commonsku Dev Summit: Inspiration and Collaboration IRL

"We have seen a 300% increase in the number of purchase orders being submitted via PromoStandards by commonsku distributors since launching the PO service in September.''

-Jon Norris, Starline

This past week we took a big step in enhancing distributor-supplier relationships.

We gathered our key supplier partners at commonsku HQ in Toronto for our inaugural commonsku Dev Summit event. The goal? Furthering our integrations while collaborating on enhancements to the PromoStandards specs that will benefit the industry as a whole.

Senior tech executives from Starline, Hit Promo, alphabroder, Gemline and SanMar spent the day working alongside the commonsku development team to collaborate and problem-solve their way to an improved integration. 

As a distributor, this means big things for you and your workflow. 

commonksu's vision of a Connected Workflow facilitated by PromoStandards  - and the efficiencies achieved through the continued investment in time and resources by our supplier partners -  is a large part of why the commonsku distributor community has quickly grown into one of the largest and fastest-growing distributor networks in our industry. 

But having you on-board the commonsku platform is just the beginning.  

The commonsku technology platform is now integrated with PromoStandards services that allow our distributors to tap into a supplier's live inventory, check order status and ship notifications as well as the ability to configure presentations and orders using product data that comes directly from our supplier partners (complete with customer-specific pricing) and then submit those orders electronically through the PromoStandards electronic purchase order service. This connectivity allows you to streamline your workflow and makes the entire order process faster, easier, AND less prone to errors.

"We have seen a 300% increase in the number of purchase orders being submitted via PromoStandards by commonsku distributors since launching the PO service in September,'' says Jon Norris, Starline's VP of Operations. "By working closely with commonsku we continue to grow that number, allowing more distributors to place orders electronically through an integrated workflow that makes it easier for them to automatically place orders and have the confidence that those orders are being produced accurately and shipped quickly."

It is through our close relationship with these supplier partners and their willingness to invest the time and resources necessary to provide these services to our distributor community that we are able to make this vision a reality for our distributor community.

"Having the people responsible for PromoStandards integrations at our key supplier partners around the table in the same room was invaluable," says Robert Cathro-Oliver, commonsku's lead developer. "We were able to gain consensus on many of the outstanding challenges with the PromoStandards specifications and put in place a plan to take our supplier integrations, and the efficiency gains achieved through those integrations, to a new level."

Creating a better way to work together is crucial for the industry to move forward. 

A rising tide lifts all boats, and we’re excited to be working with our supplier partners to deliver a seamless workflow experience for our distributors via PromoStandards.  

P.S. A big thanks to the teams at Starline, Hit Promotional Products, Gemline, alphabroder and SanMar for taking the time out of their busy schedules to travel to Toronto to work with our team - we look forward to continued innovation and collaboration with you!

We're also working diligently to get new supplier partner integrations into the queue so stay tuned for additional announcements of new suppliers who will soon be part of commonsku's Connected Workflow!