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In the consumer packaged goods industry, merchandising and marketing move on tight deadlines. To thrive in the retail environment, brands like yours need to develop effective point-of-purchase (POP) retail displays on a faster schedule than ever before. Getting your retail displays on-time helps you get your product to market faster. As marketing campaigns and launch dates change, companies demand tight deadlines from their custom display suppliers.
The process is accelerated if a supplier falls through. Not all suppliers can meet aggressive deadlines or provide top quality service. When that happens, you need a supplier who can swoop in and get your project done right under your urgent time requirements.
At Creative Displays Now, we deliver industry-leading speed, quality and customer service. Our customers rave:
I knew this project would be a challenging one and that I needed a great partner to help me get it accomplished. Your team did a great job of pulling this off within an impossible timeline. Please make sure that everyone knows how much Infinity Direct appreciates their efforts. They made us look good, which is the ultimate compliment. Thanks so much.
– Victoria W., Direct of Marketing, Infinity Direct
Read on to find out the importance of speed when creating custom displays:
- The Speed of Custom Retail Suppliers
- Parts of the Custom Display Process
- Quick Turnaround When Shipping Retail Displays
- Work With Creative Displays Now to Meet Your Deadlines
Custom Retail Suppliers
Your POP displays are a crucial part of your sales and marketing. They make your products stand out in a crowded retail environment, and they’re often the last touchpoint in the decision-making process. When customers walk into a store knowing they need a particular item, they may not know which brand to choose until they see the products on the shelves.
As a result, brands need to pick reliable POP display designers and manufacturers who have what it takes to make your products look their best. A lot goes into quick retail displays, so it’s crucial to select the right supplier. Evaluate your potential partners on:
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- Capabilities: POP designers and manufacturers will all have their own specialties. Look for a company that understands your retailers’ requirements. Make sure they can handle jobs of your size and the types of displays you’re looking for. At the center of the POP display industry is design. Can your supplier design something custom, creative and attention-grabbing? This capability is why you need a display in the first place. Look at a supplier’s portfolio and case studies to get a sense of their overall qualifications and design abilities.
- Fast distribution: One of the issues with choosing an internationally based supplier is the delays you’ll face in shipping. In the fast-moving retail world, you might not have the time to wait for your displays to make it through customs. You need displays to get where they need to be in time for your campaign or product launch, no exceptions. Make sure you understand both turnaround times and distribution schedule. At Creative Displays Now, we manufacture all displays in our centrally located Minneapolis, Minnesota, headquarters. We can get your displays anywhere in the country in record time.
- Track record and experience: Your supplier’s performance with other customers and previous projects is the proof you need to trust your project will be delivered on-time. Case studies give you a sense of their experience level. It’s also important to scrutinize their track record. At Creative Displays Now, we have been delivering quick custom product displays for over 60 years. We have a 99% on-time track record and ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification to back up our work.
- Responsiveness: Your supplier should act like a business partner and treat you like their number one priority, especially when you’re in a time crunch. Meeting tight deadlines requires responsiveness and flexibility throughout the entire process, from design and prototyping to production and shipping. Your supplier should be an expert at what they do and explain the process to you at the same time.
- In-house services: Working with a company that does everything in-house lets you have the most control over your result. It also makes the process smooth and fast. Clearer communication between design and manufacturing lets a project move from one step to the next without delay.
Parts of the Custom Display Process
Pulling off a POP display fit for a major retailer involves six steps, and each is critical to the project’s success. Creative Displays Now has experts involved in each stage of the process. We do everything in-house, which allows us to offer the fastest possible turnaround on custom retail displays in the country. Our customers come to us again and again for fast custom displays. Look at what one customer had to say:
You and your company did a great job. Your customer service and turnaround were outstanding – the team and the retailers are very happy with the display.
– Doug H., Sandy Alexander, Inc.
Our process works like this:
1. Structural Design
We take your ideas and make them into something visually interesting, dynamic and store-ready. Our designers are experienced in structural design and can make your display look great from many angles. Our creative designs help you sell more products and can earn you featured locations at top retailers. Our in-house design team allows for faster structural design, so we can build estimates quickly.
At this stage of the process, we emphasize speed through communication and responsiveness. We work hard to understand your objectives and ideas, so our designs meet your expectations and retailer requirements. By doing so, we can move through artwork and structure approvals efficiently.
We want you to be 100% satisfied with your displays in stores, which means getting all the details just right. When it comes to custom structural displays, you can’t get a full sense of the design until it’s sitting right in front of you. That’s why we offer full-color, tangible prototypes before you sign off on your order. Prototypes let you see your custom display and imagine it from the customers’ perspective. If you have any changes, our designers handle the request quickly and move into production as soon as possible.
2. World-Class Prepress
Precise, vibrant printing requires a knowledgeable prepress team. Our in-house G7-certified prepress allows for quick and accurate artwork manipulation and color consistency. With final designs in-hand, our prepress team lays out the design and prepares it for print. Their in-depth color knowledge ensures your branded colors and logos look as excellent in print as they do on screen. They review the digital artwork files and adjust them to make them compatible with the type of printers we’ll use.
3. Printing
We do printing in-house to control the printing timeline and can finish off full-color displays in 7-9 business days after artwork approval, including printing, manufacturing and assembly. We offer three types of printing, letting you customize your job based on quantity needed, overall graphic quality and budget. Our methods include:
- Lithography
- Flexography
- Digital printing
We’ll recommend the right process on a project-by-project basis.
4. Manufacturing
Once your displays are printed, our machinery can manufacture your display from cardboard materials. Our machines can handle all grades of corrugation and solid fiber folding cartons. By working in corrugated cardboard, we construct your display with a lightning-fast turnaround. Our manufacturing equipment and processes focus on quick setups and fast runs. We also have our own corrugators to eliminate supply chain challenges related to raw material. And, it’s all done under the same roof as our printing.
5. Assembly
We also offer in-house assembly and kitting for the fastest possible turnaround on jobs that require them. With all the components of your display measured and cut, our team assembles them. This ensures retailers display them as intended. If necessary, we’ll also pack all your products right from our facility. Or, we’ll send the fully assembled displays to you for packing.
6. Distribution
Because we’re centrally located in the Midwest, we offer fast shipping times by air and truck to anywhere in North America. If you’re packing your displays, we’ll send them right to you with quick transit times. If we handle your pack-out, we can get them straight to your retailers.
Quick Turnaround When Shipping Retail Displays
As you choose your supplier, factor their quoted shipping speeds into your lead times. Distribution can cause a considerable delay if your supplier works with an unreliable transportation provider. An international manufacturer will rack up extra shipping costs and slower delivery speeds, made even worse if your displays get held up in customs.
We’ve always provided fast shipping speeds to our clients because we’re located here in the United States. Halfway between the coasts, we can get your displays all over the country. Creative Displays Now ships via all methods, including parcel, LTL, full truckload and our own trucking fleet depending on the location and size of shipped displays.
Get an Estimate From Creative Displays Now!
It’s right in our name — fast-approaching deadlines are our specialty. We do things right the first time, at record speed. We deliver 100% custom displays at the fastest speeds in the U.S. Experience Creative Displays Now’s 99% on-time turnaround advantage for yourself. Contact us for an estimate on your custom displays now or call us at 1-855-284-6922!
