Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful –
Wait, what? Christmas? It’s just September!
Well, it’s not quite time to light the fireplace, we know. But it is time to begin thinking about preparing for the holiday season and all the business promotional needs you’ll need to finish out 2021.
Unfortunately, it’s not going to be the usual jolly holiday season. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and labor shortages, major supply chain issues are occurring around the country. Sadly, this could impact your merry-making this year. But, this will only be the case if you don’t plan ahead for your holiday seasonal swag. Otherwise, Santa’s bag could be empty on Christmas Eve.
Logo Depot’s owner, Jeff Johnson suggests that you “Put your game plan together, details matter right now.”
A Holiday Season with Shortages
In a normal year, the Logo Depot team can be lightning-fast with order turnaround. Even for those who have left everything until the last minute. Alas, 2021 has become a game-changer. Your Christmas can still be merry and bright with a sparkling 2022. You just need to understand the challenges businesses like Logo Depot are facing this fall.
In a normal year at Logo Depot, once an order is placed, our team will source the best supplier for the project to get your promotional needs customized before your deadline arrives. There are a lot of great manufacturers and products we already love and can feel comfortable recommending for clients. For example, those popular metal water bottles with a logo or message engraved – well, a customer can normally expect delivery in 10-14 days.
However, those supply chain issues that you’re seeing in restaurants and grocery stores, are not isolated to random food items. They are in fact, nationwide. This can hurt your ho-ho-ho and impact the team at Logo Depot and how they source and complete your order of festive tee shirts or new mugs for everyone at the office. Even the ones with pictures of the boss dressed up as an elf, because really, who wouldn’t want that on their desk all year?
The 2021 Holiday Season Reality
New research commissioned by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) finds shortages throughout the entire supply chain. This has created a backlog of container vessels that are slowing trade at U.S. West Coast ports.
What does that mean? Well, those 2000 tee shirts you want by December 24? They could be sitting in a boat in a port out in California.
“Warehouses are filled, causing back-ups to port terminals, made worse by shortages of shipping containers, rail cars, trucks, and chassis to meet the enormous demand. These dynamics have driven delays, shortages, and increased prices at retailers nationwide,” according to a recent article in logisticsmgmt.com. Click this link for more details: https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/cargo_congestion_on_west_coast_is_a_consequence_of_complex_issues
And those shipping containers? Well, they hold millions of coffee mugs, tee shirts, plastic gizmos, and other swag. Full warehouses combined with a labor shortage at the docks means it’s more difficult for our suppliers to move their products from overseas, through customs, to their warehouses, and finally, to us.
A Local Holiday Season Solution
Logo Depot has more than 250 different suppliers and many are facing different levels of supply issues. That’s scary news when you are trying to complete an order that has hundreds of items on it that you need customizing by a certain deadline. The good news is, with so many suppliers to choose from, Logo Depot is still in a good position to source exactly what you need in a variety of price points, said Jeff Johnson, Owner of Logo Depot.
Having great relationships with many suppliers not only allows Logo Depot to have a variety of price points, but it also is helping the team fight through the supply issues for their customers. Johnson discussed an order situation earlier this month that involved hunting down premium tee shirts for screen printing in an unusual color of neon. He eventually found the 250 needed through three different suppliers after quite a few phone calls and maybe a little bit of stress and a lot of extra coffee.
“We can do one-offs pretty easily, but if you need it in bulk you’ve got to plan right now,” said Johnson. “Give us – and yourself – as much time as possible. It’s better to get it early than find yourself in a bind a week before the holidays.”
Beyond the Holidays and Into 2022
Those looking to put together trade show booths and the all-important swag bags for first-quarter events should start planning now. Call the Logo Depot team and schedule an appointment for your booth design and swag bags, recommended Johnson.
Start your search and begin planning by checking out all the catalogs we offer online: https://logodepotweb.com/premium-supplier-catalogs/