28 • MAY 2025 • PPAI Printful executive Chris Victory says POD can provide promo firms with a way to eliminate inventory risks, reduce waste and offer a wide range of customizable apparel and decor products. By Nicole Rollender Is Print-On-Demand The Competitive Edge Distributors Need Right Now? Voices | Innovation Rollender / Shutterstock.com WITH CONSUMERS EXPECTING to order and receive a custom T-shirt or mug within a few days, print-on-demand service is increasingly becoming the norm for many retail businesses. For distributors who manage online stores for companies, schools or organizations, POD may become a standard operating procedure to ensure fast turnaround versus waiting weeks to ship merch. PPAI Media asked Chris Victory, head of partnerships at business services provider Printful (PPAI 885793), to weigh in on the opportunities POD presents for distributors this year. Victory has more than two decades of experience leading business development and partnership teams, including at Shopify. PPAI Media: How have the demands of clients and distributors in the promotional merchandise industry evolved in recent years, and what’s driving these changes? Chris Victory: In recent years, particularly since 2020, there has been a noticeable shift toward more personalized, smaller-run orders rather than traditional bulk purchases. Additional emerging trends, such as the need for faster delivery times and the growing demand for reliable, cost-effective global solutions, are driving the
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