OnFulfillment Blog | Global Fulfillment (2)

Back in 2020 and 2021, when the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 lockdown, many companies scaled back their operations and revisited their business goals and objectives while adjusting to a new remote workforce.

Not OnFulfillment.

Rather than lose momentum, we viewed the slowdown as an opportunity to enhance our capabilities, expand our business, and introduce changes that were otherwise difficult if not impossible during busier times. While many of our competitors sat around waiting for the pandemic to end and business to return to normal, we took advantage of the downtime to implement improvements that allowed us to hit the ground running once the restrictions were lifted.

“Buy locally, distribute globally” is a sound business strategy. It provides a level of control that allows you to maintain consistency across products or materials, manage the brand, and take advantage of bulk pricing.

That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, however, it’s not quite that simple or straightforward.

Most countries, and many manufacturers, have customs rules and other regulations designed to prevent materials produced in a foreign country from being imported and distributed in different locations. Generally, these rules are designed to protect local businesses from unfair labor practices, and the penalties can be harsh, both economically and in terms of wasted time and resources.

Many businesses with an international presence are called upon to support events not only in the U.S. but also throughout Europe.

Are their differences between the two? On the surface, the basic process appears to be the same for both locations: identify and gather the necessary materials, ship them to the venue, and return them after the event so they can be placed back into inventory. But dive a little deeper and you’ll find there are significant differences that must be considered when planning an international event. 

This blog will explore the various issues and challenges—some subtle, some more obvious—that confront you when planning organizing an event outside the U.S. While we’ll be focusing on Europe here, understand that these same issues apply to other locations and continents as well and will require a bit of research to adequately address them.

This is the fourth installment of our “product fulfillment vs. marketing fulfillment” blog series. If you’re new to this topic and need some background, we recommend you read the previous entries, starting with “Product Fulfillment vs. Marketing Fulfillment: What Do You Need?” followed by “Product Fulfillment vs. Marketing Fulfillment: Which is Best for Receiving?” and “Product Fulfillment vs. Marketing Fulfillment: Which is Best for Pick & Pack.”

Today, we’re looking at which approach offers the best support and flexibility options.

In this third installment of the “product fulfillment vs. marketing fulfillment” blog series, we will be exploring which approach is best for pick-and-pack and storage. If you haven’t read the previous entries and need some background, you might want to start with the first, “Product Fulfillment vs. Marketing Fulfillment: What Do You Need?” The second installment, “Product Fulfillment vs. Marketing Fulfillment: Which is Best for Receiving?” will also provide important context.

In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at activities such as support and flexibility, software, and reporting. Revisit this site regularly for updates.