PromoPilot - Blog #Company Stores

Beyond Merch: The Future of Promo Company Stores

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:47:00 -0600

For a long time, company stores have done a pretty narrow job. They help clients buy branded merch, apparel, and printcollateral. They support uniform programs, safety programs, employee recognition, and basic purchase control.

That job still matters. I'm not dismissing it. But I do think the definition is already too small for where clients are headed.

I spent 13 years on the distributor side building e-commerce and company store programs. Most of them looked the same. Then one enterprise client forced us to rethink what a company store could actually be.

The catalog model is getting too small

Modern clients are moving away from fragmented vendors, seeking instead a centralized, frictionless brand management portal that integrates physical swag with digital assets and marketing collateral to ensure a unified presence.

If your store only handles the mug and the polo, the client still has to leave that environment every time they need something more strategic. There's an opportunity here for promo distributors to offer something powerful and unique.

Why demand is already here

The market is telling us this shift is real. Cloudinary cites research showing that 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing as a core strategy and about 39% of marketing budgets go to content creation. Capture a slice of that budget to unlock a fresh revenue stream.

Demand for asset management is growing fast too. The global DAM market is projected to reach $10.9 billion by 2029. That tells me clients want one place to control brand assets, approvals, and distribution. They do not want brand files floating around in five systems and fifteen inboxes.

This is not a future trend. Clients are already reorganizing how brand work gets done.

A shift in mindset

We were trained to think like sellers. Win the account. Pitch the product. Fill the order. Move to the next opportunity.

But the future company store is not a sale - it is a system that embeds itself inside your client's business.

That shift creates a real challenge for sales teams.

Most reps in this industry are trained to sell products with clear, coded pricing. A mug has a cost. A polo has a margin. You quote it, you move on.

Services do not work that way.

Digital asset management, media personalization, direct mail execution - these are not line items with standard pricing grids. They require scoping, judgment, and often ongoing support. That is uncomfortable if you are used to quoting from a catalog.

If you do not adapt to that shift, you will either avoid selling these services or give them away. The shift is simple: you are no longer selling products, you are selling outcomes.

What the future of company stores could look like

I think the winning store program of the future becomes a front door for brand execution. It still handles merch, apparel, and print. But it also gives client employees a clean place to access approved digital assets, request direct mail, launch social campaigns, kick off advertising campaigns, media buying – whatever a marketer could need. A holistic brand management portal. In other words, the store becomes infrastructure.

What do your store users, especially marketing teams, need to do today? They may need to order tees for an event, grab approved social graphics for the event, execute a direct mail drop, and send a a gift to event speakers.

That is where the store gains massive utility by centralizing requests, enforcing standards, capturing data, and initiating workflows. The best stores stop being catalogs and start becoming systems.

Real examples

Years ago, one of our largest clients invited us to a demo.

The problem was, it was not our platform. 😬

They were evaluating a platform that looked less like a traditional e-commerce store and more like a brand management and execution system. It handled digital asset management, personalization, and campaign execution - but it could also support e-commerce for physical products.

That was an "oh shit" moment.

It made one thing very clear: the client's expectations had already moved, and we were behind them.

Inviting us to that demo was their way of saying, "This is what we want." One place where their franchisees could get everything they needed to run the business - physical and digital.

We had two options. Defend what we had, or close the gap.

We closed the gap. We had to.

That same client pushed us into some of the most practical builds we ever did. They asked for dynamic video rendering that mirrored the logic we were already using for variable data print. Same idea, different medium. Our platform did not support it natively, but it was flexible enough that we could make it work.

We also built a social media asset customization and management workflow inside the store. At that point, the store was not just processing product orders. It was helping execute brand activity.

That is when it clicked. The store was no longer a catalog. It was infrastructure.

What this means for distributors

This shift changes the business in a few important ways.

First, it makes you harder to replace. If you are only fulfilling orders, you are easy to swap. If you are embedded in how the brand operates, you are not.

Second, it expands your revenue surface area. You are no longer limited to product margin. You can charge for access, support, and ongoing execution.

Third, it forces pricing discipline. Most distributors do not lose margin on product. They lose it on unscoped service work. This model forces you to define and price that work clearly.

Your sales process has to evolve too

Traditional promo sales teams are excellent at selling physical products. They know how to price the mug, the polo, and the banner.

Service work is different.

There is no standard grid for digital asset management, campaign execution, or workflow support. You cannot quote it the same way you quote a product.

That creates hesitation. Reps either avoid selling it altogether or treat it like a throw-in to win the deal.

That is where margin disappears.

If your store is helping manage assets, execute campaigns, or run workflows, you are delivering real operational value. That work should be priced accordingly.

How to think about pricing this work

There is no single formula, but there are a few practical models that work:

Platform or access fee
Charge for access to the system itself. If the store is acting as a brand portal, that has standalone value.
Workflow or service fees
Charge for specific capabilities like asset management, campaign execution, or direct mail coordination.
Ongoing support or management fees
If you are maintaining the system, supporting users, or managing requests, that is recurring work.

The mistake is trying to hide this inside product margin. That model breaks as soon as service work becomes a meaningful part of the offering.

Final thought

Merch still matters. Apparel still matters. Print still matters.

But that is no longer the whole job.

The company store is evolving into the place where brand work actually happens. Where requests start, rules are enforced, and execution gets triggered across channels.

The distributors who win will not be the ones who sell the most products. They will be the ones who own the outcomes.

No Code Needed: Automating Company Stores For Promotional Products

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:47:59 -0600

If you manage company stores, you already know where the time goes.

It goes into the little jobs nobody prices into the program. A client wants gift cards sent today. Inventory changes and nobody catches it fast enough. A supplier sends a file that will not upload cleanly. A pop-up store launches next week and half the process is still living in somebody's inbox.

Right now, the pressure is real. PPAI reported nearly 49% of suppliers saw profit margins shrink over the past year. The same research shows about 30% of distributors reported declining margins too. PPAI also found 56.8% of companies cited tariffs as a major margin challenge. When margins are already getting squeezed, hidden admin starts to hurt.

I define that drag pretty simply. Friction is any task your people are doing that is not closely tied to generating revenue. In company store work, friction shows up everywhere.

McKinsey says fewer than 5% of occupations can be fully automated. That fits what I see. Nobody is automating the whole e-commerce manager job. But McKinsey also found about 60% of occupations have at least one-third of their tasks that could be automated. That is the real opportunity for store teams.

What no code looks like in a company store

No-code automation and practical workflow design go hand in hand – and with over 9,000 Zapier supported apps like Shopify, BrightStores, and Liftoff commerce, you can streamline your existing processes without switching platforms.

For company stores, those processes might start with a form submission, an inventory event, a CSV from a supplier, or an emailed report. From there, the system can do the boring part. It can create a gift card, unpublish a product, route an order, notify the right person, or generate a report.

That is what I want for you. Less clicking. Less copying and pasting. Less "can you do this real quick?" work.

Stop waiting on the roadmap

One of the worst habits in promo e-commerce is waiting for a platform roadmap to save you.

I work with industry tools all the time. I like a lot of them and many serve our industry well. But if you limit your operation to whatever a vendor ships next quarter, you are normalizing what you're capable of as a distributor.

I felt that pressure very clearly when an important client invited us to a demo of a competing company store platform. They were showing social media asset management features our existing stack did not support natively. We did not want to lose the client, and we did not want the client telling us what platforms we had to use. So we built the same capability with no-code tools like Zapier.

That is why, when I look at software, I want to see a Zapier integration or open APIs. Even if I do not need them today, I want to know the door is there. A walled stack always feels fine until the day you need one missing trigger.

Industry-specific tools can be tailor-made to your needs until they aren't. When the client asks for the next thing and the tool cannot get there, you need options.

Start with the work that keeps interrupting your day

When I audit store workflows, I look for work that is frequent, annoying, and repetitive. I want clear and predictable inputs and outputs. I want tasks that do not depend on somebody's gut every single time.

That usually means data entry, spreadsheet wrangling, product publishing, budget management, gift card requests, inventory cleanup, and basic reporting. If somebody is copying information between systems, I am paying attention.

And if one person is the only person who understands the process, I am paying attention there too. You always have to ask whether the business is okay if that person does not show up one day.

Self-serve gift cards and budgets

For company stores, gift cards and budgets are usually the first quick win.

For example, Liftoff and other store platforms that I've used support gift cards and budgets, but many teams still manage them manually. A client emails a request for a new gift card code. Your team might ask for more details, eventually create the gift card code, and email it to the user. That is pure store admin.

I look at these applications pretty simply. They are forms and workflows on the backend. Once you recognize that, the path gets clearer. I can build a Zapier Form that lets an HR manager or program stakeholder submit the request on their own, gathering all of the needed inputs. The workflow then creates the gift card and sends the notification automatically.

I have built that workflow dozens of times because it works. It cuts support tickets fast. It takes work off customer service. And it encourages spending on the store, which is a nice side benefit.

If you are wondering where to start, start there.

Inventory aware publishing

Out-of-stock inventory is another easy place to win.

You know the pain. A size goes out of stock, but the product is still live and your client would rather products that are out of stock simply not appear in the store. Now your team is constantly monitoring for out of stock products and manually unpublishing them.

For Liftoff, I built a custom Zapier integration that fires the moment available inventory reaches zero. From there, the workflow can unpublish the variant automatically. If you'd prefer, for example, that the customer is still able to see that a Small option is available but you want them to know it is out of stock before they choose it, we can update the option value to something like "Small (out of stock)."

That is a great automation use case because it is highly deterministic. The trigger is clear. The rule is clear. The action is clear.

Clean supplier data before product setup

Product setup in your stores is a drag. I think every distributor I've met with has "the spreadsheet" – a monster of a document where sales, e-comm, and other teams come together to try and get all of the product data organized so that it can be uploaded to the store.

Recently, I asked Maple Ridge for their product data in a CSV so that I could reformat it for Liftoff. They sent me the same CSV they use to update their products in SAGE. I took that file and built a small utility in Zite to ingest it and output the format I needed for a Liftoff batch upload. The utility works with any SAGE Bulk Product Update (BPU) CSV so, hypothetically, if another supplier sends me their BPU, I can quickly reorganize it with my utility for upload to Liftoff.

