Corporate Gifting 101: Best Way to Ship Packages
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You’ve pored over promotional gift options, chosen your selection, approved the logo proofs, and received your items. But the work isn’t over: You now need to ship them to dozens or even hundreds of recipients. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide featuring our top tips for the best way to ship packages. Here’s our guide to corporate gifting 101, shipping edition:
Prepare your shipment in advance.
All corporate gifting requires a certain amount of lead time, and this is especially true if you are planning to ship around a holiday. Shipping routes are also overloaded right now, causing delays at what wouldn’t normally be considered a peak time. At a minimum, it’s usually wise to work at least a full business quarter in advance (so, three months), and potentially longer if you have a very large or very complicated corporate gifting program. Many branded promotional items also have lead times that range from days to weeks, so if you want to get your logo printed on your corporate gifts, figure that out in advance.
Gather addresses.
Gathering addresses can be one of the most time-consuming steps of shipping packages from your business. This is part of the reason why we recommend starting so far in advance: It might take days or weeks to get the right addresses from a recipient. We recommend maintaining a database of all the addresses you ship to and regularly updating it. If you tend to send packages at long intervals — i.e., holiday gifts at the end of every year — definitely confirm the address with recipients before putting something in the mail in case they have moved.
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Consider branding the packaging.
When they think of promotional items, most people focus on the objects in the packaging. However, the packaging itself is a great opportunity to promote your business and further increase brand awareness. Using branded gift boxes, tissue paper, and other custom premium packaging will elevate the gift and turn opening it into a memorable experience. A corporate gifting partner such as iPromo can help walk you through what promotional packaging options are available and help you find one to find your budget and aesthetic.
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Establish relationships with a shipping company.
Each shipping company offers small business accounts that provide various perks, making it easier for businesses to ship many different packages. If you are planning to ship the gifts yourself and don’t already have a dedicated shipping vendor, do some research to determine which ones service your most commonly used routes. Make sure to set up your business account in advance if you know you have a lot of shipments coming up so that you have time to get everything set up before you need to start frantically shipping packages.
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Let partners handle the shipping.
Some vendors — such as promotional companies like iPromo — offer drop shipping, a.k.a. sending products directly to multiple addresses. This means that instead of having the products shipped to you, and then mailing them to multiple addresses yourself, you can cut out the middle step and have the vendor send the packages directly to your final destination. However, not every vendor offers drop shipping, and it usually has to be set up in advance given the logistical complexities of shipping to multiple addresses. So if you’re relying on drop shipping, confirm that the company offers it before placing your order.
Pack items carefully.
If you use a vendor for drop shipping, they’ll take care of packaging the items for you, but if you’re shipping the items yourself, you will need to pack them carefully so that nothing breaks in transit. Wrap each item individually to prevent them from rubbing against each other. Choose a box slightly bigger than the item itself and add extra packing material if need be, to stop it from moving around. (Don’t choose a box that is overly large if you can help it, as this increases the right of damage and also requires more packing material, which is wasteful.) Stuff hollow items with packing material, as well, to provide extra reinforcement and stop them from breaking. Label the box as “fragile” if it contains anything easily breakable.
Looking for a promotional gift vendor that offers drop shipping capabilities? At iPromo, we can ship your corporate gifts to multiple addresses, making the whole process seamless for you. Whether you need bulk gifts under $5 or luxury corporate branded gifts, we’ve got you covered with our widespread selection. Contact us today to set up a drop shipping program for your company!