CentralZone - Aug 2014

www.DistributorCentral.com

The FREE centralized database serving Distributors and Suppliers of the Promotional Product Industry Issue: #004 / DCID: #1232671

AUGUST 2014

Spreading the word coast to coast DC is here. DC is there. DC is everywhere!

That certainly seems the case of late, as the DistributorCentral team has taken to the road to meet personally with suppliers, distributors and service providers.

Nothing beats personal interaction when it comes to demonstrating to the promotional products industry the advantages of a free and fullfeature centralized database.

The summer started with DC exhibiting at the Expo East in Atlantic City and being among the sponsors of the related PPAI Technology Summit. The latter brought together IT and business leaders from suppliers, distributors and service providers across the country to discuss IT initiatives in the industry. DC representatives collaborated on best practices and discussed ways to streamline data needs across the industry.

Then DC headed west, with Tiffany Tarr, VP of Sales, attending the

national sales conference of Plan Ahead Events, a nationwide franchise partnership group. Tiffany and team also attended the Halo National Sales Meeting in New Mexico and complete the season by taking part in the PPAI North American Leadership Conference in Boston and the GAPPP (Georgia Association of Promotional Products Professionals) Holiday Showcase in Atlanta.

Oh, yes… DC will be exhibiting at the SAAC Show in August (as advertised on the facing page).

DistributorCentral believes in maintaining a hands-on connection to the industry it serves. Certainly there’s a sales component to DC’s person-to-person outreach. But just as important is staying in the mix of industry “buzz” and to listen carefully for ways to improve the DistributorCentral platform. The opportunity to rub elbows and gain real-time insight from engaged suppliers and distributors makes the travel worthwhile.

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August 2014 // Issue #004 // DCID: #1232671

ADVERTISING Tiffany Tarr

TTarr@DistributorCentral.com 888-516-7358

CONTENT

Steve Hale

SHale@DistributorCentral.com 888-516-7234

SUPPORT / SALES DistributorCentral

info@DistributorCentral.com 888-516-7401 Brought to you by:

1200 Energy Center Drive • Gardner, KS 66030 www.DistributorCentral.com © Copyright 2014. DistributorCentral, LLC. All rights reserved.

Maple Ridge Farms sales team, from left: Virginia Lemmer, National Account Executive; Mary Kate Riordan, Social Media Director; Tom Riordan, President; Joelle Stahlecker, Marketing Director; Jodie Shillinger, Customer Care Manager.

W

isconsin winters tend to be a bit chilly. That’s just fine at Maple Ridge Farms, where the company’s sizzling hot sales season is a beneficiary of the onset of cold weather.

The reason is obvious. Maple Ridge Farms specializes in corporate food gift programs, with temperature-sensitive chocolates, cheese and smoked meats at the top of the best-seller list.

When 80 percent of the company’s annual orders are shipped after Thanksgiving, it helps that Mother Nature has the thermostat turned down.

While Maple Ridge Farms keeps an eye on temperature control, credit the company’s founder and president, Tom Riordan, for sticking with a 30-year-old recipe that has resulted in the company becoming one of the nation’s premier suppliers of creatively packaged foods. Start with a

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August 2014 // Issue #004

variety of delicious gourmet foods, wrap them in unique and memorable packaging and finish things off with a heaping helping of over-the-top customer service with a satisfaction-guaranteed guarantee.

uct has to be both memorable and of high quality in order for distributors to make the sale and then keep the business. The company places much emphasis on getting real and virtual samples to distributors.

Oh, yes. Let’s not overlook who’s doing the serving. Riordan unequivocally relies on the promotional products industry to drive sales.

“We believe it’s important for distributors to let their clients taste the quality of the food,” Riordan said. “It generates enthusiasm on the part of the client and makes it easier to make the sale. There are lots of pretty pictures of food on the internet and in catalogs, but the only way to be sure of the quality is to taste it”

“I went door to door for a couple years, but you can only call on so many people yourself,” Riordan said. “I became aware of what was then known as the ad specialty industry in 1981. It proved a wonderful fit. Distributors are tremendously important to us because that’s the only way we sell our product.”

That said, it’s from the distributors’ perspective that Maple Ridge Farms performs. The prod-

Per Riordan, the majority of Maple Ridge’s competition doesn’t come from within the industry, but rather from big retailers of national or international scope.

“We have to create more attractive packaging and provide a higher quality food to help dis-

tributors compete with the food gift giants.”

Both the packaging and the food as sold by Maple Ridge Farms are created specifically for the company by an assortment of highend vendors.

“There is no single food manufacturer who can produce everything really well,” Riordan said.

“So we search out vendors who do a really good job at making a particular food item, Cocoa Dusted Truffles for example, and purchase that that product from them. We have dozens of vendors who produce gourmet food products and specialty packaging

items specifically for us. We put it all together as gourmet gifts.”

