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4 Simple Steps To Worry-Free Order Production

Posted by Sharprint Associated Press on October 21, 2019 5:30:00 AM CDT

4_Simple_Steps_To_Worry_Free_Order_Production

There are many decisions to be made and details to be communicated when ordering decorated and promotional apparel. If you’ve ordered even once, you are well aware. The number of decisions and details is multiplied by each client you are working with and each item they are having imprinted. Wow. That’s a lot to keep track of.

You’re awesome and have it covered, we know. Regardless, we’ve got your back. The Four Simple Steps is a system for placing orders that helps organize the details and keeps you informed about the progress of your custom screen print, embroidery, and digital print orders. Our goal is to make working with us easy. By pro-actively providing you with status updates, you can continue getting business instead of being bogged down by the orders you already have.

Step 1: Order Approval

You’ve emailed your order and moved along with the rest of the day. Getting quotes from vendors, quoting clients, reviewing art approvals, sourcing goods, returning phone calls—don’t forget lunch—emailing more orders, following up with clients, pro-active sales calls. Sound about right? That’s already a very busy day, do you really have time to add “make sure PO was received” to that list for every order? 

In the promotional products industry, days, hours, even minutes can make or break a relationship with a client. For your client’s sake (and for your own piece of mind) you have got to be sure the order has been received and is in progress. Whether you have time to follow up or not, you will, because nothing can slip through the cracks.

Within 24 hours of receiving your PO, we’ll confirm with you. And by confirm, we aren’t just emailing back with, “thanks, got it.” Our in-depth order confirmation includes garment style and color, sizing breakdown, decoration method and price, ship method, ship to address, and delivery date. We’ll wait for your approval of the details to make sure we have it right before we proceed, and even remind you if we don’t hear back in a bit. 

Step 2: Art Approval

A brand identity is the anchor for consumer perception about a company. Companies invest significant resources into brand identity, design and marketing strategy. By contracting you to produce their promotional products, these companies put their brand and reputation in your hands. You can explain your head off, write detailed instructions, draw diagrams, and dance it out, alas, to err is human. Details can still be missed or misunderstood. Count on The Four Simple Steps to save the day. Every time you place an order for a new design or make a change to a design we have already printed.

We’re not just going to send you back what you’ve sent to us—what would be the point in that? We funnel all of the information you provide into a concise art approval. The art approval includes a visual mock up for approximate sizing and placement, specific image size, and if a specific placement if there is one. The art approval also calls out Pantone colors for screen printing. Digital orders contain all of the same detail, minus the Pantone colors (only because digital printing doesn’t use Pantone colors). For embroidery orders, we physically sew a logo, scan and email it to you. We can mail the actual sew out to you as well, time permitting, of course.

By reviewing the art approval, you can see how we intend on producing your product. These order approvals are blind, so you can pass them on to your client for another set of eyes. Can’t hurt, right? Here’s the beauty part—once we’ve produced the order once, we’ve got it. You don’t need to review the art every time you place the order. Unless, of course, you want to. In that case, it’s no problem to send it over.

Step 3: Receiving Summary

One of the most challenging aspects of ordering custom imprinted apparel is managing the blank product. The blanks you order from a distributor are shipped directly to your decorator. Since the goods don’t pass through your hands, you trust that the right product is delivered and consequently decorated. 

While many shops estimate totals based on the number of boxes, or simply match up your PO with the delivery roster, Sharprint opens each box to count the product delivered. The totals are entered in our system and we send you a receiving summary of the results. If there are any discrepancies between your order and what was actually delivered, you can make arrangements to fulfill the order prior to production.

Sharprint is also one of the few decorators in the Chicago area selected to be part of SanMar’s PSST program. The PSST program streamlines the apparel purchasing process for ASI, Sage, PPAI and other promotional products distributors by eliminating the need to bundle PO’s when placing apparel orders. Enrolling in the PSST program means eliminated restock fees and free—yes, you read that correctly—completely free shipping for you.

We’ll send a receiving summary regardless of whether or not you are enrolled in PSST, so no worries either way.

Step 4: Order Tracking

With all details confirmed, art approved, and goods received, we’ll produce your order and get it out the door. As soon as the order ships, we’ll send you over the tracking numbers. This confirms that your order has been produced and you can keep an eye on it’s progress to your client. If the order is being split and sent to different locations, you’ll receive a breakdown for what is going where with separate tracking numbers. Really, it’s as simple as that.

 

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