Workflow artifact · Examine
Consolidated Ink
Custom printed apparel & promotional products · analysis completed 2026-03-23 · Quote to production workflow
Interactive modes
Selection state carries across mode switches.
1 · Flow
Lead Acquisition → Quote Delivery
Cycle: 1–3 days · Actor: Sales Rep + Owner (pricing escalation) · Cost: $25–50/lead
Sales
6 steps
Billing
5 steps
Errors ordering from distributors: black heather vs black t-shirts from S&S/Sanmar, youth vs adult size hats from Richardson. Monetary and reputational cost.
No set pricelists. Every quote requires fresh margin calculation using live vendor pricing. Costs $25-50 per quote in rep time.
If the production artist left, mockup creation would shift to overseas artists, potentially delaying sales closures. Subjective sizing also creates customer mismatches.
Each PO takes 10-15 minutes. Jobs can have 1 to 7+ POs. Submitted via email PDFs to vendors. Significant time taken from selling.
Vendor pricing is fragmented: printers have static pricelists, blank distributors have live pricing that changes frequently. No unified view.
At current size each sales person runs the full lifecycle. Lead volume is constrained by rep capacity, not market demand. Scaling requires hiring.
Vendor selection primarily based on customer geographic location and due date. Closer vendors for tighter deadlines.
Target margin: 40%. Acceptable floor: 35%, possibly 30% for large orders. Below 40% requires owner approval.
Printed apparel: 7-10 business days. Patches: 15-20 business days. Overseas parts add 14-21 days.
Deep product knowledge of logo size constraints and embellishment limitations per garment style. Learned through 3-8 months of training.
Strategy briefs focus on getting customer buy-in with one simple question they can answer on the go, rather than sending emails with too many prices and options.
Overseas patch products (200-500 units): use competitor pricing. Apparel jobs (500-1000 units): use vendor pricelists directly. Printer = static pricing, distributor = live pricing.
Live workflow sketch · for reference
Actors
4Steps
11Customer finds Consolidated Ink via search, referral, or repeat visit. Submits a quote request through the WordPress website (Gravity Forms) or sends an email with project details.
Quote request arrives via WP website form (Gravity Forms) or email, received in Pipedrive CRM.
Pipedrive triggers Zapier flow to ChatGPT, which generates a sales strategy brief for the rep on how to respond to the lead.
Rep reaches out using the strategy brief guidance. Focus on one simple question to get buy-in without overwhelming the customer.
Sales rep determines if the customer is ready to proceed based on communication signals and timeline urgency.
Determine pricing method: use vendor pricelists directly for larger apparel jobs (500+ units) or competitor pricing for overseas patch products (200-500 units).
Calculate profit margin for the quote. Target margin: 40%. Below 40% triggers owner approval.
Sales Rep asks Customer if they are willing to cover expedited rush fees for production or shipping. Customer decides — if yes, price increases and may push margin below 40%, triggering Owner escalation.
Sales Rep checks if the calculated margin is below the 40% floor. If at or above 40%, the quote proceeds directly to send. If below, escalates to Owner for approval.
Owner reviews the below-40% margin and decides whether to approve the exception (down to 35% or 30% depending on order size) or reject it, sending the Sales Rep back to rework pricing.
Final quote with all pricing decisions resolved — margin, rush fees, competitive adjustments — sent to customer through Quotient.
Decisions
6- Local Vendor
- Distant Vendor (Price)
- In-House Production
- Domestic Only
- Overseas + Domestic Finish
- Margin ≥ 40%
- Margin < 40%
- No Rush Needed
- Rush Fee Applied
- Customer Declines
- Approved
- Rejected
- Sizing Approved
- Rework Needed