The “we” Riordan refers to is a well-tenured team that numbers 25 in the summer and then balloons to over 300 between August and December. Most the seasonal workers come back year after year, according to Riordan, so training requirements are minimal and there’s an ingrained understanding that the level of customer service must match the quality of the food gifts.

Maple Ridge Farms is housed in an 85,000-square-foot facility in the heart of cheese country.

A four-story warehouse is fully racked for significant merchan-

dise capacity and a 15,000-cubicfoot cooler/freezer keeps product fresh regardless of what’s happening with Wisconsin weather.

Seems the only space problem at Maple Ridge Farms is the parking lot during the company’s busy season.

“When we start getting busy, it can be hard to find a place to park if you don’t get here early,” Riordan said.

The entire line of Maple Ridge Farms products can be found and ordered thru DistributorCentral. More information can be found at: www.mapleridge.com

Welcome To DistributorCentral

These suppliers found plenty of good reasons to join DistributorCentral in 2014  ANJ Logos  Awards ETC  Belle Mar  Buyprinteddiscs  Captain Foods  Century Place Apparel  Clear Rush  Crown Engraving  Crystal Impressions

 Devara  Discount Labels  Elevate Brands  High Tech Grafix  Howw MFG  Iplus USB  Len Thompson  Magnolia Creations  Meetings Direct

 MLS  Panda Pencil  POP! Promos  Presentation Folder  Promotion Group  ProRose  Select Manufacturers  Showdown Displays  Sisproly Gel Pads

 Smart Go Logo  Stop N Go  Suntex  Sweet Nut Tree  Techtron  Towel Spec  Webb Co  Zorrell

DC is the industry’s only free tool for Product Placement and Distributor Search. DC features for suppliers:  Host your own eCommerce-enabled website  Your products are available to every distributor in the industry  Maintain your own product data  Work with distributors to feature your products on their website  A complete proofing, order-entry, invoicing and payment solution  Offer all these tools to your distributors  And much more!

DistributorCentral sees nearly 2 million product searches per month across more than 10,000 distributor websites and DC’s internal catalog. Contact DC today! 888-516-7401

August 2014 \\ Issue #004

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It’s been seven years since Denver-based Catch Fire Marketing expanded from print marketing into the larger world of promotional products.

Owner Steve Bocher was prepared to take the plunge and was looking for an integrated order management system that allowed Catch Fire to hit the ground running.

Turns out everything he was looking for – web hosting, online proof approval, billing, email hosting, search functionality and more – was available from a single provider.

And the price was right: Free.

“As a new distributor/owner, DistributorCentral was a blessing,” said Bocher. “I could get a webbased product solution, a solution for my website and all the tools I needed. DC made it crazy easy to be in business.”

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August 2014 // Issue #004

tors. When priorities are placed on DC’s website hosting and product search capabilities, the total package of services sometimes gets overlooked.

“It’s possible to run an entire business on DistributorCentral,” Nokes said.

“Our goal has always been to provide both suppliers and distributors with a full package of tools that increase efficiency, lower costs and generate sales.”

If it seems Bocher may have been a bit surprised by DC’s capabilities, that comes as no surprise to Jason Nokes, President of DistributorCentral. Nokes said the all-encompassing order management system within DC is sometimes obscured by singular features sought out by distribu-

According to Bocher at Catch Fire, it’s beneficial to have a system that’s fully integrated with a database containing 300,000 products and that hosts websites and email. He said the true value starts on the first floor.

“At the most basic level, to be able to seamlessly go from order to proof to purchase order to invoicing is what gives us the most value,” Bocher said. “Those four things are the cornerstones of

business that any distributor deals with in the promotional products industry.”

Those critical “cornerstones” are part of a larger framework of services. The DC distributor-focused online order management system is a full-scale utility representing an alternative solution to help distributors streamline business and present far more product information than paper catalogs.

DC’s order management services include the ability to: • Create and send purchase orders to suppliers • Receive invoices and make payments to suppliers • Enable merchant account and PayPal integration • Manage proofs and artwork • Provide full reporting tools • Provide CRM features for customer management • Import/export customer lists • Integrate websites and social media • Issue reorder reminders • Export to QuickBooks and integrate third-party software DC’s Nokes said distributors’ use of DC pays dividends almost immediately.

Suppliers are typiJason Nokes President, DistributorCentral cally able to respond more quickly to orders placed online, many actually offering online order discounts.

Because the order process is simplified, the distributor saves time and errors are significantly reduced.

All at no cost. For good reason.

Suppliers are willing to help sponsor DistributorCentral because they have complete control over product information and can give 100 percent of their distributors access that that information.

