The stockists have direct access to 34 marketing collateral products through the webstore, including flyers, brochures, newspaper advertisements and invitations and the ability to personalise marketing collateral and order PDFs or printed material directly.
"The stockists can log into the secure website that becomes an extension of their business," says Annemarie Burger, director at Remata. "They can select any of the preloaded products, select unique specifications depending on the job and either create a PDF, which they can print locally, or they can print the job through us the same or next day, which we then immediately courier to them."
The webstore leads them through a wizard process that simplifies the collateral creation process for them and ensures that all necessary information is gathered. It means they don't need specialised skills in any graphic programs that can be confounding for non-professionals. After the proof is approved, as part of the process, and they have submitted any applicable coupon information for discounts, the order is automatically submitted and they receive a tracking number which they can use online.
The job is automatically sent to the printer's job queue on the printing press and, once printed, is couriered, at preferential rates, directly to the stockist. Stockists can also request low volumes for jobs such as flyers for select promotions.
"They can choose to print as few as 50 flyers if they want to, or any of several other products, a feature which they won't easily find at other printers," adds Burger. The PDF documents created can include newspaper advertisements that stockists far from the head office can send directly to their local paper ready for insertion into the publication layout.
"Being able to send the material from a central location ensures brand consistency, which is crucial in a geographically dispersed environment. The system also ensures that material can be supplied almost instantly instead of taking days or even weeks to arrange. It also makes it possible for the company to help its stockists with creative material, offering them collateral that they otherwise would not have access to, which can help them to drive new business."
"Brand equity is paramount in the competitive consumer world and it is our responsibility to ensure that the brand is represented correctly all the time. Incorrect usage of our corporate identity, including colours and images, is eliminated through this system and allows easy adherence to our brand guidelines," adds Nichelle Swanepoel, creative brand manager at Dermalogica.
