Business challenge:
A major state university facing cuts to its discretionary, non-academic spend needed to find an experienced partner to manage its branded merchandise fulfillment program.
ASW’s solution:
ASW's provided consolidated procurement and fulfillment services across divisions, colleges, and campuses while leveraging its network and membership to offer cost savings.
Execution:
By serving as a single-source solution, ASW eliminated rogue spend on its branded merchandise, thereby allowing the university to leverage its overall spend to achieve lower cost per spend. ASW also protected the university's brand, as it consistently adhered to brand standards that are holder to control when buyers are working with multiple distributors or suppliers. ASW further created an ecommerce platform for the university to use to browse and purchase branded products using the approved logos for each item.
ASW’s competitive advantage:
- Vast experience handling fulfillment programs for a diverse clientele, including higher education
- Strategic location in NE Ohio
- Branded merchandise distributor since 1996
- Extensive network to leverage collective spend to achieve cost savings
- Membership in exclusive buying group offering discounted pricing of up to 30% on products from many of the top suppliers in the advertising specialty industry
- Dedicated account manager
- Same-day shipping on orders for inventoried items
- Courier drop off and customer pickup options available
- Large, secure warehouse space for inventoried items
- Dropship and on-demand item fulfillment also available
- Value-added services (specialty packaging, kitting, gift sets, etc.)
Key Benefits:
ASW helped the university achieve cost-savings by serving as a single source solution. Rogue spend was eliminated. Cost per year decreased by 20%. ASW provided discounted rates for special projects (such as Welcome to Campus Kits) and handled kitting, specialty packaging, and distribution for these projects. ASW consistently upheld brand standards and worked with a trusted source of vendors to provide high-quality products. This, in turn, helped the university maintain its brand integrity. ASW's dedicated representative kept the university informed about new trends and helped to serve as a quality-control expert increasing customer satisfaction and reducing the need for product returns or replacements.