Are Lead Times on Printed Pens Getting Tighter in Our Industry?

It would seem that the days of 3 weeks delivery for promotional pens have gone out the window in favour of last minute ordering. Distributors now enjoy 24 hour service and sometimes same day service on printed plastic pens.

None of us are getting any more money for this service as suppliers and distributors fight for a share of the smaller by-the-day pot! What can we do about it? – very little I fear is the probable answer. The problem is exacerbated by the direction our industry is going with more and more trade suppliers having an end-user selling division. This hand-in-glove partnership is designed to shut out competitors both supplier and distributor and is a highly effective strategy as it recognises the achilles heel of the traditional method for achieving distribution.

Is The Pen Warehouse worried about the direction that events are turning? Not even slightly is the answer because we made provision a long time ago to diversify into new and inventive products and services as we picked up on the warning signs long before they could have a negative impact on our sales. We are exclusively trade, we intend to remain exclusively trade in support of those distributors that appreciate the stance we have taken…. and our promise to you is that you can look forward to many new groundbreaking  initiatives over the next 12 months to ensure that healthy supplier-distributor relationship is preserved.