That same approach works outside Liftoff too. Once the data is clean, you have choices. You can bulk upload it. You can make API calls if you need to. Most of the time, the bulk upload is faster and cheaper than trying to push every row of a spreadsheet through Zapier.

So clean the data first. Then automate what comes next.

Check Out The Spreadsheet Converter

Curious to see the utility I built? Are you a Liftoff user? Want to take a stab at tweaking the app to work with your store platform of choice? It's easy with Zite!

Get the Template

Email hooks and repeatable redemption workflows

A missing API trigger is annoying, but it doesn't mean the workflow is DOA.

If a platform can send an email notification, that email can often become the hook or trigger. If it can send a report on a schedule, with CSV attached, that can work too.

I used that approach for a new-hire program where employees were supposed to receive a company store gift card as a welcome gift. At the time, there was no native Workday integration available to us in Zapier. But the client could email a report of new employees, so that report became the trigger. Zapier picked it up and kicked off the workflow.

Email hooks are a clever way to get around integration limitations – if you're interested in learning more about how to use email hooks, we have a course that covers them in the Aviators community.

Fix the process before you automate it

This rule matters more than any tool you pick.

If you're trying to automate a process that is inherently flawed, doesn't have clear ownership, is too subjective, you're just going to create more mess for yourself.

Step back and take a look at your process – does it trigger consistently or only under certain conditions? Are the inputs predictable? Will you always have the data you need downstream upon triggering? What about each action that is taken? Are they always taken, sometimes taken – do they even need to be there?

The best automation candidates have clear and predictable inputs and outputs. The data is structured. They do not rely on one person's gut feeling every time.

Keep humans at the right decision points

Obviously I'm a fan of automation. I am also very comfortable keeping a human in the loop when the process deserves it.

A good example is approval. If a client says any employee merch order over $5,000 needs review, that is a good place for a human checkpoint. I will automate up to that moment. I will present the information cleanly to the approver. Then the approver can click yes or no, and the workflow can continue from there.

I think the same way about anything touching accounting, or any low-confidence AI action. When the cost of being wrong is high, a human should stay in the loop.

Automation should elevate the human touch. It should give you time to use it where it matters.

Get e-commerce into discovery early

If you own store builds, integrations, or program administration, you belong in discovery early.

I see too many situations where a salesperson sells the world and the e-commerce team gets blindsided later. Then nobody is happy. The client heard a promise. The salesperson has egg on their face. Ops inherits the cleanup.

Bring your e-commerce or online services people into those conversations as early as possible. Requirements get clearer. Scope gets more honest. And you avoid a lot of late-stage panic.

Keep the stack simple and ownership clear

My tool selection process is pretty simple. I start with native capabilities. If the platform already does the thing, use it. If it does not, I look for a Zapier workflow. For e-commerce routing, vendor connections, and reporting, Order Desk often makes a lot of sense. Full architecture resets are a last resort.

Before I tell anybody to switch platforms, I want to know we have cracked the manual on the current one. A lot of tools look limited only because nobody is using the features or the Zapier integration they already have at their fingertips.

And if a SaaS provider later ships the feature that replaces a workflow I built, I am happy about that. You should never build something you can buy off the shelf. When you build your own workflows, you also inherit the support and maintenance overhead of that workflow. Don't get me wrong – you'll likely see a net gain of your time, but if there's a solution that is supported by your SaaS provider already, explore that first.

It is also worth remembering that no-code is not some fringe experiment. Zapier already handles over 3.1 billion tasks per month. This model is mature.

Give your team the keys

I always build in my client's environment.

Part of that is practical. It aligns with Zapier's terms of service, and I do not want permanent access to client data if I do not need it. But the bigger reason is empowerment. I want your team to own the workflow and understand it.

This is where team accounts matter. If your team is sharing one Zapier login, you are creating risk. It is poor security hygiene. It hides who owns each workflow. And when an error happens, the alert goes to one inbox instead of the person responsible for that Zap.

Nobody knows the processes that they're trying to automate better than the people who are doing the process. With the right tools and guidance, you can help those team members evolve into automation experts. Then put the right governance and access control around it.

That is how you grow an internal operational workflow wizard.

I care about that group a lot, which is one reason I we built the Aviators community. The behind-the-scenes heroes in this industry need support too.

Make your workflows visible

Automation should not feel like a black box.

If a workflow runs and nobody can see it, you are going to have problems. Not today, but eventually.

There are simple ways to keep your automations visible to you or your team. A completion email. A daily summary. A quick Slack message that confirms the workflow ran and shows what it did.

When something breaks, you want to know fast. When things are working, you want quiet confirmation.

After launching a new Zap, I usually keep a close eye on activity for a week or two. Fix the edge cases. Clean up the noise. Then let it run.

You do not need a full observability stack. You just need to know your workflows are doing their job.

Use AI where it actually helps

AI is useful when the task is narrow and the outcome is clear.

In company store workflows, that usually means things like summarizing feedback, cleaning up supplier data, or helping generate content for product setup.

It works best when it sits inside a defined process. A Zap triggers. AI handles one step. The workflow keeps moving.

Where teams get into trouble is expecting AI to manage the whole system. Company stores have too many rules, edge cases, and client-specific requirements for that.

I treat AI like any other step in a workflow. If it improves speed or quality, I use it. If it adds uncertainty, I don't.

That balance keeps things moving without creating new problems.

What you get back

Good automation gives you room.

It gives your store team room to work on the client experience instead of just processing requests. It gives customer service room to handle the issues that really need a person. It gives salespeople more time to pound the pavement and take a client to lunch.

It also protects the relationship. Automated inventory controls reduce cancellations. Self-serve budgets reduce back-and-forth. Repeatable redemption workflows cut launch stress. New-hire gift automations make a program feel polished and timely.

That is why I care so much about no-code automation for promo. It helps you run a cleaner operation without turning yourself into a software company.

If you are looking for a place to start, pick the workflow that keeps interrupting your day. Map the trigger. Map the actions. Tighten the process. Add the fail-safe. Then automate that one thing.

Do that a few times and the whole store operation starts to feel different.

Less cleanup. Fewer tickets. Faster launches. Better continuity.

I believe the future of this industry belongs to the operators. And the operators who get comfortable with automation tools are going to build better company store programs than the teams still waiting on the roadmap.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does workflow automation protect margins from the recent surge in rush orders?

Automation absorbs the shock. With over 30% of suppliers facing more frequent rush orders, manual processing bleeds your shrinking margins. Zero-code routing pushes unpredictable, urgent tasks through deterministic pipelines instantly, keeping your human team focused on exception handling rather than data entry.

Can no-code workflows manage fulfillment for non-traditional promo items like digital downloads?

Absolutely. When your company store platform lacks native digital fulfillment, an integration bridges the gap. A successful checkout webhook can trigger a secure file delivery via email or generate a unique download link. It treats digital assets exactly like physical inventory, just with a different routing destination.

Will automating our promotional pop-up stores completely replace our e-commerce admin team?

No. According to industry analysis, fewer than 5% of occupations can be fully automated. The goal is removing friction, not replacing people. Automation handles repetitive publishing so your e-commerce managers can focus on complex client demands, user experience improvements, and overall program strategy.

How do we trigger workflows if our company store platform lacks a native Zapier integration?

You look downstream. If you cannot trigger from the platform directly, intercept it elsewhere. An automated order confirmation email or a scheduled CSV export can act as your hook. Integration tools easily parse those incoming emails to reliably trigger automated workflows as needed.

Integrating Rupt into Company Stores with Order Desk

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:34:16 -0600

In a previous article, we introduced Order Desk, a powerful order management tool. Today, we'll show you how to instantly submit orders to Rupt with Order Desk. With this powerful combo, we'll add a Rupt product to our store, which, upon order, will be automatically fulfilled by Rupt.

Note: We'll use Liftoff Commerce in this tutorial, but the same principals for submitting POD orders with Order Desk apply no matter what store platform you are using. Order Desk has integrations with many mainstream e-comm softwares as well as ones familiar to the print and promo industry like BrightStores, Order My Gear, and InkSoft.

Prerequisites

There is a lot to learn about Order Desk, but their extensive knowledge base provides plenty of helpful information. Although we won't cover everything there is to know about Order Desk in this post, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) and follow along.

There are a few Order Desk concepts that I want to note before beginning.

Orders go into folders.

In Order Desk, every order is categorized into folders. By default, you'll find folders for New, Prepared, Closed, Canceled, and All orders. Think of folders as digital trays for organizing job jackets.

Rules power the automation.

Rules in Order Desk are crucial for automating order management and fulfillment. They allow you to define actions based on specific events and filters, offering a high level of customization.

Inventory Items are cool but optional.

Order Desk can store your product details to help automate workflows and sync with fulfillment providers. In this tutorial we are going to use another technique that allows us to store all the needed data in Liftoff. That way we don't need to keep two separate product data sets. While we won't use Inventory Items in this tutorial, they can be valuable for other print-on-demand projects.

Item metadata is crucial.

Item metadata in Order Desk functions like tags, adding crucial details to your products. This includes artwork links, print instructions, UPC codes, and vendor names. Using metadata ensures that all necessary details are included when an order is sent to a fulfillment provider like Rupt.

1. Configure Your Liftoff Integration

To add the Liftoff integration to your Order Desk account, follow these steps: In the left navigation, click on Manage Integrations, search for Liftoff, and click the Enable button.

You'll be asked for your Liftoff Account Code and API Key. Every store in Liftoff has an account code; to find it, in the left navigation click on All Accounts. You can find your admin user's API key by clicking on your name in the top navigation of Liftoff, navigating to your Profile, and then clicking on API settings.

Once connected, you'll be able to configure some integration settings. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we'll call your attention to a few:

Orders to Download
You'll likely want to set this to In Process. That way, orders don't flow into Order Desk until they are actually submitted by the customer.

