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The Goods Aren't Good Without A PO

Posted by Sharprint Associated Press on October 22, 2019 10:00:00 AM CDT

submitting-purchase-order

One of the very first steps in the decorating apparel industry is purchasing the goods that need to be screen printed or embroidered on. Decorating companies are more than willing to order the goods for their customers, but promotional product distributors typically supply the garments themselves. This is certainly not a problem and 100% acceptable. However, if the customer does provide their decorator with the blank pieces, there are a few things that they should know and take into consideration.

The customer should always send its printer a purchase order before sending the goods. Without a PO to match up with inbound goods, the decorator won’t know what or who those goods are for. The processing of the order will be delayed until the goods can be located and matched to the order. The ability to match goods without a PO to an order usually relies on getting tracking information from your distributor or sharing their PO, order # or other identifiable notation on the box.

A common term associated with the decorating industry is turnaround time. Turnaround time is the length of time it’ll take for the client to receive his or her decorated goods from when they place an order. If a decorating company promises a customer a 5 day turnaround time on an order, that customer should have to wait no longer than 5 days to receive their decorated goods. However, the countdown doesn’t begin the second the customer submits their order. The clock start ticking once the artwork is approved, and the goods are confirmed to be in-house.

Quick Tips for Placing an Order With Your Decorator

  1. Be sure to send your decorator your purchase order before sending the goods.
  2. Make sure the purchase order is 100% correct, as any changes will restart the turn-around clock.
  3. Make sure the PO number sent to your decorator matches the PO number sent in on your goods. 
  4. Respond to your art approval email as quickly as possible. Once you approve the art and the goods are in-house, your order can enter production.

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