Ensure your products get to market on time and in compliance with all retailer requirements
As much as we’d love to be able to reassure our clients that nothing can go wrong, there is no such thing as a risk-proof retail campaign.
However, there are plenty of ways to steer clear of obstacles, avoid common sources of trouble, and position your campaign for retail success with best practices and a bit of expertise in assessing risk.
With nearly six decades of experience, TPH Global Solutions® has lived through a wide variety of wishful thinking when it comes to getting retail campaigns across the finish line. Chief among the mindsets that presage trouble is the “ready, shoot, aim” school of risk assessment that lets a tight deadline dictate the plan.
The shortest path between A and B doesn’t prevent you from plunging into the canyon between them.
And yet, unforgiving retailer deadlines and overseas complications can leave you weighing the cost of delivering on-time and out of compliance or late and with retailer goodwill squandered.
The Danger of Shortcuts When Deadlines Loom
Our experience has taught us that designing a pallet display extends well beyond just the store floor. It’s very important to have a clear understanding of the entire supply, logistics and distribution chains. Any oversight will come back to haunt you so it’s vital to have an effective way to assess and minimize risk to avoid costly mistakes.
While it’s true that retail selling windows are often short, and overseas production issues can be incredibly complex, it’s imperative to avoid tempting shortcuts. It’s entirely possible to meet the deadline and kill the opportunity. So how do you make the right choices when trouble looms?
Here are six best practices for risk assessment and avoidance that can save you time, money and headaches in the short and long term:
1. Assess Risk Carefully
Understand your risk – and your options by answering these questions:
- Are you aware of and knowledgeable about your manufacturing, compliance, handling, and distribution risks?
- Have you identified the areas of concern and do you have control over those segments of your supply, logistics and distribution chains?
- Do you have confidence in your manufacturing and other partners to execute on a unified strategy to get your product to stores without issues and on time?
2. Get It Right the First Time
Due diligence from the outset is faster and more cost-effective than mitigation. It’s critical to invest the time, energy and expertise up front to make sure your program is successful.
3. Avoid Shortcuts
Are you truly out of time or just overwhelmed? A diligent program of third-party testing and review is never a waste of time.
It may be tempting to have your factory produce your packaging and displays but they’re typically only good at making products. They often drag their feet if they don’t understand something and may not freely admit it. They may also know packaging but not specific for the retailer. From our experience, only about 1 in 100 product factories in China are effective with packaging and displays.
4. Take a Step Back
Take the time to review your program. Identify where things are set up well and where they are not. Mitigate what you can. Second chances in retail opportunities are rare.
5. Make a Change
Partner with a retail campaign expert with expertise in all the moving parts who can show you where your program is at risk and how to correct it.
6. Establish Rapport with Overseas Vendors
Make sure your partner has a local team that can work with your overseas factories to ensure compliance.
TPH Global Solutions®: Your Partner in Retail Campaign Success
Let our retail display experts help you manage and troubleshoot your retail campaigns, from the selection and management of overseas vendors to the oversight of supply chain, distribution, and retailer compliance details.
Our most effective tool in minimizing risk is a diligent focus on getting it right at the outset. Our processes are built on deep expertise, a commitment to your success and a detail-oriented mindset. While we are skilled at troubleshooting, our real superpower is trouble avoidance.
We don’t believe in taking shortcuts when it comes to getting your products to market on time, on budget and in compliance. You shouldn’t either.
Speak with one of our retail packaging and display experts today – we can explore how a TPH Global Solutions risk assessment can minimize your risks and maximize your opportunity in your retail display campaigns.
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