Sync Tracking Numbers
Enable this if you want tracking numbers from Rupt to automatically be pushed back up to Liftoff, triggering your shipping notification emails to your customers.

At this point, you can import Liftoff orders if you'd like to see how they will appear in Order Desk. But we'll take a deeper look at this when we set up our Order Desk rules later in this post.

2. Configure Your Rupt Integration

To connect to Rupt, navigate to Manage Integrations, search for Rupt, and click Enable. Enter your Rupt Partner ID and API Key (you'll need to get these from Rupt before continuing).

You'll now see a screen of additional Rupt settings. For demonstration, we'll leave these at their defaults. If you decide to use this integration for a live store, definitely review what each of these do here.

3. Set Up Vendor and Product in Liftoff

With Liftoff and Rupt set up in Order Desk, the next step is configuring settings in Liftoff. Our goal is to avoid duplicating product data in Order Desk by leveraging Liftoff's capabilities.

Set Up Vendor and Fulfillment Workflow for Rupt

Log into the Liftoff admin interface and navigate to Products > Vendors and add a new vendor. You can name it "Rupt". For more information on vendor creation and settings, refer to Liftoff's documentation on Vendors. Note: After saving the new vendor you may notice an Integrations tab show up in Liftoff. You do not need to configure an integration for this new vendor.

Now that the Rupt vendor is created, let's assign them to a Fulfillment Workflow by navigating to Products > Fulfillment Workflows. You can name the workflow "Rupt" and then select your new Rupt vendor as the Default Workflow Vendor.

Set Up Product Classification and Custom Product Fields

Product classifications provide a means for establishing different types of products in Liftoff. One benefit that product classifications provide is they can be configured to show custom product fields for the types of products that need them. Create a new product classification for Rupt products by navigating to Products > Product Classifications.

Next, navigate to Products > Custom Fields and choose your Rupt product classification from the dropdown. Now add a new custom field with "print_sku" as the field name. When setting up POD products in Order Desk, the print_sku identifies the product that your POD vendor will be fulfilling.

Set Up Your Product

In this demonstration, we're going to set up a Jouncer 80w Speaker for PromoPilot. You'll set this product up like most other products, but we'll point out the important parts for our project below:

Product Classification
Set the product classification to the one we set up for Rupt products earlier. This will make it so that when we add our custom field values, the print_sku field will be visible to us.

Fulfillment Workflow
Set the fulfillment workflow for this item to Rupt – the fulfillment workflow that we set up earlier. This is important because, in Order Desk, we'll create a rule based on this product coming from this vendor.

Product Files
Upload your production-ready artwork file here. Be sure to work with your Rupt contact to make sure your artwork is setup correctly.

Personalize with Pageflex

One of Liftoff's unique features is its support for Pageflex. Pageflex is a personalization engine that allows customers to customize and view an instant online proof, right on your storefront. On the back-end, a production art file is created for the customer's order.

If you want the product to be customizable for the user, rather than upload a static art file as described above, you can work with the Liftoff team to build a Pageflex template that will allow personalization – then upload the template to Liftoff. The URL for the Pageflex generated production file will be available in Order Desk just like the static art file will be in later steps.

Note: Pageflex templates, by default, output PDF files but Rupt requires a PNG, to physical imprint dimensions (with bleed for tech items and to safe area for non-tech items), at 300dpi. If your Rupt product requires a PNG be sure to configure your template to output a PNG production file.

Custom Fields
Because we set our product classification for this item to Rupt, we're now able to enter a SKU into our product_sku field. For this example, we're choosing the Jouncer 80w Speaker SKU JOUNC-uv, which we'll enter into this field. Note: You'll need to work with your rep at Rupt to get a list of valid SKU values.

If you were to place an order for this product and import it into Order Desk, here's what it would look like.

You'll note in the image above some familiar and important values, including the value for our custom field, the name of the art file, and the item's origin name (vendor). Let's use this metadata to build our rules so that the next time an order for this mug is placed, Order Desk will automatically route it to Rupt.

Using Pageflex-generated files – If you have a Pageflex template assigned to your product you will see two file URLs output in the line item metadata. Rather than mapping the static file to the print_url metadata field as seen below, you could simply grab the production file URL. Note: Make sure your template's output conforms to what Rupt requires.

4. Set Up Order Desk Rules

Order Desk's powerful rules engine allows us to create two types of rules: Item Rules, which act on specific line items, and Order Rules, which act on the entire order. Our first rule needs to set some item metadata so that Rupt knows where the print file for the product can be downloaded, and what SKU to print the artwork on to.

Set Up Item Rule

In Order Desk navigate to the Rules Builder and add a new rule. Select Item Rule and choose Order Is Imported as the trigger. Next, we want to add a filter to this rule so that it only triggers when a line item's vendor (also known as origin name), is "Rupt". To do that choose Item Metadata from the dropdown, then enter the metadata's field name, liftoff_origin_name, choose Equals from the next dropdown menu, and finally enter Rupt as the value. The rule will only trigger if the item is identified as a Rupt item.

Our Item rule now needs a couple of actions, the first of which will tell Rupt where our artwork file is. Order Desk has a standardized method for working with its POD partners that you can learn more about here. To tell Rupt where our artwork file is, we need to define a new item metadata field called "print_url".

To do this, create a new action and choose Set Order Item Metadata from the dropdown. For the field name enter print_url.

The field's value needs to be set to the complete URL to our artwork file at Liftoff. But we don't have a full URL; all we have is the file name. Fortunately, Order Desk's Liftoff integration brings in our Liftoff store's primary URL as order metadata. We can combine the two values into one proper URL by entering the following into the Field Name field:

{{ "https://" ~ order.order_metadata['liftoff_account_domain'] ~ "/files/products/" ~ metadata['liftoff_product_variant_file_1'] }}

This funny looking bit of text is a technology called Twig that Order Desk uses for its templating engine. It can also be used to combine values. If you look closely, you might begin to see how this formula combines all of the parts of the URL we need, including the Liftoff account's primary URL and the name of the file we uploaded to this product in Liftoff.

Now we need to create a new print_sku metadata field for the line item. Yes, we already have that value from Liftoff. All we need to do is create another action to Set Order Item Metadata for field name print_sku with the value below:

Your completed rule should look like the image below.

Give your rule a name and click save.

Set Up Order Rule

Our final rule will simply send the order to Rupt for fulfillment. If you're planning on introducing POD to your own Liftoff program, you would likely want to create additional rules and folders for your order management. But for the sake of demonstration, we'll simply send the order to Rupt now that the metadata is prepared. Here's how we do it.

Create a new Order Rule beneath the item rule you just created. Set the rule to trigger when the order is imported. For the action, choose Submit Order to Rupt from the dropdown. Give the rule a name and save. Done. Your Order Rule should look like the image below.

Turn your rules on and brace yourself for something... magical. ✨

5. Place A Test Order!

Run over to Liftoff and order your speaker! Then hop over to Order Desk. Your order may already appear in the Prepared folder, which, if you kept the default values when configuring your Rupt integration, it is placed into automatically after being sent to Rupt.

Let's look at a couple of things to help you understand how this works. First, expand the item metadata under the mug and you will see two new metadata fields, print_url and print_sku. These are the fruits of the Item Rule that we set up.

Now scroll down to view the Order History. You should see that the order has been submitted to Rupt. That is the work of the Order Rule that we set up.

At this point, you may want to cancel the order you just placed so that Rupt doesn't charge you for the item – do that by reaching out to your Rupt rep.

Conclusion

That's it! 👏 In this tutorial we learned about how to leverage Order Desk to send orders to Rupt by using the Rule Builder. How you implement Rupt in your own company store programs may inform your own set of rules in Order Desk, but I hope that this post has provided you with a solid foundation. Vendor integrations are just one way distributors use Order Desk to manage their company stores. If you decide to give Order Desk a try, please let them know PromoPilot sent you. 😊

Get Started With Order Desk

Bridging the Gap Between 3PL and 4PL: Custom Fulfillment Solutions for Promo Distributors

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:16:24 -0600

Promotional product distributors often rely on outsourced logistics so they can focus on sales and marketing. Efficient fulfillment is crucial for customer satisfaction, as poor delivery experiences can drive customers away. Understanding the landscape of third-party (3PL) and fourth-party (4PL) logistics is key to choosing the right partner.

Understanding 3PL Fulfillment Services for Promo Distributors

A 3PL (third-party logistics provider) is an external company that handles logistics operations for businesses. Typical 3PL services include warehousing, inventory storage, order picking/packing, and shipping on behalf of the client. Many 3PLs also offer value-added services such as kitting (assembling kits), light product assembly, and inventory management to streamline the supply chain.

By outsourcing fulfillment to a 3PL, companies can offload the complexity of distribution and delivery. The 3PL acts as the backend warehouse and shipping department for the business, managing everything from receiving stock to delivering orders to end-customers. This allows the distributor to save on operating their own warehouses and benefit from the 3PL’s logistics expertise and volume shipping rates.

Challenges of Using Traditional 3PLs for Company Stores

Rigid, One-Size-Fits-All Service: Many traditional 3PLs operate on highly standardized processes designed for efficiency and scale. As they grow, some 3PLs become like “mini-Amazons,” optimizing for uniform high-volume operations and leaving little room for flexibility. This rigidity means distributors can struggle to get special requirements accommodated – the 3PL might insist on doing things one set way that doesn’t fit every distributor’s business model.

Lack of Customization: Standard 3PLs often do not support custom packaging, inserts, or other branding touches without significant extra fees or hassle. Even simple requests like using custom-branded boxes, specialty packing materials, or adding marketing inserts can be discouraged or charged as costly add-ons. If a 3PL “doesn’t support branded packaging or special touches” for the unboxing experience, it limits a distributor’s ability to deliver a memorable experience to their clients’ end customers. This lack of customization can be a major pain point for promotional marketers who need every shipment to reflect their brand or campaign.

