Managing Marketing Fulfillment: The Time-Honored Practice of Outsourcing

Published On June 07, 2018

Iron Mountain recently sponsored the publication of a Mighty Guide titled 8 Experts on Marketing Fulfillment. In this ebook, marketing executives from a variety of industries share their insights on getting the most from their companies’ fulfillment programs.

Several key themes emerged over and over. As we noted in our previous blog, which introduced the ebook, we plan to take a deeper dive into each of those topics.

In this week’s post, three of the Mighty Guide’s experts discuss the benefits they’ve derived from outsourcing their companies’ programs.

Focus on What You Do Best; Outsource the Rest

Before the era of assembly lines and mass production, it was common for craftsmen to handle every aspect of a product’s creation, from design to finishing touches. As populations grew and demand for goods increased, companies realized they could produce those goods more quickly and efficiently by breaking the work into segments and having people specialize in a particular function.

Eventually, the same principle came to be applied to the overall operations of an organization, giving birth to the concept of outsourcing. By hiring outside specialists in areas like accounting, payroll or other administrative functions, companies could concentrate on the business functions that actually produce their revenues.

It’s a concept that makes a lot of sense – especially for critical support functions like marketing fulfillment.

As Stephanie Nehmens, content marketing manager for LendingClub, a peer-to-peer loan company, puts it, outsourcing marketing fulfillment saves her company time and money and allows their subject matter experts to concentrate on strategic initiatives. It also adds flexibility to LendingClub’s marketing budget by allowing them to tap their provider’s expertise on an as-needed basis, rather than putting additional people on the payroll.

Supriya Raina, director of global marketing for Piramal Critical Care, which manufactures inhaled anesthetics, echoes Nehmans’ sentiments. At her previous workplace, she says a single marketing person was assigned to manage inventory and found it overwhelming. “We either carried too little inventory, or we had too much. It was just never optimum.”

That changed when the company outsourced its marketing fulfillment. “Don’t try to do it all by yourself,” she advises. “Outsourcing your marketing fulfillment will really help you concentrate on your marketing strategy. In the long run, it will give you better ROI.”

As Beth Moorhead, a marketing consultant with Legrand AV Technologies, a company that provided audio-visual mounting and display solutions, frames it, outsourcing allows businesses to gain access to highly specialized expertise that would take a long time to develop on their own if they choose to manage the function in-house. She says working with an experienced marketing fulfillment partner has helped her company rein in costs and do more with existing budget while producing a faster turnaround.

If your company isn’t outsourcing fulfillment, you should look into it. A great way to start is to download the Mighty Guide, then contact Iron Mountain. Our experienced fulfillment specialists will be happy to discuss your needs, from pick-and-pack and custom kitting to print management and more.