Polyconcept North America Now Directly Connected to ASI's ESP

Real-time inventory available; distributors can send POs directly to PCNA from ESP

TREVOSE, PA – November 21, 201 –The Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today announced Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America is now directly connected to ASI’s ESP®, giving distributors instant access to real-time inventory, live product data and direct electronic order entry, along with automatic order status updates.

Polyconcept North America (PCNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the world’s leading promotional products supplier Polyconcept, operates Leed’s, Bullet Line, JournalBooks, Trimark Sportswear and Humphrey Line – some of the most successful brands in North America. 

PCNA ranked third on the recent Counselor® top 40 list, with 2015 revenues of $561.5 million. PCNA joins SanMar, BIC Graphic and its proprietary brands, BIC® and Norwood®, along with The Magnet Group (asi/68507) and Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125), as the first major suppliers in the industry to attain e-commerce-connected status in ESP.

As of today, hundreds of suppliers – a mix of top 40, mid-sized and small companies – are in the process of integrating with ESP, with over 800 suppliers already offering live inventory.

“We see integration between suppliers and distributors as a pivotal movement in our industry and are excited to now have PCNA directly connected with ASI’s ESP platform,” said Michael Conway,  
IT director of market-facing applications for PCNA. “The ability for distributors to have access to our latest product information, and real-time access to our inventory levels of those products, is a significant benefit to our customers.”

Further, said Conway, electronic submission of orders and real-time order status updates means PCNA can help customers provide even better service to their clients, a huge advantage in an ever-more competitive world.

Thanks to direct connection with ASI’s ESP, distributors can now order nearly 10,000 products directly from PCNA using ESP Orders, sending orders directly into PCNA’s order processing system. The direct connection provides customers with a better buying experience by eliminating the need for most follow-up phone calls and emails.

Suppliers tell ASI that about 70% of promotional product orders sent by distributors are incomplete. By managing all daily business operations in ESP and viewing inventory and product info at a glance, distributors can save an estimated 45 minutes per day, thanks to increased efficiencies.

“Modernization is essential to any business, and especially to the industry as a whole,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “For months, ASI has devoted time and expertise to helping dozens of suppliers with a wide variety of IT skill sets take advantage of everything direct connection has to offer.”

ASI distributors are now also enjoying the benefits of the new ESP CRM and Orders, which allows distributors to easily add existing contacts and view all past conversations by clicking on a company’s profile, where all orders, quotes and shared presentations pop into view, simplifying re-orders.

Since it’s synced with ESP’s robust product database, the new ESP Orders auto-populates all product data, eliminating rekeying of information. Visit www.searchESP.com to start using all of ESP’s latest features.

For more information on direct integration, contact Christy Tramdaks, ASI’s director of integration solutions, at integrations@asicentral.com.

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $22 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP®, manages the industry’s entire supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital and print content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 61 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s Counselor® magazine provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 500+ live and online education courses for over 40,000 professionals. The company, family owned and operated since 1962, is proud to have been consistently ranked among the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA. For more info: www.asicentral.com.

About Polyconcept North America
Polyconcept North America (PCNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the world’s leading promotional products supplier Polyconcept, operates Leed's, Bullet Line, JournalBooks, Trimark Sportswear and Humphrey Line, some of the most successful brands in North America.  The PCNA companies provide recognized best-in-class services to the industry, ensuring the highest standards of reliability and quality.  Highly complementary product ranges enable Polyconcept North America companies to provide the market with a very comprehensive assortment of products in all categories.  Further information is available at www.pcna.com.