Poor Handling of Hybrid Fulfillment Models: Promotional distributors increasingly deal with hybrid orders – for example, an order might combine inventory items (pre-produced products in stock) with print-on-demand or decorated-to-order items (like a personalized apparel item). Most 3PLs are not set up to handle production and fulfillment in tandem. They excel at shipping stocked products, but coordinating an on-demand manufacturing step (such as printing a custom logo on a shirt) alongside regular inventory pick-pack is outside their usual process. Distributors often end up having to split such orders or manage separate workflows.

International Fulfillment Complexities: Reaching international customers is another challenge when using a domestic-focused 3PL. If the 3PL has no overseas warehouses or partners, distributors must ship internationally from a single country facility, leading to long transit times, high shipping costs, and potential customs headaches. Lacking a multi-node fulfillment network (multiple strategically located warehouses) becomes a barrier as the business grows globally. For example, without multi-node fulfillment, expanding to new regions is less efficient and more expensive. Distributors may find themselves juggling multiple 3PL relationships in different countries to get products closer to customers, which adds operational complexity.

Misaligned Metrics in B2B Programs: Many 3PLs built for B2C e-commerce struggle to understand the operational goals of company store programs common in the promotional products industry. In these programs, inventory turnover isn’t always the key success metric. Distributors might manage a large number of SKUs held in inventory with relatively low order volume per SKU – particularly in programs serving franchise systems or enterprise clients. The value comes from just-in-time availability and long-tail SKU access, not rapid turnover. This nuance can be lost on 3PLs who push for minimal SKU counts and high movement, leading to misaligned expectations and poor support for company store models.

Limited Facility Flexibility and Freight Efficiency: Most traditional 3PLs operate from a single warehouse or a fixed set of locations. This limits their ability to adapt when a client’s program would benefit from fulfillment in a different geographic region. For distributors with clients across the U.S. or globally, this lack of flexibility can lead to higher freight costs and longer delivery times. Freight is often one of the largest expenses in a fulfillment program, so the ability to shift fulfillment to a location closer to the distribution list can make a significant difference. A 4PL, by contrast, offers instant access to a broader network of facilities, enabling programs to be placed in optimal locations—or even split across multiple regions—for maximum efficiency and responsiveness.

What is a 4PL?

A 4PL (fourth-party logistics provider) is often described as a logistics integrator or lead logistics partner (LLP) that manages the entire supply chain for a client, rather than just handling warehousing and deliveries. In other words, a 4PL takes on a broader strategic role – overseeing multiple logistics activities and even coordinating multiple 3PLs – to ensure the client’s end-to-end supply chain runs smoothly. A 4PL provider becomes a single point of contact for the whole logistics operation, accountable for everything from transportation and warehousing to data analysis and optimization of the supply chain.

The primary difference is scope and responsibility. A 3PL focuses on order fulfillment execution (storing inventory, picking and shipping orders), whereas a 4PL manages the entire logistics process on behalf of the client. For example, a 3PL operates the warehouses and trucks, while a 4PL might coordinate several 3PLs, negotiate with carriers, handle logistics strategy, and provide analytics to the client. In practice, this means with a 3PL you as the distributor work directly with the warehouse operators, but with a 4PL you work with a higher-level partner who then manages those warehouse operators for you. A 4PL often does not own physical assets (warehouses, trucks) – instead, it contracts and orchestrates other providers’ services. The 4PL’s value is in being an impartial, strategic manager that optimizes the supply chain across all moving parts, rather than just one link of the chain.

It’s worth noting that “4PL” can mean slightly different things in practice. Some companies use 4PL to refer to any logistics partner that takes on a consultative, overarching role in supply chain management. Others reserve the term for providers that act purely as network orchestrators managing multiple subcontracted 3PLs. In general, the common theme is that a 4PL is a single interface between the client and a complex supply chain, offering higher-level management and integration of services. The 4PL often serves as a “trusted advisor” that the client relies on for strategic logistics decisions, in contrast to a 3PL which is typically a tactical service provider.

Strategic Supply Chain Management for Promo Businesses

There was a period of time, while I was on the distributor side, when I was looking for a 4PL partner as described above. Recently I was introduced to a company, here in our industry, that fits the bill. I was so excited to find someone who understood the unique logistical challenges of promo distributors—hybrid orders, international fulfillment, and the nuances of company stores. That company is Xpedite. This isn’t a sponsored mention—just a real example of a partner operating at the intersection of flexibility and strategy.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. Xpedite is mentioned here as a real-world example based on recent conversations, not a paid endorsement.

Xpedite Fulfillment is a logistics partner that positions itself between a 3PL and a 4PL, offering a blend of hands-on fulfillment and tailored, flexible service. Essentially, Xpedite functions as an end-to-end fulfillment agency for promo distributors – providing the physical warehousing and distribution like a 3PL, but also stepping into a consultative, solution-finding role more akin to a 4PL. The company emphasizes creating custom solutions for each client rather than a one-size-fits-all service. This boutique, personalized approach means Xpedite can adapt to the wild scenarios our clients bring us that traditional 3PLs might not accommodate. At the same time, Xpedite has built a broad network and technological infrastructure that allows it to scale and handle logistics across regions similar to a larger 4PL. In short, Xpedite combines personalized service with a powerful network, aiming to give distributors the best of both worlds – the reliability of a 3PL and the strategic flexibility of a 4PL.

Full-Service Fulfillment with Flexibility: Unlike a rigid 3PL, Xpedite offers “complete back-end fulfillment solutions” tailored to the client. They handle standard 3PL tasks – warehousing inventory, managing orders, same-day pick/pack/ship – but will also accommodate special requests and custom workflows. For example, Xpedite can execute one-time projects such as assembling complex kits, preparing gift baskets, or managing a direct mail campaign mailing. They can be as “visible or invisible to your clients as you choose,” even white-labeling their services if needed. This flexibility in process and branding is something most big 3PLs do not offer.

Global Reach for International Needs: Xpedite has locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, and a network of global partners to facilitate international fulfillment. This means a promo distributor can rely on Xpedite to ship internationally with in-country or regional distribution, rather than always sending everything from a single U.S. warehouse. They have partnered facilities in places like Europe and Canada to handle local warehousing and delivery, enabling faster shipping times and local postage rates for overseas customers. For the distributor, this removes the burden of managing multiple 3PLs in different countries – Xpedite coordinates the global logistics on their behalf, functioning somewhat like a 4PL by overseeing those international moves.

Hybrid Orders (Inventory + Print-On-Demand): A standout capability of Xpedite is supporting hybrid fulfillment models that mix stocked products with on-demand production. Xpedite has in-house digital printing and production services integrated with their fulfillment operations. This means if a distributor sells products that require printing or embroidery on demand (e.g. personalized apparel), Xpedite can produce the item and ship it along with other inventoried items in the same order. They have experience contracting custom screen-printing and embroidery for apparel, effectively merging production with fulfillment under one roof. For promo distributors, this solves a major challenge – they don’t need separate vendors for printing vs. shipping, and customers get one unified package.

Custom Packaging & Branded Experiences: Xpedite understands the importance of branding in promotional shipments. They are willing to accommodate custom packaging, inserts, and special kitting instructions that enhance the unboxing experience. Because they approach each client’s needs individually, they can use custom-branded boxes or add marketing collateral as required, whereas many warehouse providers avoid such extras. As noted earlier, packaging can be a huge factor in customer experience, so having a partner like Xpedite who will do things like custom gift wrapping, branded tape, or inserting brochures is extremely valuable to distributors. This level of customization and attention to detail helps promo companies deliver a memorable experience to recipients – effectively extending the marketing impact beyond the product itself!

Batching & Special Project Support: Beyond day-to-day orders, Xpedite is geared to help with special projects and batch fulfillment that promotional campaigns often require. Need to assemble 500 welcome kits for a corporate event? Or kit and ship a subscription box of swag to thousands of subscribers at once? Those are the kinds of projects Xpedite can handle. Xpedite’s services include “kit assembly” and they’re open to one-off projects like assembling direct mail packages or gift bundles. They can batch orders or shipments as needed – for example, consolidating multiple items into a single custom kit – and ship them according to the client’s schedule (even coordinating release of batches to align with event dates or marketing calendars). This project-based flexibility acts as an extension of the distributor’s team during major promotions or seasonal campaigns.

At Xpedite, the team sees themselves as more than a service provider—they act as a true logistics operations partner. Whether it’s supporting company store programs, managing drop ship campaigns, or executing complex kitting projects, Xpedite takes a hands-on role in helping distributors succeed. Their flexible model allows for a blend of on-demand production and in-stock inventory management, giving distributors better control over program performance and costs. This operational partnership mindset sets them apart from traditional vendors and helps distributors adapt to their clients’ changing needs.

Q&A with Laura from Xpedite

To further explore how Xpedite addresses these pain points, we asked Laura Harper, Xpedite’s Owner/President, some questions.

1. What makes Xpedite’s approach to fulfillment different from a typical 3PL’s one-size-fits-all service model?

One partner with endless solutions vs fitting into a box of set capabilities.
Most 3pls anymore don't want or understand the promo industry. They want barcoded products which is never going to happen in this industry. We already know who out there accepts and is good with working in this industry. So it saves them a LOT of time having to search and try out places to only fail.
Flexibility and adaptability to their needs.
technology that can be integrated once then routed to various locations vs separately having to integrate which can get costly.

2. Hybrid orders can be tricky with most logistics providers – how does Xpedite handle an order that combines print-on-demand products with regular inventory items?

We do offer Hybrid solutions for POD as well
We can work with your system to only receive the orders for stocked inventory if that is their choice.

3. For distributors serving international markets, what solutions does Xpedite offer to simplify overseas fulfillment and in-country delivery?

We offer in country fulfillment services delivering regionally to help with reducing internationally costs.

4. Many 3PLs won’t do custom packaging or inserts. In what ways can Xpedite customize packaging or kitting to create a branded unboxing experience for end customers?

We ABSOLUTELY will customize packaging and inserts however is requested. Very White Glove!

5. The term “4PL” gets used in our industry – do you consider Xpedite a 4PL, or how would you describe your role as a logistics partner to clients?

As mentioned above, while in layman's terms we are a 4PL, we truly are an operations logistic/fulfillment partner assisting with global production and distribution needs.

