Bulk Swag.

Bulk swag is branded merchandise produced ahead of time, held in regional warehouses, and shipped to recipients on demand. It trades the no-minimum flexibility of on-demand for lower per-unit cost and faster delivery.

What it is

An organization (often with a CSM) designs and orders a run of merchandise. PerkUp coordinates production with a supplier, receives the finished goods into a warehouse, and then ships individual units to recipients as rewards are sent. Common patterns:

  • New-hire kits: a standard reorder pattern for growing teams.
  • Event swag: produced ahead of conferences and offsites.
  • Executive and milestone gifts ordered in advance.

Suppliers

Bulk orders are sourced through a network of decoration and promo suppliers, each with its own minimums, pricing tiers, and decoration methods — including Sage, OneSource, XDConnects, EU Sourcing, and others (proto/perkup/v1/cart.proto). The supplier catalog is searchable via Typesense.

Production lifecycle

A bulk order moves through a defined production lifecycle (proto/perkup/v1/production.proto):

  1. Proofing — artwork is uploaded and routed for approval; proofs are pending, approved, or rejected.
  2. Production — the supplier manufactures the run once proofs are approved.
  3. In transit — finished goods ship from supplier to the fulfillment warehouse.
  4. Stocked — inventory arrives and is counted into the warehouse.
  5. Delivered — individual units ship to recipients as rewards are sent.

Warehousing & inventory

Stock is held in regional warehouses (US, UK, EU, and more) so recipients get domestic-speed shipping:

  • Stock is tracked per warehouse location as an InventoryLevel (on-hand, committed, available).
  • Shipments to recipients generate tracking tied back to the production and fulfillment.
  • Monthly warehousing fees are billed per package size and quantity (WarehousingInvoice).

For the broader order and delivery mechanics, see Fulfillment & Warehousing.

Source: proto/perkup/v1/{cart,production,warehouses}.proto · functions/src/catalogs/bulk-swag · GLOSSARY.md