts? Do you want the label personalized per website or per account? Of course you (Distributor) would be responsible for uploading a 72 dpi one color 4 inch by 6 inch jpg. Do you want to upload a unique logo for each website or just one for your account?

[3Koi Maui]

tmertz said:

Second request for Distributor input:

Tom, you might want to send a PM to a few of the Distributors who have multiple DC websites. I would expect that a few have dropped reading all of this thread every day. There have been so many posts that yours can drop way down or off the page before someone comes back to take a look.

[bdp656]

jimknecht said:

The point is not that branding works... it obviously does. The point is, who's job is it to brand you? Why would you expect your suppliers to do so for you?



No easy solutions here.

Hi Jim,

My point was just that, a supplier might want to do it to create more and repeat business for themselves.

Sorry if I am missing the point but I believe if I am more successful then I can help you be more successful....after all we have a partnership together.

A supplier does not have to go out and get new equipment/software if they do not want to but if it means you have something distributors want then you may be the preferred call for certain distributors.

[tmertz]

TradeNet has very strong evidence that if a Distributor can brand the promotional item they are handing out it will lead to referrals. We have Distributors adding their urls to products in the consumer market and large chunks of their business are referrals. These referrals are added sales to the Distributor and of course TradeNet.

I will tell the DistributorCentral programmers to add the ability for Distributors to upload a jpg of the logo they wish to put on boxes. This will enable Suppliers using DistributorCentral to easily print out labels with the logo on each order. Since the shipping labels are printed at the same time the labels will be consecutive.

DistributorCentral provides an export of shipping addresses to UPS and FedEx manifests so that manifesting of these orders requires minimal effort.

Even Distributors that do not use DistributorCentral for their websites or order management will have the ability to log-in and upload logos to their account information.

[rosec]

Chris - with all disrespect;)! That is an a--hole coment.

Business 101. When looking to purchase goods from a business one inquires to how they function. One does not dictate their terms of doing business. This is why we take the time to type those pages of Terms of doing business on those catalogs. I really have to believe you are just baiting me......


The "terms" as you say - I say "demands" were out of our business model. I did some of the things he asked and told him what I had to charge for. This PPD did not move on - he just left everything hanging.

Could you please coment as to my doing proof & virtuals before securing deposit and he "telling me to do art for free when he had the correct art at his finger tips--- This is the kind of behavior that makes PPD's look bad....



as always, Rose

[jimknecht]

bdp656 said:

My point was just that, a supplier might want to do it to create more and repeat business for themselves.

Sorry if I am missing the point but I believe if I am more successful then I can help you be more successful....after all we have a partnership together.

A supplier does not have to go out and get new equipment/software if they do not want to but if it means you have something distributors want then you may be the preferred call for certain distributors.

No, I understand & I am giving consideration to this issue. However, I think it important for y'all to understand, that just because Tradenet can do something, does not mean all, or even most, suppliers can do so. They are technology leaders & digital printers... both key components to making this work. I have no doubt they have more technology employees than I have total employees.

Yes, we have a partnership, but normally that means me producing the job properly & giving you exceptional service... you sending the order & paying the bill. Have we gotten to the point where you get such exceptional service/inventory from all your vendors that that is no longer the key component of our partnership? That we now need new criteria to judge suppliers on... how well they brand the distributor? It takes all I can do to provide the inventory/service we offer, plus advertise/brand myself to distributors. But now am I gonna be judged on how well I brand you, also?

As a owner/manager, I have to decide where to expend time & resources. We are just a small family operated business with rather limited resources... the polar opposite of Tradenet. Is this issue so important that you folks want your suppliers taking resources away from doing our primary job to brand you folks?

Point is, all suppliers are not alike. Some can transition to this with little effort... others will struggle. Plus, IMO this branding will be rather poor, even with folks like Tradenet going the extra mile of putting your logo on the label. No supplier would ever brand themselves with such a pitiful form of advertising. If Tradenet or any other supplier were to ever really brand themselves, you think we would use a dinky label on one side of a box?

So yes, I want repeat business, but historically that meant offering great service & great product at a fair price. Is that not enough anymore? Are dinky little labels that important in the grand scheme of things?

[jimknecht]

rosec said:

Chris - with all disrespect;)! That is an a--hole coment.

Business 101. When looking to purchase goods from a business one inquires to how they function. One does not dictate their terms of doing business. This is why we take the time to type those pages of Terms of doing business on those catalogs. I really have to believe you are just baiting me......

You go, girl! Agree 1000%.