6. Can you share an example of a promotional distributor’s logistics challenge that Xpedite solved with a creative or custom solution?

Just as a few types of things that might be challenging to a standard 3PL but are normal for us.

Company store set ups in Europe, India, Australia for global distribution.
Kitting projects in multiple locations globally for worldwide distribution to employees.

7. Xpedite emphasizes personalized, boutique service. How do you maintain that hands-on attention as clients scale up or during peak seasons?

Every account has its own dedicated operations manager assigned to them and we use a support ticket system to control activity and ensure response times and action to cover if someone is out etc. Otherwise an email could get lost in someones in box and not followed up with.

8. What advice would you give a promotional product distributor who is frustrated with their current 3PL? What should they look for in a fulfillment partner to improve their operations?

It's really about finding a partner that understands your business and that it's not the same as other industries. Quality and responsiveness to your needs and sense of urgency as well. Listening and creating a solution versus putting you into a set standard box per se. Not many 3PLs do this any longer. But we have the network of those who do.

Learn More About Xpedite

Website Accessibility Work at Scale: A Guide for Distributors Managing Dozens of Sites

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:20:07 -0600

Introduction: Why Accessibility Matters

Website accessibility isn't just a legal checkbox or a customer service nicety—it's a critical part of digital operations today. Whether you're running a single brand site or managing dozens of e-commerce stores for clients, ensuring your websites are accessible to users with disabilities is both a legal and ethical obligation. More and more businesses are facing lawsuits for failing to meet ADA and WCAG standards, and small businesses aren't immune.

But here's the catch: if you're a distributor managing dozens of client-facing websites, using off-the-shelf accessibility tools and plugins can become prohibitively expensive fast. These tools may advertise plans starting at $40/month, but those often exclude critical features like ongoing scans, monitoring, or manual fixes. Add those in, and costs escalate well beyond what's sustainable for small teams.

So how do you make accessibility scalable and affordable? Here's how.

Start by Prioritizing Your Sites and Efforts

When resources are tight, start with:

High-traffic or public-facing sites: Fixing issues on your most-visited websites or public-facing company stores reduces your exposure and helps the largest portion of your audience.
Revenue-generating stores: Focus on the websites that drive sales. ADA compliance lawsuits often target checkout flows.
New builds: Make accessibility part of the process from day one on any new site.
Repeatable patterns: If you're using similar templates or components across sites, fix them once and apply improvements everywhere.

Use Tools That Help Without Breaking the Bank

Not all accessibility tools are created equal—and not all are priced transparently. Some overlay widgets are marketed as affordable plug-and-play solutions and can offer helpful features like contrast adjustment, text resizing, or screen reader enhancements. However, many of these services reserve automated scanning, monitoring, and manual remediation for higher-tier plans, and that’s where costs can add up quickly.

If you want to explore this category, search for "accessibility overlay widgets" to get a sense of what’s available—but be sure to read the fine print around pricing and included services. These tools can be a useful supplement, but they’re not a replacement for actual site remediation or ongoing testing.

For more straightforward scanning and monitoring, consider:

WAVE by WebAIM (free and API options)
SortSite or PopeTech for bulk scanning

These tools provide visibility into common accessibility issues without locking you into expensive contracts. Use them to run regular scans, track recurring issues, and tackle the most critical problems first.

Build Accessible Habits Into Your Workflow

You don't need to be an expert to build more accessible sites. Just start with the basics:

Always use proper heading structure (H1, H2, H3...)
Add alt text to every image
Label every form field clearly
Ensure contrast ratios are readable
Make sure the site works with keyboard navigation

Most website platforms provide you with the tools to do this—like automatically applying heading tags in templates or offering alt text fields for images. But it’s up to us to actually use them—and I’ll admit, I’ve ignored the alt text field more times than I’d like to admit. That has to change.

Train Your Team (Without Hiring a Consultant)

If you're looking for a solid foundation in accessibility, start with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). W3C is the main international standards organization for the internet, and they're the group behind the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Their Introduction to Accessibility is a free, well-organized resource that breaks down the what, why, and how of accessible design. It's vendor-neutral, up to date, and suitable for both beginners and those looking to go deeper.

Even one team member learning the basics from W3C’s resources can have a big impact on how your organization thinks about and builds for accessibility.

Write Your Own Accessibility Statement

You don't need to pay a service to publish an accessibility statement. You can write your own by including:

The standard you're aiming for (e.g. WCAG 2.1 Level AA)
The current status of your site(s)
Known issues, if any
A way for users to contact you if they have trouble
A commitment to improve and maintain accessibility

Keep it honest, keep it simple, and update it as you go. W3C has some great, free resources to help you get started with your own statement, including a statement generation tool!

Take a Reasonable, Sustainable Approach

You don’t have to fix everything at once. Start with key flows like product pages and checkout. Run quarterly audits. Use tools and training to empower your internal team. Maintain a public statement to show you're aware, responsive, and working toward accessibility.

Making your websites accessible isn't just about compliance—it's about creating a better experience for everyone who visits. And with the right tools, habits, and priorities, it's a goal that's well within reach.

Integrate Liftoff and Safsira for Premium POD with Order Desk

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 17:05:54 -0600

A couple of months ago we introduced Aviators (that's you) to the order management power of Order Desk, followed by a tutorial demonstrating how to use Order Desk to send print-on-demand orders. Since then we've seen Order Desk gain some traction with our distributor friends. Meanwhile, a new automated solution for both 1-piece POD and bulk orders has been pinging our radar.

Safsira is a comprehensive platform that enables businesses to seamlessly integrate swag and promotional products into their offerings. By providing a unified API, Safsira connects users to top suppliers in both print-on-demand and bulk merchandise, including premium brands like North Face, Nike, Stanley, and Sony.

Its advanced software automates artwork preparation, pricing validation, order routing, and the entire decoration and fulfillment process, allowing companies to efficiently offer customized products without significant upfront costs.

Safsira launched with a Shopify app that makes it easy to incorporate it into your Shopify programs. Now, with the recent release of their Order Desk integration, Safsira can be integrated into many more programs whether their shopping cart is Liftoff, Order My Gear, Bright Stores, or any of Order Desk's many integrated platforms.

In this tutorial we're going to cover how to configure products in Liftoff and set up your Safsira Order Desk integration so that, when ordered, are automatically sent to Safsira for production and fulfillment. If you don't use Liftoff, that's okay – the concepts below will apply to most e-commerce platforms. If you're new to Liftoff or Order Desk and get stuck, PromoPilot is happy to lend a hand.

Video Tutorial

If you get stuck or just prefer to see someone go through the steps, a video tutorial is available at our YouTube channel.

Creating Products in Safsira

Before we start setting up our product in Liftoff and wiring things together in Order Desk, we need to set up the product in Safsira. If you're following along, now would be the time to sign up for an account at the Safsira website. After setting up your account, click on the main nav icon at the top-right of the page and click on My Products.

You'll be taken to a page with the products you've set up in Safsira. If this is a fresh account there won't be any. To add a new product, click the little Catalog icon in the top-right corner of this page.

You'll be presented with Safsira's selection of premium merch and apparel. For the purpose of this tutorial, we're going to select a wearable item that comes in multiple color ways and sizes.

Once you've found the product you wish to configure, click the blue Start Designing button to be taken to the product designer.

1. Select Color

The first step in configuring your Safsira product is to select your color. As you click on each color swatch note the color name (it'll be important later). When you select a color, you'll be informed if that color has inventory available and you may notice the available sizes change between colors. This should inform your product selection and configuration in Liftoff. You don't want to configure colors or sizes that are not available.

When you've got the color selected, click on the blue Start Designing button.

2. Upload and Select Artwork

On this screen you will select the imprint location that you want to configure as well as the decoration method. You'll notice that the imprintable area is displayed on the product image to the left.

You'll then need to upload your artwork. In general I recommend that your artwork be created to size. In our example the imprint method is Digital Print and so we'll simply upload a high-resolution PNG. Safsira will show you the artwork that you've uploaded previously, filtered to only show you artwork files that are compatible with your selected imprint method.

Once you've selected your artwork, it will appear in the imprint area of the product image. If you've used a product designer before, you'll be familiar with the tools on the left, which you can use to manipulate your placed artwork. When you've got the artwork placed, click the blue Next button.

3. Finalize Design

On this last screen you can give the product a new name and tags. By tagging products, you'll be able to filter your products on the My Products page as your catalog of configured products grows. Click the blue Finish Design button.

You will be taken to your new product's detail page. Now that your product has been finalized, you will find it listed under My Products.

On this page you need to note a few things before we continue:

Product ID: This ID will be used to set up our product in Liftoff.
Color Name: Mouse over the color swatch to reveal the color name. We'll need to use it exactly as it appears here in Liftoff.
Available Sizes: These are the sizes we'll configure in Liftoff. We must use the same size abbreviations as seen in Safsira.

Set Up in Liftoff

Now we're ready to do some setup in Liftoff. If you're using another e-commerce platform, I still recommend you skim this section, especially when it comes to metadata. Remember, we're going to add some extra information in Liftoff so that we can avoid needing to add it to Order Desk.

Set Up Vendor and Fulfillment Workflow for Safsira

Log into the Liftoff admin interface and navigate to Products > Vendors and add a new vendor. You can name it "Safsira". For more information on vendor creation and settings, refer to Liftoff's documentation on Vendors. You do not need to configure an integration for this new vendor.

Now that the Safsira vendor is created, let's assign them to a Fulfillment Workflow by navigating to Products > Fulfillment Workflows. You can name the workflow "Safsira" and then select your new Safsira vendor as the Default Workflow Vendor.

Set Up Product Classification and Custom Product Fields

Product classifications provide a means for establishing different types of products in Liftoff. One benefit that product classifications provide is they can be configured to show custom product fields to store admins for the types of products that need them. Create a new product classification for Safsira products by navigating to Products > Product Classifications.

Next, navigate to Products > Custom Fields and choose your Safsira product classification from the dropdown. Now add a new custom field with "print_sku" as the field name. This is our first bit of metadata for Order Desk. When setting up POD products in Order Desk, the print_sku identifies the product that your POD vendor will be fulfilling.

