Company Store Programs Defined
A Company Store is an umbrella term for an eCommerce site operated by a distributor in the promotional products industry for an individual client/company. A Company Store’s purpose varies. If a Company Store is going to be used for a very specific purpose then we call that a Company Store Program.
One of the most requested Company Store Programs is the Uniform Program.
Uniforms – Thing of the Past?
I hear more and more about Companies making dress codes casual. This surely means that uniforms are a thing of the past, right?
Wrong. While many corporations are becoming laid back with dress codes, there are still industries and organizations where uniforms are the norm. For example:
- – Public & Private School Districts
- – Property Management Companies
- – Sports Teams
- – First Responders – Fire, Police, Rescue
- – Extracurricular Groups – Boy/Girl Scouts, Choirs, Clubs
- – Hospitals & Medical Offices
- – Service Industry
- – Construction & Landscaping
- – Housekeeping
- – Airport Staff & Airlines
- – Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
As an added bonus, companies seem to be switching from a button up shirt and tie to jeans and a company branded t-shirt.
Why Use a Uniform Program
The great thing about running a Uniform Program in a Company Store is that your client can easily control the company’s spending and branding requirements while making ordering a breeze for the employees. Bright Sites is loaded with features that will help you and your client easily manage a uniform program – a few of our favorites are permissions, tiered pricing, order grid, quantity discounts, and one-click checkout.
Permissions
With a Uniform Program, you can utilize permissions to control what employees can see and do based on their login and group permission settings. As an example, group permissions can be set up in a company by department name. When an employee logs in, the store “automagically” adjusts to that employee’s settings. When using permissions, everything is managed in just one store including the products and the reports. Permissions let you control what that particular employee can see and experience in the store, such as:
- – The categories and products the employee can see in the store.
- – The logos they are allowed to use.
- – The payment methods available to that employee.
- – The shipping methods they can use.
And, any administrative access to the store the employee is allowed (if any).
Tiered Pricing
Another great feature to utilize when managing a Uniform Program is Tiered Pricing. This feature allows you to create multiple pricing options based on the employee’s group level. For example, the most common way to use this feature is for group pricing (Example Below). With Tiered Pricing, you have one product with multiple price levels and pull from the same inventory.
Order Grid
If you have a Uniform Program that is being used by the head of each department to order branded products, Bright Sites Order Grid feature will be your new best friend. The Order Grid on the product page allows you to mix and match product options (think sizes and colors) to meet product minimums and pull from the same inventory which makes ordering for a group of employees a whole lot easier. Think multiple options, one product page, one order – done.
Quantity Discounts
Take advantage of Bright Sites quantity discount feature to incentivize your client to order more. Quantity discounts can be paired with Order Grid to allow employees to meet discounts by mixing and matching sizes and colors. A great option to get rid of slower moving inventory or seasonal items like long sleeved uniforms.
One-Click Checkout
Ordering uniforms should be as quick and easy as possible for employees. If all orders in the store will have the same billing address, shipping address, or shipping method – why continue to have each employee fill out those fields on every order they place in the store? One-click checkout allows them to save time when ordering products by pre-arranging payment and shipping details, so all they must do is find the item they want and click the place order now button – without having to enter address or payment information. This reduces the chances of an employee erroneously entering data into a store – thus miscalculating reporting data.
One-click checkout is also a great feature to take advantage of if employees are ordering from their mobile devices on the go. One of my favorite examples comes from a distributor who was putting together a Company Store for a nationwide hair salon chain. The hair salon had been trying to get its employees to order their own uniforms but the employees weren’t biting. Why? The program they previously used was not mobile response, and they did not have computers readily available, making the ordering and checkout process a hassle to complete on tablet and mobile devices.
Moral of the story, if you want employees to order their own uniforms, give them a mobile responsive Company Store with one-click checkout.
To find out more about one-click checkout and other ways to streamline the checkout experience for shoppers, click here.
Benefits of Uniform Programs
- – Ease of Ordering
- – Streamlined Process
- – Order Anywhere, Anytime
- – Manage Brand Standards
- – Control Your Bottom Line – Clients know exactly how much money is being spent on promotional products.
The best part about running a Uniform Program is that your client has direct access to a promotional product specialist – YOU!
Many of us here at BrightStores have either previously ordered promotional products as an end user or worked as a promo distributor, so we understand firsthand how much of a process it can be managing uniform orders and company branded products for an entire department. That’s why we set out to make sure Bright Sites makes it easy for you to manage your client’s Uniform Program so they can purchase the items they need no matter how small or large the order, which is a win-win for everyone 🙂