Sustainability has become a central theme in modern marketing. Consumers today expect the brands they interact with to minimize their environmental impact and demonstrate a meaningful commitment to “greener” practices.

At the same time, businesses are under pressure—both internally and externally—to report their progress on achieving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. Marketing fulfillment vendors—who manage the production, storage, and distribution of various branded materials—sit at a critical junction in this movement, since their operations directly influence resource consumption, waste generation, and carbon emissions.

Autumn is upon us. That means tradeshow season—and all the work that entails—can’t be far behind.

Every year, preparing for upcoming events raises a number of questions and concerns. Some of these are new and unique to the current season, but most are recurring issues or themes that are critical to effective planning but are also easy to forget. Learning from the past can help you prepare for the future, but it’s hard to remember all those details when you’re busy with all your other important projects.

As you well know, there are lots of factors you need to think about ahead of any new trade show season. You want to be as prepared as possible to avoid the normal chaos that surrounds every event. Effective planning means not having to scramble at the last minute to get materials produced, or resort to expensive expedited shipping methods to get those materials to your booth on time.

Over the past decade or two, it has become increasingly common for marketing organizations to outsource the bulk of their writing, design, and fulfillment services to outside vendors.

From a business perspective, it makes a lot of sense. It’s typically more cost-effective to bring in outside help only when needed rather than hire—and pay for—full-time staff. It’s largely a transactional relationship that lasts only as long as the project in question, and it works well for both sides.

Managing those relationships so that they continue to benefit both sides, however, requires some work. It’s natural to grow comfortable with the vendors you’ve carefully groomed over the years, steeping them in your corporate culture. They know you; you trust them. It’s comfortable. It’s…easy.

That’s when it’s time to take a close and critical look at the relationship.

Since ChatGPT was publicly launched in late 2022, businesses across all industries have employed the site and other AI-driven tools to assist in everything from content creation to data analysis, decision making, workflow automation, even legal compliance.

The latest trend is to use AI to help them understand spreadsheet-based reports. ChatGPT for Excel, a powerful AI-powered add-on for the Microsoft Excel application, leverages OpenAI's ChatGPT to automate tasks, extract insights, and streamline data management with features like AI-powered tables, data translation, and formula generation.

Event season is heating up. That means companies will be looking for shippers to help them get their materials to venues around the country.

There are many vendors to choose from. It’s a highly competitive field, and shippers will be negotiating aggressively and making lots of promises to get the business. That is the time to be highly skeptical and to do the necessary research before signing a contract or even making a handshake agreement.

Everyone knows that if an offer seems to be too good to be true, it usually is. Making an ill-advised decision has significant consequences, and making a bad decision about a shipper when your event is on the line could be disastrous.