Which merch is the perfect match? The main goal of any merchandise and POSM buyer is finding goods that:
- fit your brand visually,
- are of good quality (in line with your brand),
- and are recognisable across regions.
This is easier said than done. Not only do buyers need to stick to a budget, but they often have to deal with clashing requirements coming from within their company. A typical scenario is when a brand manager sets high standards for design and quality, while sales reps care more about making all customers happy — and might want to get merch for lower prices.
Planning is crucial when it comes to merchandise and POSM buying. Let’s take a closer look at what it entails and where (and how) to tweak the processes to make buyers’ lives easier.
Merchandise Buying Plans
Buyers have a budget to respect. At the same time, they need to satisfy the demand for merch and POSM within the company, coming from various departments, locations, regions, and more.
This task is challenging on its own. Whom to say yes to and whom to decline? The budget is not limitless.
Other factors at play make this daunting task even more difficult. The main issue appears when buyers don’t know the prices in advance. Especially when ordering more significant amounts of merch and POSM, some suppliers tell you the price only after the order is confirmed — which makes planning extremely difficult! Sticking to a budget and using it effectively is downright impossible with unknown variables.
This gets even more complicated when MOQ (the dreaded Minimum Order Quantity) enters the stage. Orders that don’t reach the MOQ get cancelled and buyers are forced to seek hasty alternative solutions. Very often, hastiness goes hand in hand with compromising on quality and/or brand consistency.
Tip to make the lives of merch & POSM buyers easier:
Consider an advanced consolidating platform for all merch orders. On the My Source Hub platform, for example, you always know all the prices in advance as My Source Hub practices a transparent price policy. All users see prices for all items in advance and the only shift in prices that happens is downward.
This is a great benefit of a consolidating procurement platform — with orders aggregated from all locations, you get a very low price per item. The My Source Hub platform even sends notifications to its users at every price drop. Buyers welcome the possibility of adding more items to their order when the price per item drops significantly.
Orders collected across all your regions and locations also increase the chances of reaching the MOQ. To which My Source Hub applies the same policy of transparency as it does with prices. Users of My Source Hub always know the MOQ for each item and can see the total amount of items being ordered.
Would you use more tips on sourcing Merch and POSM?
Learn how to make procurement effective, cost-efficient & grow your business. Subscribe on Tips on Procurement.
