Marketing to the Military

[MarktheAnimator]

Hey, is there a marketing section on the site?  I haven't seen one.... so I'll post this here.

I'm interested in selling products thru the military px system.  Does anyone know who I can contact to solicit stuff?

thx,

Mark :)

[MarktheAnimator]

ok..I may have answered my own question...

http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/505314012-px-enlists-services-web-extend-already-wide-reach.html

google is my friend. :)

still..., does anyone know more?

[MarktheAnimator]

oooo...look what I found guys:

http://www.aafes.com/pa/selling/index.html

So sell your stuff thru the military. :)

[JasonPalenske]

This is good to know considering I have a large training base right next door.

[MarktheAnimator]

ok... I've filled out the "AAFES Source List Application" form...

A couple of things needed include a SIC number (links are provided so you can choose one), a DUNS number (a phone number is listed to call so you can get one), your tax is number... and regular stuff like your addy, phone, email, etc.


Then it looks like they put you on their supplier list and then w/in a few months someone may contact you... heh....  I send an email to someone at GAMA and he said they may have a military buyer at GTS.....

Hope the info helps,

Mark :)

[guildofblades]

Avoid.....Like.....The......Plague.....

Trying to supply the PXs is a nightmare for a small company. They say they are small business friendly, but that in no way can be considered true when you look at the fine print of doing business with them.

First, yes, every product MUST have a UPC Code. Not an ISBN, a UPC.

Second, in order to do business with them you must be EDI compatible. Getting and EDI system set up is like a million dollar infrastructual investment....

Third, take a look at the follow URL. These are fees they slap you with for the slightest thing ebing wrong with your order. They have so many things listed it would be neigh to impossible NOT to have things wrong....
http://www.aafes.com/pa/selling/performance.htm

My company produces a large number of military history strategy board games at low price points. The military PX stores are such a natural fit for our products its crazy. No way in hell I am going to tough their supplier agreements with a hefty thousand foot pole.

Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Publishing Group
http://www.guildofblades.com
http://www.1483online.com

[JasonPalenske]

Actually it's not so bad, I use to run a run warehouse that supplied commisaries and a lot of the charges are there to keep distributors from screwing up, hence why all the charges are the same. The only ones you would really have to worry about would be packaging and identification ones because unfortunately is this day and age of terrorism the military takes shipments not being right very seriously. The main thing you want to remember is to make sure what is in the box is there and going to the right place. A good portion of those charges are geared towards extremely large shipments that really a game company isn't go to match in size. All of this comes from practical experience and the barcoding can be very simple too.

[guildofblades]

Well, I realize they must be reasonably lax on some of those requirements because almost no company on earth is going to get all of those specifications correct.

Still, I would not do business with any entity that wanted me to agree to all of that weather they have a track record of applying it or not. It would not be too difficult to see a $1,000 order only to get slapped with more than $2000 in penalties. No thanks.

Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Publishing Group
http://www.guildofblades.com
http://www.1483online.com

[David Artman]

Perhaps you could investigate existing distribution companies with product lines already in place? I mean, surely there's a book seller or a video game seller or someone to whom you could "consign" your product, to be sold through their existing infrastructure and also, thereby, managed at a fairly high level (in terms of stock levels, reorders, point of contact, frequency of restock, etc).

Of course, most of us are publishing as PDF for POD or download, so you could just use advertising that specifically targets the military, and let your existing sales channels do the work. I wonder what a radio ad on Armed Forces radio costs? :-) Or maybe you could get an ad in some kind of periodical that is circulated to the bases (doesn't the military have some kind of "Soldiers Magazine" or something?).

When all's said and done, can you even be sure your product would be noticed in a PX? The few I've been in seemed, well, a bit disjointed and disorganized; and I would wonder if (a) anyone would ever see the product, if it was stuck in some random location because there's not an existing "section" for such things; and (b) if my product would be handled delicately enough so as not to devalue it with damage before any buyer ever sees it. We're not talking about boots and clothes and stereos, here; you're wanting to get a paper (or cardboard) product safely onto shelves not intended for such products, where they will be noticed, and where they will be protected from damage. It might not be worth it, in the long run, even if you can get the infrastructure setup easily.

My 2¢;
David