PPAI Media is looking back on the year’s most impactful news and trends in a four-part series on the stories that shaped the promotional products industry over the past 12 months.
In the series’ third entry, we share articles that document the digital transformation of the branded merchandise market.
Click through to this year’s top innovation articles.
SAGE Makes Real-Time Inventory And Order Status Updates Possible Through PDX
At the beginning of 2024, SAGE – the official technology partner of PPAI – announced a new development in the capabilities of Promo Data eXchange (PDX), the formula behind PPAI’s mission to eliminate unnecessary phone calls and emails.
Already integrated into the systems of suppliers using PDX, real-time updates on inventory levels and order status are now able to be integrated into the backend systems for distributors and PPAI business service members, too.
This allows distributors and member service providers to perform a single integration to access data from every participating PDX vendor.
Hit Promotional Products Sets PPAI 100 Standard For Innovation
For a supplier to land a top five spot on the PPAI 100, it must be a well-rounded promo company. But it’s also hard to get there without excelling in one area so comprehensively that no rival company could honestly claim to outshine.
For Hit Promotional Products (PPAI 113910, Platinum), the No. 4 supplier in the 2024 PPAI 100, that area is innovation. Wherever the promo industry is going in the future, Hit is prepared to help usher it there.
“Innovation is in the DNA of every Hit employee,” says chief information officer Raj Mukherjee. “In a sense, most of our organization, including operations and IT, works as a startup.”
‘Advanced’ Robots Optimize S&S Activewear’s Warehouse
In May, S&S Activewear (PPAI 256121, Platinum) – the No. 5 supplier in the PPAI 100 – announced a deployment of hundreds of robots at its warehouses, a result of its growing partnership with German company Körber Supply Chain and Geekplus robotics.
The robots are intended to increase efficiencies within the supplier’s processes and represent a big step toward automation within the promo industry.
Promo Firms Must Avoid AI Washing Or End Up In SEC’s Crosshairs
As more companies turn to artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their business operations, it’s vital that they avoid “AI washing” – the latest target of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Most PPAI 100 suppliers (92%) and PPAI 100 distributors (87%) are engaging with AI in their business operations, according to PPAI Research.
During the Messenger AI Summit last December, SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned companies against AI washing, comparing it to the practice of “greenwashing,” where a company’s environmental or sustainability-related statements are misleading or false, the Wall Street Journal reported. “Don’t do it,” Gensler said, emphasizing that securities laws require “full, fair and truthful” disclosures.
PCNA Launches New ProudPath Website, Loyalty Program
In April, Polyconcept North America (PPAI 113079, Platinum) – the No. 3 supplier in the PPAI 100 – announced two initiatives designed to enhance the distributor experience.
The New Kensington, Pennsylvania-based firm launched a new website that simplifies searches in its ProudPath platform, a portfolio dedicated to social and environmentally impactful products
Meanwhile, PCNA+ is the supplier’s loyalty and rewards program designed to provide small and medium-sized distributors with a suite of tools and resources designed to accelerate their business growth.
More Trending Innovation Articles From 2024
SAGE Unveils Real-Time Custom Image Generation Tool
FTC Cracks Down On Scammers Impersonating Businesses
TikTok Ban Bill Passes The U.S. House
Case Studies: Industry Suppliers Detail Their Experiences Integrating PDX