Set Up Your Product

In this demonstration, we're going to set up a wearable for PromoPilot. We'll set this product up like most other products, but we'll point out the important parts for our project below:

Product Classification
Set the product classification to the one we set up for Safsira products earlier. This will make it so that when we add our custom field values, the print_sku field will be visible to us.

Fulfillment Workflow
Set the fulfillment workflow for this item to Safsira, the fulfillment workflow that we set up earlier. This is important because, in Order Desk, we'll create a rule based on this product coming from this vendor.

SKU Options
We're setting up a wearable product and so there will be Color and Size SKU options set up in Liftoff. You were probably going to do it anyway but for the purposes of this demo, make sure to set these option names as "Color" and "SKU" and set the values to match the color name and size abbreviations seen in Safsira.

Custom Fields
Because we set our product classification for this item to the Safsira classification that we configured earlier, we're now able to enter a Product ID into our print_sku field. Note: Each colorway of the product will have it's own Safsira Product ID and so, in Liftoff, you'll need to set the print_sku of each variant of the product to the matching color's Product ID. For example, all Bright Lime variants will have one product ID and all Navy variants will have another Product ID.

Holy smokes, you guys! We're almost done. If you were to place an order for this item and import it into Order Desk, here's what it would look like.

You'll notice in the image above some familiar and important values, including the value for our custom print_sku field, the color, and size of the item. We'll next use this metadata to build our rules so that the next time this item is ordered, Order Desk will automatically send it to Safsira.

Order Desk Core Concepts

If this is your first outing with Order Desk, there is a lot to learn. Thankfully their extensive knowledge base provides plenty of helpful information. Although we won't cover everything in this post, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) and follow along.

There are a few Order Desk concepts to note before we begin.

Orders go into folders.
In Order Desk, every order is categorized into folders. By default, you'll find folders for New, Prepared, Closed, Canceled, and All orders. Think of folders as digital trays for organizing job jackets.

Rules power the automation.
Rules in Order Desk are crucial for automating order management and fulfillment. They allow you to define actions based on specific events and filters, offering a high level of customization.

Inventory Items are cool but optional.
Order Desk can store your product details as Inventory Items to help automate workflows and sync with fulfillment providers. I try to avoid having to manage product data in more than one location, so we won't use Inventory Items in this integration. But they can be valuable for other print-on-demand projects.

Item metadata is crucial.
Item metadata in Order Desk functions like tags, adding crucial details to your products. In our case this includes the Safsira product ID (in the print_sku field), size, color, and vendor name. Using metadata ensures that all necessary details are included when an order is sent to a fulfillment provider, Safsira in this case.

1. Configure Your Liftoff Integration

To add the Liftoff integration to your Order Desk account, follow these steps: In the left navigation, click on Manage Integrations, search for Liftoff, and click the Enable button.

Once connected, you'll be able to configure some integration settings. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we'll call your attention to a few:

Orders to Download
You'll likely want to set this to In Process. That way, orders don't flow into Order Desk until they are actually submitted by the customer.

Sync Tracking Numbers
Enable this if you want tracking numbers from Safsira to automatically be pushed back up to Liftoff, triggering your shipping notification emails to your customers.

At this point, you can import Liftoff orders if you'd like to see how they will appear in Order Desk. But we'll take a deeper look at this when we set up our Order Desk rules later in this post.

2. Configure Your Safsira Integration

Configuring the Safsira integration in Order Desk could not be easier. In Order Desk, simply navigate to Manage Integrations in the left side navigation bar and search for Safsira.

Next, click on the gray Enable button. When you do, you'll be prompted to connect to your Safsira account. When you do, look out for a pop-up that displays the Safsira login page. Log in with your credentials and you'll be taken to the Safsira integration settings page in Order Desk.

The Safsira settings page in Order Desk could not be more simple. One of the cool things about Safsira is that you can set up multiple Accounts within Safsira and you can use this to organize your programs. If you're just getting started, you likely have only one account and it will be selected for you. Similarly, Safsira can support multiple payment methods. These payment methods are invoiced and charged when a new order is placed.

With your Account and Payment Method selected, you can choose which folders you're Order Desk orders will be placed in upon import into Order Desk and upon shipment.

There are additional fields for Product Code Match settings. In most cases, you can leave these blank, but if you're curious about what they do you can read about them here.

3. Set Up Order Desk Rules

Order Desk's rules engine allows you to create two types of rules: Item Rules, which act on specific line items, and Order Rules, which act on the entire order. Our first rule needs to set some item metadata so that Safsira knows which of our configured Safsira products to order, in what color, and in what size.

Set Up Item Rule

In Order Desk navigate to the Rules Builder and add a new rule. Select Item Rule and choose Order Is Imported as the trigger. Next, we want to add a filter to this rule so that it only triggers when a line item's vendor (also known as origin name), is "Safsira". To do that choose Item Metadata from the dropdown, then enter the metadata's field name, liftoff_origin_name, choose Equals from the next dropdown menu, and finally enter Safsira as the value. The rule will only trigger if the item is identified as coming from Safsira.

Our Item rule now needs three actions – we have the print_sku, color, and size values in the Liftoff metadata. Those field names look like "liftoff_print_sku". Note the "liftoff_" prefix. When we pass here values to Safsira we'll need those values to be passed in fields without the "liftoff_" prefix. This is easily accomplished by using Set Order Item Metadata actions with field names for "print_sku", "color", and "size". To set those values we refer to the existing metadata like so:

and

Your completed rule should look like the image below.

Set Up Order Rule

Our final rule will simply send the order for the product to Safsira for production and fulfillment. If you're planning on introducing POD to your own Liftoff program, you would likely want to create a rule to split the order based on the line item's vendor or other factors, which Order Desk is totally capable of. But for this demonstration, we'll simply assume that all orders are for Safsira, and so our rule set puts all the item data in the right place and sends the order on to Safsira. Here's how we do it.

Create a new Order Rule beneath the item rule you just created. Rules are run in the order that they appear in the Rules Builder. Set the order to trigger when the order is imported. For the action, choose Submit Order to Safsira from the dropdown. Give the rule a name and save. Your Order Rule should look like the image below.

Turn your rules on and...

4. Place A Test Order!

Note: At time of writing, there is no way to cancel orders sent to Safsira. The Safsira team has advised that this capability is on its way. In the meantime, you may want to coordinate your test with the Safsira team so that test orders are not put into production.

Run over to Liftoff and order your Safsira item! Then skip over to Order Desk and find your order. It may already appear in the Prepared folder, which, if you kept the default values when configuring your Safsira integration, it is placed into automatically after being sent to Safsira. If it isn't you can either wait for the order to be imported or navigate to the Appointments page (in the left navigation bar) where you can force the import to run.

Once the rules have run, if you navigate to the order details page and expand the item metadata under the Safsira, you will see three new metadata fields, print_sku, color, and size. These are the result of the Item Rule that we set up.

Now scroll down to view the Order History. You should see that the order has been submitted to Safsira. That is the work of the Order Rule that we set up. In a few minutes, if you refresh the page, you will see that Safsira has received the order.

Conclusion

We hope you've found this tutorial to be helpful and that it has inspired you to check out Order Desk and Safsira for yourself! If you run into any hiccups following these instructions, feel free to reach out.

Visit Order Desk

Visit Safsira

Automating Product Photos: JavaScript + Photoshop

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:17:38 -0600

Ten years ago PromoPilot founder, Eric Granata, published a Photoshop script that he produced to help automate the task of cropping and saving product photos on his personal website. Today we're adapting that content for PromoPilot. He told us we could. We've also updated the script to support PNG source files.

Online company store professionals spend a lot of time in Photoshop preparing images for e-commerce stores. Often, a lot of time is spent preparing product images – including cropping and saving images at different sizes. That might not sound so bad, but consider your typical t-shirt product which might include the following images:

Front
Back
Profile
Model
Lifestyle

Five images. Okay. But this shirt comes in 6 different colors so we're going to bump that up to at least 10 images for this product. Oh, but our store requires each image in three sizes for the thumbnail, default and zoom on the product detail page. That's 30 images for one product. Start putting together images for a catalog of a few dozen items and you can see that this may take an afternoon. The solution?

Automatically Crop and Export Product Photos with JavaScript

Note: While we prefer to keep code out of the materials we produce in the interest of keeping it accessible to industry technologists, it is important to note that you do not need to know JavaScript to use this script.

That said, if you are learning or are just curious, you open the script in a text editor to see how it works. You could even try tweaking it. We just ask that, if you improve it in some way, that you honor the Creative Commons license linked to at the bottom of this article.

Did you know that you can script many Adobe applications with JavaScript? It's quite cool. But why use scripting instead of recording a Photoshop Action? Well, in our case we needed a solution that was smarter than what an action could do. We needed to take into account the varying shapes and sizes of the source images, allow users to set the padding and crop sizes before processing, and save all of the files with a consistent naming convention to make it easier to prepare a batch upload CSV.

This article will not go into detail about how scripting Photoshop is done. There are far better articles on that subject. If you don't know JavaScript but are interested in learning, check out codecademy.com and work through their interactive course.

Download the Script

Finally, we're going to let you download the script Eric used to quickly crop and export product images. Here's how you use it:

D ownload and unzip this folder.
Open Adobe Photoshop.
Run the script by selecting "File > Scripts > Browse..." and locating the PromoPilot Crop and Export.jsx file.
Set your source folder – the photos you're going to process. Source images should be .jpg or .png and have the products already isolated on a white or transparent background.
Set your output folder. This is where your processed images will be saved.
The script will output up to three images for each source image. These can be used as your default, thumbnail, and zoom images. You can the choose the width of each output. The resulting images are square.
Set your desired Padding and Quality and press OK.

The processed images will appear in your output folder. Each image file retains the original file name and appends it with the pixel width numbers that you configured.

For easy access, add the downloaded folder to your Photoshop Scripts folder. On Mac it is at Applications > Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Scripts. By placing the folder here, the PromoPilot Crop and Export script will appear in your File > Scrips menu automatically.

