Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
Marketing Tips for Mail and Fulfillment Service Providers
Posted by 
on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 
at 12:32 PM 
in 
In just a few days, my beloved New England Patriots will be facing the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. And while I will certainly be rooting heavily against New York in that game, that certainly will not stop me from heading to that State in order to meet with some mail and fulfillment service providers!
On Wednesday, February 1st, I will be speaking at a meeting of the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) New York Chapter.
Presentation Overview
The presentation that I will be delivering is titled “How You Can Improve Your Own Marketing Efforts”.
I will focus on providing actionable items and intelligence that service providers can use to reach more prospects and generate more leads. Some of the main topics that will be covered include:
- Creating a marketing strategy and plan
- How to incorporate online marketing and content marketing into your effort
- Ideas for executing multi-channel marketing campaigns
- Ways to use social media and mobile marketing in your business
If you are in the New York area, I hope to see you there!
Event Details
When: Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Where: Club 101, 101 Park Avenue, (40th St), New York, NY
5:30 – Cocktail Reception
6:15 – Dinner
7:00 – Program
Need more information? Please visit the MFSA New York Chapter’s website >>
P.S. Go Patriots!
Tags The Importance of Warehouse Management Software
On a daily basis, I have the opportunity to engage with companies of all different shapes and sizes that provide inventory and fulfillment services.
Some of them are fulfilling thousands of orders a day for their company’s sales force; others are providing fulfillment services for their customers. Many of them are packaging and shipping marketing and sales collateral — binders, brochures, books, trade show displays, etc. — while others are fulfilling product orders that were placed by consumers.
But no matter what their situation might be, they nearly all face the same challenges.
Common Challenges in Warehouse Management
Companies that provide the service of managing inventory, a warehouse, and the fulfillment process often face the following questions:
- How accurate are their inventory counts?
- How can they monitor and improve their turnaround times?
- How can they automate their daily tasks?
A company’s ability to answer and accomplish those items is often directly related to the warehouse management software that they choose to use.
Succeeding with Warehouse Management Software
Many companies understand the importance of managing their warehouse inventory correctly, but too often they settle for simplistic programs such as Excel, Access, or Word documents to track their inventory flow.
While there are benefits to using these programs for specific tasks, they fail to add efficiency, consistency, and quality control to the process. This where the importance of using proven warehouse management software comes to light.
Not only can focused, inventory management software make organizing and tracking shipments and product output easier on your employees, but it can also help you generate valuable reports and analytics for your company and for your customers.
Also, by using an online software application, you can often get very close to a real-time inventory count situation, which should absolutely help to reduce unnecessary frustration in regards to backorders.
There are many other benefits that can come from fully utilizing an online, warehouse management software application.
If you are interested in how interlinkONE could help you out in that regard, register for a free demo of our solutions! Or, please click here to read more about our software.
The Supply Chain: A Collaboration of Marketing and Fulfillment
Over the past few years, many service providers in the worlds of print and mail have sought to grow their business by also offering fulfillment services.
While this certainly can prove to be a profitable move, the initial transition may prove to be a bit difficult. Part of that is simply related to logistics — you need space to hold inventory, you need to install shelves, you need to strategically learn where to position materials, etc. However, once a company gets over some of the bumps during the implementation process, they may start riding down a smooth and profitable road.
If you are wondering if your company can also benefit by offering fulfillment services, we have some advice for you.
The Main Secret to Success
In the end, success inside of a fulfillment operation often comes when the lines of communication between it and the marketing/sales departments are open and running smoothly.
Some companies make the mistake of not thinking of fulfillment operations as part of the marketing process. But it absolutely is!
Most of the materials being stored and fulfilled inside of a warehouse are often for marketing activities — for trade shows, for lead follow-up, for presentations, and more. Thus, it is absolutely vital that your supply chain management efforts — which connect marketing with fulfillment — are functioning as well as possible.
Overview of Supply Chain Management
What exactly is supply chain management?
One definition is listed as the “design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally.”
Now, that may seem slightly confusing or overwhelming to a company that is wondering whether they should get into the fulfillment business.
But the good news is that in all actuality, supply chain management can be orderly, efficient, and successful, especially when marketing and warehouse business departments work together effectively.
A few simple steps that can improve communication and work-flow between multiple departments include:
- Implementing software that both groups can monitor easily — this would include visibility into inventory amounts, order status, and more
- Understanding the supply chain from beginning to end so that there is no confusion as to how each step fits into the wholesale/retail puzzle
- Consistent scheduled face-to-face meetings can go a long way toward promoting a spirit of community between departments
Are you looking to improve your Supply Chain?
If you are looking to offer fulfillment services, or to improve your existing Supply Chain Process, I hope that you find the information above helpful.
Of course, if you’d like to discuss this further, I would love to help! Please feel free to contact me.
How In-Plant Printers Can Offer Value-Added Services
I am happy to announce that we will be delivering a webinar on Tuesday, November 15th to members of the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA).
There is no doubt that in-plant printers face different circumstances than commercial or quick printers. However, many of the same trends in the worlds of marketing and communications affect their business too.
To put it simply, many of them are finding that print volume, print sales, & margins have gone down.
Some of the reasons for this may include:
- Many of their organization’s prospects and customers are turning to social networks and the web as the primary way they find information.
- Smartphones are changing the way people interact and communicate with brands.
- As budgets tighten everywhere, organizations may see outbound marketing as something that is too expensive, with not enough ROI.
With circumstances like those a reality, in-plant printers are looking for ways to increase the value that they can offer to their organization.
During the webinar on 11/15, we will share strategies and tactics that printers can take advantage of to just that. We will present opportunities for offering value-added services in the form of:
- Mobile Marketing – QR Codes, mobile websites, and more
- Social Media Integration
- Online Ordering, Electronic Fulfillment, and Inventory Management
This webinar is available to members of IPMA. Please click here for registration information >>
Webinar: 5 Marketing Trends That Could Grow Your Business
I’m happy to share news that interlinkONE and Grow Socially are hosting a pre-Graph Expo webinar on September 7th.
The theme is “5 Marketing Trends That Could Grow Your Business“.
During the webinar, we will cover items such as:
- Mobile Marketing — including QR Codes, mobile websites, mobile payments, mobile commerce, and more
- EMail Marketing — how strategies are changing in terms of content, layout, and frequency
- Social Networks — advice and commentary on whether you should be paying attention to Google+, Tumblr, and other sites
- Automation & Cross-Media — examples of how companies can improve their sales and marketing processes by integrating marketing and fulfillment
- And more!
If you are interested in attending, simply click here to register >>
