Why the delay?

     Recently I was confronted by a sales representative wondering what was causing a production delay with one of their bags. A client had contacted them curious of the status and of course they came to me to get answers. 

     I explained when a bag is turned in with missing art work it takes time to track down the creative. Clients often promise to email their logo or ad copy but many fall short in completing this task in a timely manner or at all. Other times the business owner or marketing person isn't sure what they want to advertise and this also causes a delay. And finally, as I've personally encountered recently, the person who originally signed the agreement is no longer employed by the business and no one there has any clue when we inquire about art work. These are just a few of the roadblocks we encounter on a weekly basis. 

     Then, after all of this leg work to get the information needed, the ad still needs to be created, proofed, edited for corrections, reproofed, and finally approved. And that's just for one of the ads. Imagine if there are ten more on the bag. 

     This particular rep had none of these issues with the bag in question. 

     The other challenge occurs when we receive contracts with missing or incorrect contact information. If the client's email address isn't written on the contract we are left to contact them by the phone. As most of us have experienced, reaching someone on the phone isn't as easy today as it used to be. With voicemail, email, and texting technology, people aren't as willing to answer a call from an unfamiliar phone number. We are left leaving voicemails and those too are often routinely ignored. Quite often it isn't until we've left a number of voicemails or a polite but stern message, someone finally takes the time to call us back. And when they do call back, frequently we have to remind them of the program's details and what is required on their end of the deal. Once this is covered, only then can we begin the process of securing the creative and producing a proof for review. 

     This wasn't the case with this particular rep's bag, either. They had all the correct contact information and all the art was included when they turned in the bag. Perplexed, they asked why then their bag was delayed. It's a fair question but for every bag that has all the correct contact information or appropriate artwork, there are a dozen or more which do not. The bottom line is when we have to chase down the information needed to complete a bag it delays every other bag in the production line. 

     The Medibag office staff has no interest in holding onto bags longer than necessary and we certainly don't want to upset our clients. So the next time you wonder why the delay, consider whether or not you've provided all the correct contact information on your agreements or all the art with your bag layout. A lot of small delays here and there in the process can equate to bigger delays in our production time which ultimately affects everyone involved.

Todd Hollst, Art Coordinator