Optimization instead of improvisation in corporate merch
Until recently, branded products were perceived as an aesthetic addition to marketing or employer branding activities. Today, with the increase in the scale of shipments, employee expectations and attention to sustainable development, it is becoming a full-fledged operational process. Organizations are increasingly faced with the question of how to combine technology, automation and ESG goals in an area that has traditionally been based on manual work and ad hoc decisions. The answer turns out to be changing the merch management model – from project-based to system-based – which allows you to remove the operational burden from HR and marketing departments and regain control over the scale, quality and environmental impact of these activities.
How can technology relieve the burden on HR and marketing departments?
In many organizations, corporate merch still operates in a design model. Onboarding, events, Christmas gifts and employer branding campaigns are implemented as separate initiatives, each time requiring briefing of suppliers, ordering products, monitoring stock levels and coordinating shipments. In practice, this means that HR and marketing departments – instead of focusing on strategy, communication or employee experience – take over the role of operational coordinator.
As the scale of the organization and the number of individual shipments increases, such a model quickly ceases to be effective. More and more companies are coming to the conclusion that managing branded products requires a process approach, comparable to e-commerce or supply chain. The answer may be operational outsourcing based on technology and automationin which merch ceases to be a project and begins to function as a process included in a permanent service.
Merch as a process
Optimization starts with a change of perspective. Instead of thinking about merch in the context of individual campaigns, it is worth viewing it holistically – as a continuous process that includes offer planning, warehousing, distribution and reporting. – Centralization is key – both products and information about them. Instead of scattered inventory and knowledge stored in sheets or “in the heads” of individual people, all the company’s merchandise can go to one warehouse and one system. This includes both new products and those that the organization previously had, often without full knowledge of their number and possible uses. The next step is to organize them in the system and assign them to specific use scenarios – explains Aleksander Paczek, co-founder of MerchUp – supplier of personalized clothing and advertising accessories, which in recent years has transformed the company’s merch from a “special project” into an end-to-end service.
This holistic approach to merch means that HR and marketing do not start every initiative from scratch. They use an organized database of products that are already available, described and ready for use in various contexts: from onboarding, through events, to internal and external campaigns.
Transfer of operational responsibility – outsourcing
Another element of optimization is transfer of operational responsibility. In the outsourcing model, it is not internal teams that deal with warehousing, order picking or shipping, but a specialized operational structure. The client is responsible for strategic decisions: who is the recipient, what is the goal and budget. This means real relief for HR and marketing. Merch stops generating logistical tasks and becomes a tool that can be used without requiring additional time and resources.
Automation instead of Excel
The foundation of such a model is technology. Dedicated platforms and company stores enable merch management in a way similar to e-commerce, but tailored to the needs of the organization. Orders are placed according to established rules, and access to products may be limited to selected roles or teams. – The system provides full visibility: inventory levels, order history, costs and product availability. Thanks to this, HR and marketing do not have to keep their own reports or monitor processes manually – says Aleksander Paczek from MerchUp. Automation also allows you to handle a large number of individual shipments, such as onboarding packages or occasional gifts, without loss of quality and without the need for coordination on the customer’s side each time.
AI support
The next stage in the process development of corporate merch is the use of AI tools. In practice, this means, among others: automation of the presentation of new clothing products. AI models allow you to create realistic product visualizations on models without the need to organize full photo sessions at every stage. – This is especially important at the planning stage. Marketing departments can prepare merch concepts faster and show them internally, for example to the management, without a long production process. Automation shortens the time from idea to decision – points out Aleksander Paczek.
ESG and merch optimization
Merchandise optimization increasingly goes hand in hand with ESG goals. What is crucial here is not only the selection of certified products, but also the way of planning and managing their life cycle. Central storage and better inventory control significantly reduce overproduction. - If a company knows what it has in stock and plans merch in the longer term, it naturally limits unnecessary orders. ESG is no longer an addition and becomes the result of a well-designed process – notes Aleksander Paczek.
Locality also plays an important role in this approach – cooperation with domestic producers shortens supply chains, increases control over quality and improves order fulfillment. It is equally important to design high-quality, functional company merchandise that responds to the real needs of users. It is the usability and durability of products that determine their actual environmental impact to the greatest extent. Well-designed merch is not a one-time logo carrier, but a well-thought-out tool for building relationships – and therefore an element of a responsible, long-term approach to sustainable development.
Optimization – HR and marketing
The experience of companies shows that merch is increasingly becoming a permanent element of organizational infrastructure. Technology, operational outsourcing and automation help you take the logistical burden off your HR and marketing departments while increasing control over costs, quality and environmental impact. – Companies that treat merch as a process, not a one-off event, are able to scale operations without increasing the burden on internal teams – sums up Aleksander Paczek from MerchUp.
Source: MerchUp
