Is your business continually going through a high volume of materials, such as business cards, brochures, envelopes, forms (invoices, applications, and checks), labels, branded apparel and uniforms, and promotional products?
In this article, we explain all the ways that maintaining your own inventory costs far more than it saves—and why switching to Eagle Print Dynamics’ warehousing and fulfillment services will save your sanity, time, efforts, and money.
Managing materials is harder than it seems
Many business owners assume that an office assistant and some shelf space in the supply closet are all they need to handle their printed materials and apparel. That may be true for a small, single-office location, but once your workforce starts to grow and your company expands with additional locations, that seemingly simple task can quickly turn complex. Managing, tracking, reordering, and fulfilling inventory needs on your own can be frustrating, time-consuming, and costly.
Here are some of the issues that can cut into your employee hours and your bottom line:
Higher labor costs – Expecting an employee to handle this time-intensive task usually means distracting them from their primary job, requiring overtime hours, or adding a dedicated staff member. Compared to another full- or part-time salary, Eagle’s monthly warehouse management fee–which is based on the size of your specific product supply–is affordable. Better yet, it gives you the breathing room to focus on what matters most in your business.
Inventory overwhelm – Economies of scale mean cost savings for purchasing large quantities. Do you have the space and resources to keep and manage five, ten, or twenty pallets worth of uniforms and promotional swag? How do you locate the specific products you need, when you need them? Eagle’s dedicated warehouse space and inventory management professionals will receive, store, ship, and manage products for you.
Complex shipping logistics – The correct business cards, apparel types, product sizes, configurations, and quantities must be pulled before being sent to your offices. At arrival, a manager must accurately manage the distribution, making sure to avoid any errors. These small tasks add up to a lot of time and require an unnecessary middle-man. Instead, allow Eagle’s fulfillment service procures to ship the proper products straight to your employee’s home every time.
Costly errors – Without a system in place, expensive mistakes may occur– and Eagle isn’t in the business of letting customers lose money. In one instance, a [now] client inadvertently sent expensive polo shirts to workers who should only have received tee shirts, unnecessarily increasing expenses. Through the Eagle Ordering Portal (EOP), products are curated and assigned to an employee with a managerial review process. Now, orders are correct before going out, and businesses reduce costly mistakes.
Running out or losing materials – Without a reliable system to track forms and merchandise, you may find yourself without critical items just when you need them most. Alternatively, one company discovered boxes of products that were shoved to the back of a closet and forgotten for three years, which were tossed away because they had become obsolete. When Eagle’s team manages your materials, we know exactly where everything is and when it needs to be reordered.
Lack of security – Are you protecting materials from accidents or theft? An unexpected flood or leak could turn those snazzy uniforms into piles of mildewed rags. Employees with unmonitored access may walk off with branded coffee mugs for their neighbors or company T-shirts for their kids. When Eagle warehouses your items, we keep them safe, secure, and available.
The value of Eagle’s warehousing and fulfillment services
One of our longtime clients, Vince Nardo, has encountered most of these issues in his 37 years as president of Reborn Cabinets, with 500 employees spread across 8 locations in 2 states.
“When we tried to manage merchandise on our own, the logistics of tracking and shipping became a huge, expensive hassle,” he says. “People regularly got the wrong, pricier products and business cards were a complete nightmare. Using Eagle’s portal and creating our online store has been a lifesaver! Each employee has a unique log-in with restricted product selection and a spending limit to avoid cost overruns and errors, and Eagle ships orders directly to their homes. Not only does this eliminate our warehousing and fulfillment issues, but it saves us far more than it costs, in product waste, time, labor, and headaches. It’s a bargain at any price!”
Talk to us about managing your inventory
We love to take the hassle of managing materials and merchandise off your plate by fulfilling orders, ensuring stock is always available, and shipping directly to your employees. Most of all, you deserve a real way to save money in these inflammatory times. Eagle’s warehousing services will save you time, lower costs, and make ordering easy, so don’t waste another minute. Contact us here or call 714-978-2200 to discuss how we can help!
