From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#31]
12 Jun 2006
To: ALL
Marco Update!
I know there are others on the forum that were pretty excited to hear that Marco/Discount Trophy was going to be opening a warehouse in the Kansas City area. To date, I have heard plenty of stories about the inconsistent inventory levels.
I spoke with a national representative for Marco to determine whether their inventory issues were something that was standard practice. The response was as evasive as would be expected.
I spoke with Aaron, who manages the warehouse in Kansas. His answers seemed very honest and direct.
He indicated that he only got about half of the warehouse set up with shelving before the busy season kicked in. It was only he and a second employee who were handling the operation, which put a quick stop to the completion of their set-up. He said that things have slowed a little and he will be focusing on getting the balance of the shelving up, which will allow him to get his inventory levels up.
I asked him if he was required to stock all of the items in the catalog. He told be that was his goal. That tells me that it is optional.
The order I placed today was for six different items. To complete the order, the items would need to have been shipped from 3 different warehouses. I ended up ordering the items they had in Kansas, and canceling the balance. I now have to contact my customer to make alternative plans.
Unless Aaron is able to buck the trend of what I see in the other Marco/DTC warehouses, I don't see the company ever becoming more than a back-up source to companies like JDS or Plastic Plus.
EDITED: 12 Jun 2006 by DATAKES
From: basehorawards [#32]
12 Jun 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#31] 12 Jun 2006
That is my experience too. I like their selection but I can not have confidence that when I order something from them that I will get it.
I ordered some silver plated trays from them on May 24th for a customer that I do an order for each week. I may get them this week. I have had to rearrange my customer's orders twice to compensate for not having the trays. Not good service.
In my opinion they have too many warehouses. They do not keep enough stock in each warehouse because they have so many. Fewer warehouses strategically placed is a far better business model than Marco's.
From: Mike (SPACE_ENGRAVERS) [#33]
12 Jun 2006
To: ALL
I too have had many issues with DTC. Unfortunately they have several items that I can't find other places for a reasonable price. Several of their eagles and a couple of their military items are really nice but I can't find them at JDS or others...so I have to keep ordering from them. So far, of our three orders we've placed with the, everyone has had issues. The first order they didn't tell me that it was split shipped and a $1.69 item cost me an extra $8.79 in shipping cost. I won't recover that price in the least. I'm really hoping that the Kansas warehouse will be much better!
Mike
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