Running out your door at the last minute to meet your friend for coffee is not the same as a last-minute order for sports jersey Your friend will forgive you if you are late. Your team or coach may not.
It is a new year and a new season. You want your athletes to enter the sports arena at their best for the season opener. And you don’t want to create undue stress for your coaches or teams as deadlines and schedules loom.
Here are a few reasons why it makes sense to place your order for sports jerseys and sports uniforms as early as possible.
1. Shipping Sports Jerseys – Local and Overseas
Shipping can quickly become an issue even in the best of times. Any delays in ordering your uniforms and sports jerseys can quickly snowball into an avalanche of problems. Although Fourg Athletics is a local US business, many men’s lacrosse uniform and women’s soccer uniform companies are NOT. They reside in different counties on different continents, which means standard shipping times go from weeks to months.
Wherever your vendor is located, you should know when the product will ship and arrive. It’s ideal to order early for the best shipping experience.
You should consider having samples and/or actual mockups sent before committing if ordering overseas. If this is not possible, try to determine what will happen if the order isn’t correct when you receive it months later.
There likely aren’t any brick-and-mortar uniform shops conveniently located near you. Make sure you have time in your schedule to receive, review, and approve uniforms before they are shipped out. This will help avoid errors that rear their ugly head a few months down the road when your order finally shows up and your season is about to begin. Whenever possible, you should try to order domestic sports uniforms to avoid any further delays.
2. Supply Chain Issues with Your Sports Jerseys
Did all the schools order early and deplete the inventory of possible uniform choices? Perhaps the vendor can fulfill the shirt order but not the pants for another 2-4 weeks. Supply chain problems can haunt you with inventory issues that may be insurmountable on the eve of a new sports season.
Asking questions about ordering custom sports team uniforms as well as understanding vendor’s inventory and timelines and ordering well-stocked items will go a long way to a successful order. Avoid items and vendors with inventory issues (obviously). And also, don’t forget to adjust your timelines to accommodate possible supply chain issues if you choose to work with an overseas supplier.
3. Shipping or Manufacturing Errors – How will you resolve them?
Yes, in a perfect world, errors wouldn’t happen. But unfortunately, they can and do. Make sure you have built enough time into your schedule to accommodate issues that could crop up along the way. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, as they say.
Depending on your schedule, overseas vendors should require additional attention from you to reduce the likelihood of errors that cannot be resolved within standard international shipping timeframes. Ask your vendor and make sure you understand how they deal with and resolve problems before you commit to an order.
Whether you are selecting a local vendor like Fourg Athletics who produces the best sports uniforms or want to try your luck with an overseas vendor, there can be considerable differences in the ordering process and how that process may affect your uniform order timeline. Giving yourself ample time to order and receive the items will bode well with your schedule and peace of mind.
We would love to show you how Fourg Athletics has successfully fulfilled uniform orders for over a decade. Get started on your order today.