Your images are saved with the original file name and a suffix for the image size you set previously. Use this script to output thousands of images quickly. You'll find it works best for photos where the product has already been isolated on white. We hope you find it useful. If you do, please let us know and share this post with your friends and co-workers!

Download the Script

Crop Export Photoshop Script by Eric Granata is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://www.ericgranata.com.

Optimizing Inventory for Company Stores: Balancing Cost, Demand, and Storage

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 14:28:41 -0600

For promo distributors, managing inventory in online company stores is a balancing act. While it’s tempting to let clients buy large quantities upfront to secure lower unit prices, this approach can lead to costly pitfalls like dead stock and high storage fees. On the other hand, ordering too frequently can increase inbound shipping and receiving costs, eroding the savings from bulk purchases. This article will provide some ideas on how to optimize inventory management for company stores, ensuring that your clients benefit from cost-effective, efficient operations without unnecessary risks.

We put together a free Google Sheets tool designed to help you optimize your inventory. Find it at the end of this article.

The Temptation of Bulk Buying and the Reality of Inventory Costs

A common scenario in company store programs is the client’s desire to purchase large quantities of merchandise to secure lower unit prices. Economies of scale often mean that the more you buy, the less you pay per item. For clients, this can be an attractive proposition—after all, who doesn’t want to get more bang for their buck? On the distributor side, who doesn't like big sales and commissions?

However, this strategy comes with some risk. Overbuying can lead to dead stock—products that sit in the warehouse, unsold, incurring storage fees and tying up client budget that could be used elsewhere. This is particularly problematic if the products are time-sensitive. Moreover, in some cases, the savings gained from bulk purchasing are offset by the costs of storing and managing excess inventory.

When Equalized Pricing Levels the Playing Field

In some cases, distributors can offer clients equalized pricing (EQP), which provides lower unit prices without the need for bulk purchasing. EQP can can change the game, allowing clients to order lower quantities, closer to when they need it, without worrying about losing out on bulk discounts. This pricing structure reduces the pressure to overcommit to large orders, making it easier to maintain optimal inventory levels.

Understanding Inventory Velocity and Stock-to-Sales Ratio

A critical component of inventory management is understanding inventory velocity, often measured by the stock-to-sales ratio. This ratio compares your current inventory levels to your average monthly sales, giving you a clear picture of how quickly your stock is moving. A balanced stock-to-sales ratio ensures that inventory is fresh, relevant, and aligns with actual demand, reducing the risk of holding too much or too little stock.

In a B2B2X context—where "X" could be employees, intracompany departments, or franchisees—demand patterns can vary significantly. For instance, orders from intracompany departments might be more predictable, while franchisees may order sporadically based on local needs. Tailoring your inventory velocity expectations to these specific demand patterns is crucial. A well-calibrated stock-to-sales ratio helps ensure that you are not overcommitting to inventory for slower-moving items while maintaining sufficient stock for high-demand products.

Leveraging Data for Better Inventory Decisions

The key to optimizing inventory is data. By analyzing historical sales data, distributors can forecast demand more accurately, ensuring that they hold just enough stock to meet anticipated needs without overbuying.

For B2B2X models, it’s important to segment demand based on the different types of end customers. For example, employee orders might follow a more consistent, predictable pattern, while franchisee orders could be more variable, influenced by factors such as local events or promotions. Understanding these nuances allows for more precise inventory planning.

This is where business intelligence platforms like Zoho Analytics come into play. These platforms centralize sales and inventory data, providing a comprehensive view of past performance and current stock levels. With tools like Zoho Analytics, distributors can generate detailed reports and visualizations that make it easier to forecast future needs and identify trends. By leveraging such technology, you can make informed decisions that balance inventory costs with demand, ultimately improving your inventory velocity.

Regular inventory audits are another essential practice. These audits help ensure that stock levels are aligned with actual sales trends, allowing for timely adjustments to avoid overstocking or stockouts.

Balancing Storage Costs with Supplier Pricing

When it comes to ordering inventory, one of the biggest challenges is balancing the savings from larger orders with the costs associated with storage and inbound logistics. While it might be cheaper to order large quantities, the resulting storage costs—and the risk of overstocking—can quickly erode those savings.

For clients benefiting from EQP pricing, more frequent, smaller orders might be the better approach. This strategy reduces storage costs while still taking advantage of the lower unit prices, especially when the savings from bulk purchasing are minimal or nonexistent. Be sure, however, to factor in the increase of inbound logistics and order processing costs. Ordering too frequently should be avoided as well.

Be mindful of turnaround times when opting to keep smaller quantities on hand. Even with reduced stock levels, knowing the lead times for replenishing your inventory is essential to avoid delays that could disrupt order fulfillment. Additionally, keep track of your larger, end-buyer orders for specific items. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you’re unable to ship items due to unforeseen delays in restocking or a large order being placed by an end-buyer.

Setting Realistic Client Expectations

Transparent communication with clients is essential. Distributors should explain the trade-offs between lower unit pricing and the potential risks of holding too much inventory. Clients need to understand that while bulk purchasing might seem advantageous, it can lead to significant costs down the line if the inventory doesn’t move as expected.

A collaborative approach to demand forecasting can also help. By working closely with clients to forecast demand based on past performance and upcoming campaigns, distributors can help set realistic expectations for sales and inventory levels. This collaboration ensures that clients are not caught off guard by the costs associated with overbuying.

Conclusion: Tailoring Inventory Strategies for Success

In conclusion, the optimal inventory strategy depends on understanding your inventory velocity, tailoring your stock-to-sales ratio to match demand patterns, and balancing costs with strategic ordering. By focusing on inventory velocity and leveraging data-driven insights, distributors can help clients maintain lean and responsive inventory levels, ensuring their company stores remain efficient and cost-effective.

We put together a free Google Sheets tool designed to help you optimize your inventory. This tool is specifically set up to work with a Liftoff Product Usage report, allowing you to analyze inventory metrics like stock-to-sales ratio and inventory velocity with ease. Not using Liftoff? As long as you paste similar data into the green columns in the Data tab, the formulas will work. I hope you find it useful!

How to Use the Tool:

Access the Tool:Click here to clone the tool to your own Google Drive. This will open a new Google Sheets document in your account.
Paste Your Data:

Open the Data sheet.
Paste your Liftoff Product Usage report (or similar data) into this sheet, replacing any placeholder data.

Copy Down Rows in the Analysis Sheet:

Go to the Analysis sheet.
Copy down the formulas in the rows to match the amount of data you’ve pasted in the Data sheet. The formulas will automatically calculate key inventory metrics for you.

Integrating Liftoff with Spoke Custom for Print-On-Demand Using Order Desk

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0600

In our previous article, we introduced Order Desk, a powerful order management tool. Today, we'll show you how to integrate Liftoff Commerce with Spoke Custom using Order Desk. With this powerful combo, we'll add a print-on-demand mug to our store, which, upon order, will be automatically fulfilled by Spoke Custom.

Note: Order Desk supports numerous print-on-demand suppliers right out of the box. We chose Spoke Custom because of their strong association with PCNA. I toured Spoke Custom about seven years ago, and they’re truly a great team to work with. If you wish to follow along and set up Spoke Custom in Order Desk for yourself, you'll need an account with Spoke Custom – get started here. If you already have a login to their Partner Portal, that won't be enough. Reach out to your contact to inquire about API credentials.

Prerequisites

There is a lot to learn about Order Desk, but their extensive knowledge base provides plenty of helpful information. Although we won't cover everything in this post, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) and follow along.

There are a few Order Desk concepts that I want to note first before we begin.

Orders go into folders.

Rules power the automation.

Rules in Order Desk are crucial for automating order management and fulfillment. They allow you to define actions based on specific events and filters, offering a high level of customization.

Inventory Items are cool but optional.

Order Desk can store your product details to help automate workflows and sync with fulfillment providers. While we won't use Inventory Items in this integration to avoid managing product data in multiple places, they can be valuable for other print-on-demand projects.

Item metadata is crucial.

1. Configure Your Liftoff Integration

To add the Liftoff integration to your Order Desk account, follow these steps: In the left navigation, click on Manage Integrations, search for Liftoff, and click the Enable button.

Once connected, you'll be able to configure some integration settings. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we'll call your attention to a few:

Orders to Download
You'll likely want to set this to In Process. That way, orders don't flow into Order Desk until they are actually submitted by the customer.

Sync Tracking Numbers
Enable this if you want tracking numbers from Spoke Custom to automatically be pushed back up to Liftoff, triggering your shipping notification emails to your customers.

At this point, you can import Liftoff orders if you'd like to see how they will appear in Order Desk. But we'll take a deeper look at this when we set up our Order Desk rules later in this post.

2. Configure Your Spoke Custom Integration

To integrate Spoke Custom, navigate to Manage Integrations, search for Spoke, and click Enable. Enter your Spoke Custom API credentials (contact Spoke Custom for these). Copy the URL at the top and send it to your contact at Spoke for tracking information.

There are quite a bit more configuration settings available for Spoke Custom. For demonstration, we'll leave these at their defaults. If you decide to use this integration for a live store, definitely review what each of these do here, and consult with Spoke Custom and/or Order Desk if you have any questions about them.

3. Set Up Vendor and Product in Liftoff

With Liftoff and Spoke Custom integrated in Order Desk, the next step is configuring settings in Liftoff. Our goal is to avoid duplicating product data in Order Desk by leveraging Liftoff's capabilities.

Set Up Vendor and Fulfillment Workflow for Spoke Custom

Log into the Liftoff admin interface and navigate to Products > Vendors and add a new vendor. You can name it "Spoke Custom". For more information on vendor creation and settings, refer to Liftoff's documentation on Vendors. You do not need to configure an integration for this new vendor.

Now that the Spoke Custom vendor is created, let's assign them to a Fulfillment Workflow by navigating to Products > Fulfillment Workflows. You can name the workflow "Spoke Custom" and then select your new Spoke Custom vendor as the Default Workflow Vendor.

