In our industry, distributors, and suppliers also have two distinct types of growth, and both are a requisite for future-proofing a thriving business. And since Q4 is well underway, many of us are beginning to think about 2025 business planning and benchmarking, we wanted to share a few ideas from our numerous interviews with leaders on how to create benchmarks for both type 1 and type 2 growth.

Sam Brown is one of the very few marketing strategists whose expertise is solely in the promotional products business. Sam has been the chief marketing strategist at some of the most notable brands in the industry including Summit Group and Brandvia.

As our company has grown and evolved, so too has our brand, adapting to better represent our mission, values, and the dynamic industry we serve. Today, we're excited to unveil our latest chapter, the commonsku Brand Refresh, which encapsulates our dedication to staying at the forefront of innovation and technology.

Track your supplier spending, and make better decisions for your business, with commonsku’s Supplier Spend Report

Today, we are talking with Neil about two fundamental priorities for Polyconcept: sustainability and how deeply sustainability permeates all of their decisions at PCNA, and technology through the lens of making distributors’ lives easier.

Streamline your client communications, and your team’s processes with commonsku’s new Client Shipping Notifications.

These five distributors elevated their creative approaches using commonsku Shops, enabling them to stand out in a highly competitive market.

Stephen Musgrave is the Executive Vice President at Genumark, the largest Canadian-owned distributor and one of the largest in North America. Genumark has been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, is a 13-time Prix Image Award recipient, and was honored as one of Counselor Magazine’s Best Places to Work. With its 42,000-square-foot sales and distribution facility and over 100 full-time employees, Genumark serves over 2500 active accounts. 

You can now create mock-ups inside the commonsku platform with our brand new in-app image editor!

Liz got her start as the production manager at RightSleeve, then became the director of supply chain for Rightsleeve and eventually, the VP of Supply Chain and sustainability for Genumark, one of the largest distributors in North America and managing a team of 16 people focused on optimizing supply chain diversification and sustainability to drive growth .

The CEO Summit included a full day of topic-by-topic, peer-led conversations and two community dinners as well. Prior to our gathering, we surveyed attendees to ask about the most pressing challenges they face today.

Today on the skucast, we’re joined by Kirby Hasseman, whom some of you know as the CEO of Hasseman Marketing & Communications, a full service marketing company and promo distributor.

We’re excited to announce that a new commonsku Shops theme has been added to the design tab of commonsku.

We’ve created a step-by-step guide, first, by painting a picture of how things can be better, second, by demonstrating the problem bogging you down, and then finally, a clear path forward. You’ve taken the most important step already, moving toward wanting to make a change!

This year, a renewed focus on operations, sourcing, and technology has emerged for suppliers. At skucamp in Austin, Texas, we held an interview on stage with three of the industry’s largest supplier leaders: Neil Ringle, CEO at PCNA, Dan Pantano, President and CEO at alphabroder prime, and CJ Schmidt, President and CEO at Hit Promotional Products.

Tired of trying to find beautiful photos for your commonsku Shops? You can now source high-resolution images from Unsplash's database to use in the design of your Shops.

Emma Ralphs is a strategist and copywriter at Butterfly Cannon, an independent, award-winning, sustainably-focused brand design agency, headquartered in London, specializing in aspirational brands across the world. Emma wrote an article, “From Tacky to Trendsetting: How to Create Covetable Brand Merch,” based on her research experience and work done for the exceptional Johnnie Walker merch campaign.

From protest merch to campaign merch to bands and brands, branded merch has become what one author calls a social signifier: From Tim Horton’s shop to UPS merch to Biden’s Dark Brandon mug and more. Plus, how branded merch is the perfect medium for what some are calling the Joyconomy.

skucamp 2023 has come and gone, leaving unforgettable memories and a remarkable merch collection. As we reflect on the success of skucamp 2023, we're excited to take you through the highlights of our exclusive merch lineup, which played a significant role in enhancing the event experience.

skucamp, our business planning boot camp, concluded last week in Austin, TX, featuring a standing-room-only crowd and kicked off with New York Times bestselling author and “teamwork doctor” Liane Davey, who floored the room with her insight through her workshop on ”The Good Fight: Build a Productive Conflict Culture.”