| On any given day, you can find outsourcing companies | | | | flexibility to accept multiple display projects. Display |
| processing and shipping large volumes of Point of | | | | projects that have become common place are Music |
| Purchase displays filled with a variety of products to | | | | CD's, Movie DVD's, Electronic games, Electronic |
| retail and warehouse locations all over the country. | | | | components, consumer hard lines, books and PC |
| Product displays have become a mainstay in retail | | | | software just to mention a few. |
| environments. Retailers have found that their | | | | Outsource providers works with companies to design |
| customers are attracted to a visually appealing floor or | | | | and manufacture displays components or they will |
| countertop display and that increased sales of | | | | work with pre-existing designs. Those display |
| products can be directly tied to being housed in | | | | components are generally shipped prior to the arrival |
| displays. Displays have become an appealing way to | | | | of the products that will go in them. When the |
| merchandise seasonal products for events such as | | | | customer supplied components arrive at assembly |
| Christmas, Halloween, Valentines day or simply to | | | | facilities, all of the required parts to assemble the |
| promote sales events or new releases. Displays can | | | | displays are accounted for. A quality sample inspection |
| be quickly set up and removed compared to | | | | is performed and compared to original art work or |
| merchandising in hard set fixtures. | | | | samples to assure that the graphics and color scheme |
| An example of this is music CDs and DVDs. In recent | | | | match what the customer purchased. Usually the |
| years with the onslaught of technology such as IPods, | | | | timeline between arrival of parts and the shipping of a |
| and illegal file sharing, music sales have decreased | | | | project is so narrow that accounting for parts and |
| drastically. Retailers have found that displaying music | | | | quality inspections are absolutely vital. Depending on |
| CD's and DVD's, such as new releases or perennial | | | | the number of displays involved in a project, displays |
| favorites coupled with advertising, have much higher | | | | will start being assembled several days prior to the |
| sales than the same music simply placed in a CD or | | | | ship dates or in some cases within a day of receiving |
| DVD department rack | | | | all of the components. The product that will be placed |
| Most music CD and DVD displays contain time | | | | into displays, generally arrives several days to several |
| sensitive products that must be received at retail | | | | weeks before the first ship dates. Most product |
| locations on a set date, corresponding to the | | | | assortments are retail site specific and come marked |
| advertised release dates. This of course presents | | | | for the ship too location. Retailers can fully customize |
| retailers with a whole host of challenges in the logistics | | | | the product mix going into each retail locations |
| process. The receipt and accounting for all display | | | | display(s). Several days before the ship date, product |
| components and retail merchandise and time release | | | | will be loaded into already assembled displays and |
| of shipments based on their specific transit times are | | | | readied for shipment, attaching all required labels, |
| all equally important in the preparation and execution of | | | | packing slips and BOL to the outside of the shipping |
| any project. Many wholesalers and retailers have | | | | shroud. Displays are time released working backwards |
| sought out the services of outsource logistics | | | | from the date that customers require them to be in |
| companies to help with this labor intense process and | | | | their retail or warehouse locations. |
| to meeting the in store date requirements. | | | | The complexity of this process makes displays an |
| Some outsourcing companies have experience | | | | ideal candidate for 3rd partly outsourcing providers in |
| working on a wide variety of display types. Because | | | | that the time and expertise can be concentrated on |
| of this experience, they been able to develop | | | | this type of project to make the outcome a logistics |
| processes to manage this complexity and maintain | | | | success. |