Set Up Product Classification and Custom Product Fields

Product classifications provide a means for establishing different types of products in Liftoff. One benefit that product classifications provide is they can be configured to show custom product fields for the types of products that need them. Create a new product classification for Spoke Custom products by navigating to Products > Product Classifications.

Next, navigate to Products > Custom Fields and choose your Spoke product classification from the dropdown. Now add a new custom field with "print_sku" as the field name. When setting up POD products in Order Desk, the print_sku identifies the product that your POD vendor will be fulfilling.

Set Up Your Product

In this demonstration, we're going to set up a mug for PromoPilot. You'll set this product up like most other products, but we'll point out the important parts for our project below:

Product Classification
Set the product classification to the one we set up for Spoke products earlier. This will make it so that when we add our custom field values, the print_sku field will be visible to us.

Fulfillment Workflow
Set the fulfillment workflow for this item to Spoke Custom, the fulfillment workflow that we set up earlier. This is important because, in Order Desk, we'll create a rule based on this product coming from this vendor.

Product Files
Upload your production-ready artwork file here. Be sure to work with your Spoke Custom contact to make sure your artwork is setup correctly.

Custom Fields
Because we set our product classification for this item to the Spoke Custom classification that we configured earlier, we're now able to enter a SKU into our product_sku field. Spoke Custom has a wide variety of POD products available. For this example, we're choosing the 15oz white mug, SKU SP20002, which we'll enter into this field.

Holy smokes, you guys! We're almost done. If you were to place an order for this mug and import it into Order Desk, here's what it would look like.

Story Time! – As I was beginning my exploration of Order Desk and their Liftoff integration, many of the data above were not included in imported orders. But if they were, then we could fully automate POD orders without needing to set up the same products in Order Desk's inventory.

So I reached out to their support team to ask if that would be possible. You guys! – they added support for all of the above in just a few days! Their support team was responsive, knew exactly what I was trying to do, and were quick to recognize the value and release a new version of the Liftoff integration that had exactly what we need to do this.

I was so juiced about this, I emailed a new contact over there to gush over how excellent the experience had been. I hope you can experience the same. 😃

4. Set Up Order Desk Rules

Order Desk's powerful rules engine allows us to create two types of rules: Item Rules, which act on specific line items, and Order Rules, which act on the entire order. Our first rule needs to set some item metadata so that Spoke knows which where the print file for the product can be downloaded, and what SKU to print the artwork on to.

Set Up Item Rule

In Order Desk navigate to the Rules Builder and add a new rule. Select Item Rule and choose Order Is Imported as the trigger. Next, we want to add a filter to this rule so that it only triggers when a line item's vendor (also known as origin name), is "Spoke Custom". To do that choose Item Metadata from the dropdown, then enter the metadata's field name, liftoff_origin_name, choose Equals from the next dropdown menu, and finally enter Spoke Custom as the value. The rule will only trigger if the item is identified as a Spoke Custom item.

Our Item rule now needs a couple of actions, the first of which will tell Spoke where our artwork file is. Order Desk has a standardized method for working with its POD partners that you can learn more about here. To tell Spoke where our artwork file is, we need to define a new item metadata field called "print_url".

To do this, create a new action and choose Set Order Item Metadata from the dropdown. For the field name enter print_url.

The field's value needs to be set to the complete URL to our artwork file at Liftoff. But we don't have a full URL; all we have is the file name. Fortunately, Order Desk upgraded their Liftoff integration to also bring in our Liftoff store's primary URL as order metadata. We can combine the two values into one proper URL by entering the following into the Field Name field:

{{ "https://" ~ order.order_metadata['liftoff_account_domain'] ~ "/files/products/" ~ metadata['liftoff_product_variant_file_1'] }}

Your completed rule should look like the image below.

Give your rule a name and click save.

Set Up Order Rule

Our final rule will simply send the order for the mug to Spoke Custom for fulfillment. If you are planning on introducing POD to your own Liftoff program, you would likely want to create a rule to split the order based on the line item's vendor or other factors, which Order Desk is totally capable of. But for this demonstration, we'll simply assume that all orders are for Spoke, and so our rule set puts all the item data in the right place and sends the order on to Spoke. Here's how we do it.

Create a new Order Rule beneath the item rule you just created. Orders are run in the order that they appear in the Rules Builder. Set the order to trigger when the order is imported. For the action, choose Submit Order to Spoke Custom from the dropdown. Give the rule a name and save. Done. Your Order Rule should look like the image below.

Turn your rules on and brace yourself for something... magical. ✨

5. Place A Test Order!

Run over to Liftoff and order your mug! Then skip over to Order Desk. Your order may already appear in the Prepared folder, which, if you kept the default values when configuring your Spoke Custom integration, it is placed into automatically after being sent to Spoke.

Now scroll down to view the Order History. You should see that the order has been submitted to Spoke Custom. That is the work of the Order Rule that we set up. In a few minutes, if you refresh the page, you will see that Spoke Custom has received the order.

At this point, you may want to cancel the order you just placed so that Spoke doesn't charge you for the item. Serendipitously, as we were creating this content, Spoke and Order Desk released an update to their integration. This update adds a black button on the order page, allowing you to cancel the order with Spoke if it has not yet gone to production. Very cool!

Conclusion

Phew! This was the longest write up I've done so far at PromoPilot. But it was worth it. I've had an absolute blast getting to know Order Desk over the last few weeks, and I've barely scratched the surface. Order Desk has many more powerful and time-saving features. We're hoping to share more of that with you in the future.

In the meantime, I hope you found this tutorial to be helpful or that it inspired you to check out Order Desk for yourself. If you do, please let them know PromoPilot sent you. 😊

Get Started With Order Desk

Streamline Your Order Management with Order Desk

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0600

Note: Some of the links in this post are currently not working as Order Desk's affiliate partner works through some downtime issues. In the mean time, I highly encourage you to give them a visit at https://orderdesk.com. If you sign up for a trial (and I recommend you do), you can support PromoPilot by telling them we sent you. 😊

If you're anything like me, you've probably launched online company stores and redemption sites on multiple platforms. Sometimes you need the right tool for the job, whether it's Liftoff for its powerful web-to-print capabilities, PromoHunt for its flexible access control, or Shopify for a B2C-focused project.

Managing orders from multiple e-commerce platforms can be a daunting task for print and promo distributors. When you also need to split orders between suppliers, 3PLs, or even electronic delivery, it can quickly become overwhelming 😵‍💫.

Order Desk is a powerful SaaS application designed to simplify and automate this process, integrating seamlessly with numerous industry-specific platforms and suppliers such as Liftoff, Order My Gear, SAGE, SanMar, and hundreds more.

Seamless Integration with E-Commerce Platforms

Order Desk supports integration with a variety of e-commerce platforms that are important to the print and promo industry. For example, it connects with Order My Gear (OMG), enabling you to import orders directly from OMG. Order Desk features a powerful rules engine that allows you to split, filter, and organize these orders, automatically sending them to the appropriate fulfillment services or sales team. The integration also lets you set up custom automations for order routing and prefix order numbers for better tracking.

Similarly, Order Desk integrates with Shopify and other popular e-commerce platforms, allowing you to distribute POs for each line item and send shipment details back to your e-comm once the orders are fulfilled. You can manage these integrations easily from the Order Desk interface, setting preferences such as order download frequency and specific inventory locations to monitor.

Efficient Supplier Management

Order Desk excels in managing multiple suppliers. It supports splitting orders between different suppliers, such as SPOKE Custom, Crystal-D, and 4Over. This feature is particularly useful when different parts of an order need to be fulfilled by different vendors. Order Desk can also send custom email notifications or export data as CSV files, making communication with suppliers seamless and ensuring orders are processed smoothly.

If you're working with a supplier who is not integrated and simply requires an email to be sent to them with the order information, Order Desk can handle it. You can even customize the email to include the data they require in the format they wish to see it in. When emailing an order in this way, a link is included for the supplier to click and enter tracking information into, which then is returned to your e-comm software to trigger shipment notifications. Nice!

Customizable Order Fulfillment

The flexibility of Order Desk extends to various fulfillment options. Whether you are using print-on-demand services or working with suppliers that have minimum order quantities, Order Desk accommodates both. It integrates with fulfillment and 3PL services like ShipStation, enabling you to keep track of shipments, manage returns, and keep customers updated on their order status without additional manual effort.

You can even set up items that, when ordered, are routed to members of your sales team to be managed within your existing processes.

Streamlined Business Operations

Beyond order management, Order Desk integrates with essential business tools such as Slack, Stripe, and TaxJar. If you have a currently unsupported app that you'd like to send order information to, you can request an integration be built by the capable Order Desk team. Order Desk also supports Zapier and so it's possible to integrate easily with over 6,000 apps. You can even configure Order Desk to post order JSON data to your own endpoints.

What is JSON?

JSON is a way to format data so that different computer systems can understand and share it easily. It looks like this:

 {
  "name": "Douglas",
  "age": 42,
  "favorite_color": "blue"
 }

APIs use JSON to send and receive information between systems. For example, a weather app asks a server for the weather, and the server sends back JSON with the temperature and conditions.

No matter the use case, if you need your order data pushed to another app, Order Desk offers multiple methods to do so. With its ability to:

output custom CSVs
send emails
perform FTP drops
post JSON data
and integrate with Zapier

...there are numerous approaches you can take to ensure your data reaches the desired destination.

Conclusion

Order Desk offers a comprehensive solution for print and promo distributors, streamlining order management and fulfillment processes. By integrating with various e-commerce platforms and providing robust supplier management capabilities, it ensures that your workflow remains efficient and organized. Embrace the power of Order Desk to transform your business operations and enhance your productivity.

Ready to simplify your order management? Discover how Order Desk can revolutionize your operations and bring efficiency to your workflow.Visit Order De sk today and take the first step towards hassle-free order management. They offer a generous 30 day free trial (no credit card required) which should give you plenty of time to explore the possibilities.

In our next post, we'll look at how to send order from Liftoff Commerce to SPOKE Custom for POD fulfillment using the Order Desk Liftoff integration. Consider subscribing to our newsletter so you don't miss it.

Discover Order Desk