Other services providers limit access by suppliers to update their product data in real time which can delay pricing updates and frustrate distributors. DC allows all distributors to view the product data and (again, for free) build websites for customers to purchase those products.

“If there’s any one notion DistributorCentral has had difficulty in overcoming it is that people often believe when something is free, it can’t be that good,” Nokes said. “DC is rapidly dispelling such thinking. We see continued growth as distributors realize DC’s free order management system is more robust and produces traffic equal to or greater than that seen from providers that charge usage and placement fees.”

Nokes points out that suppliers’ product information as posted on DC is typically more accurate.

Suppliers are given full control of their product information housed within DC. When not beholden to the placement process and fees charged by other product platform providers, suppliers can quickly and easily ensure their product data is up to date. DC provides the ability to export and forward updated product information to other product platforms, thus requiring suppliers to generate updates only one time.

Distributors in turn benefit when

they know they’re dealing with accurate pricing.

“We’re always implementing ways to make the DC process simpler, more accurate and more accommodating,” Nokes said.

“We know how important that is for distributors who expect such service. When making distributors happy, suppliers realize the importance of incorporating DistributorCentral into their day-today processes.”

There’s no need to convince Steve Bocher of DC’s value.

With order management, web Steve Bocher hosting and Owner, Catch Fire Marketing the like all being with DistributorCentral, he’s grown Catch Fire Marketing into a truly full-service promotional products provider and an industry leader.

“DistributorCentral is literally part of Catch Fire’s daily routine,” Bocher said. “Our administrators check orders with pending proofs and make it part of their routine to track orders. Our graphic designers use the system for proofs.

I would say almost every designer I’ve had over 14 years has been impressed with how integrated the online proofing system is compared to where they were working before.

“DC makes dotting the Is and crossing the Ts very easy. All you have to do use it.”

August 2014 \\ Issue #004

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Don't Overlook Web Privacy Policies

When using your DistributorCentral website to effectively market promotional products online, it’s imperative you have a Privacy Policy and/or Terms listed on your website.

Your Privacy Policy should list how your website collects personal information from your visitors. For example, if you have Contact Us or Quote forms on your website, visitors are asked to provide information such as name, email, phone and other basic contact information. When customers place orders from your website, the shopping cart collects contact and billing information. Be sure to to reassure your visitors the personal information collected on your site will never willingly be sold or released to third parties.

It’s also a good idea to have Terms and/or a Return Policy included on your website. Here you can describe the services you provide, the terms your customers are subject to when they do business with you, and also how you handle returns. Your Return Policy can rightfully be fairly vague, since the products ordered are subject to suppliers’ return policies, each with varying return policies of their own. You can still explain how returns are handle, but you may not be able to guarantee a refund will be given.

Lastly, the Privacy Policy and Terms should be your own and unique to your website. Take your time and thoroughly explain business practices and expectations of customers who place orders.

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August 2014 // Issue #004

Attention Fulfillment Account Users

Did you know DC has a quick and easy-to-use compare page for products you have added into your Fulfillment Account? To compare, use the “Add Similar From Supplier Product” link.

This makes it easy for you to compare the pricing of your Fulfillment products to the Supplier’s current pricing in DistributorCentral, where you can then update the price if necessary.

To access this tool, login to your Fulfillment Account and then go to: Products menu > Advanced Features > Compare pricing On Products Copied From Suppliers. Contact DC if you have questions.

Extended Product Searches

DistributorCentral focuses on representing the industry’s top suppliers. On some occasions, you might not find the specific product you’re looking for in our standard DC product catalogs.

To further empower your product searches, DC has added a robust extended search function that, in addition to searching our standard catalogs, simultaneously searches across thousands of supplier virtual catalogs, email blasts, and supplier websites. With a single search you can broaden your query to include these important product information and supplier specials resources.

It’s like having your own team of product research specialists at your fingertips!

Provide Discounts Via Online Shopping Cart

DistributorCentral makes it easier than ever for you to apply discounts for your customers through the shopping cart on your website.

Use DC’s discount feature to setup and offer discounts in a variety of ways. Here are just a few:

 Offer percentage discounts if

the product or order total is more than a set amount.

 Offer flat rate discounts if the

product or order total is more than a set amount.

 Offer discounts on freight by

percentage or a flat rate.

 Offer a coupon code that can be

entered to receive a percentage or flat rate discount.

Attention Suppliers: Easily Compute ROI

DistributorCentral has an ROI (return on investment) dashboard feature that allows you to easily access stats regarding the value of your DistributorCentral account.

With this tool, you have access to:

 Active products  Product views  Products added to cart  Orders received  Product information requests  Information to help make sure

you’re maximizing your DC account

To access this feature, simply click on the Dashboard link in the upper-right corner of your DC homepage.

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