How to Evaluate an Awards Vendor for Your Recognition Program

By , CRP, Vice President, Sales and Service

Evaluate an awards vendor on what happens after the purchase order, not on the price of a single award. Score every vendor on the same 11 criteria (proofing, turnaround, contract pricing, inventory, billing, shipping, ordering, packaging, selection, account management and track record). Awards.com has made awards since 1985, and every criterion below says what goes wrong when a vendor falls short and what we do about it.

A unit price tells you little about how next year's program will run. The awards vendor you pick decides whether names are spelled right, whether 300 anniversary awards arrive in the right offices before the right dates, and whether finance can reconcile the bill without chasing you for paperwork. Those are the questions this guide puts in front of every vendor on your list, us included.

Proofing and Quality Control

A misspelled name on an award, or a logo in the wrong color, doesn't show up in a spreadsheet. It shows up when the box is opened, in front of the person whose name is on it, and every award in the batch carries the same mistake. Proofing is the one check you can't run after the fact, so ask every vendor when you see artwork, what it costs, and whether anything is made before you sign off.

Awards.com sends a free art proof within 2 business days, and nothing goes into production before you approve it. Engraving is free, and so is logo setup. If your logo only exists as a raster file, our artists redraw it as vector for $25, which adds about 1 business day to the proof.

We engrave and decorate at our in-house facilities across the US and Canada and assemble and ship every award from those same facilities. Every order is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Your proof approval means every award in the batch is engraved accurately and beautifully.

Production Turnaround and Lead Times

Turnaround matters because your date doesn't move. A service award banquet, a sales kickoff or a retirement is on the calendar before the order is, and a vendor that quotes vaguely leaves you guessing how late is too late. Ask for lead times in business days, and ask what starts the clock.

Awards.com stock awards ship 5 to 7 business days after you approve the proof. Custom awards take 2 to 6 weeks after design approval, depending on the material, and one-of-a-kind awards show their own production time on the product page. So you can work back from your event date, allowing up to 2 business days for the proof (about 1 more if we're redrawing your logo), your own review time, and 5 to 7 business days of production for stock awards. Our guide to award engraving lead times walks through the full calendar.

Contract Pricing for Volume Award Programs

A recognition program that hands out the same award hundreds of times a year gets budgeted once. A mid-year price increase on that award turns a funded program into a shortfall somebody has to explain to finance.

Awards.com offers contract pricing for volume programs. When a stock award is used at high volume in your program, in the hundreds, we can lock its price for up to 2 years, so the unit price on that award stays fixed. If you're still building the number, our employee recognition budget guide builds it from your roster.

At the other end of the scale, Awards.com has no minimum order on stock awards. A single retirement award is a real order, and a department that needs 3 awards doesn't have to buy 50. Custom designs are most cost effective at 10 or more.

Inventory Storage for Recognition Programs

Inventory costs a volume award program time whichever way you handle it. If your vendor makes everything to order, every anniversary is a fresh production job. If you stock awards yourself, someone in your office is storing boxes, counting them and finding out they ran short the week before an event.

Awards.com holds up to 2 years of a program's inventory free of charge. Your awards are made, stored and ready, so a milestone that comes up in March draws from stock we're already holding instead of waiting on a new production run. It pairs well with a service awards program template, where every anniversary for the year sits on one calendar and the inventory is sized to it.

Billing, Purchase Orders and Invoicing

When an award program ships to several departments in a month, finance ends up with a stack of card charges and receipts to match to cost centers by hand. A vendor that charges at checkout is also billing you for awards that haven't shipped yet.

Awards.com works on terms and invoicing and accepts purchase orders. Program clients can get a single consolidated invoice each month, billed by department or cost center, so each budget owner sees their own spend. And you're not billed until your order ships.

Drop-Shipping to Multiple Addresses

A years of service award for someone who works from home across the country has to arrive at that home, on time, with the same presentation as the one handed across a desk at headquarters. A vendor that ships to one address leaves you repacking and reshipping the order yourself.

Awards.com drop-ships to as many addresses as you need. Send the list, and we ship each award directly to its recipient or to each office. Free shipping on orders over $500 in merchandise applies to a single address in the contiguous US and Canada, so budget shipping for each additional address.

Ordering Process and Program Automation

If every award order means re-sending artwork, re-explaining specs and re-checking the engraving copy, your recognition program becomes a recurring chore that someone eventually stops doing.

Awards.com keeps ordering simple without asking you to adopt new software. Email our order management team, connect through Zapier, or send a spreadsheet of names and milestones, and our team places the orders. Your artwork and specs stay on file, so next year is a reorder instead of a fresh start.

For standing programs, we also build private ordering stores. A private store gives managers across your company one place to order your program's awards.

Award Packaging, Presentation and Inserts

An award that arrives in a plain carton with packing peanuts looks like an afterthought, and for a remote employee opening it at home, the box is the presentation. A crystal award also needs protection for the trip.

Awards.com offers executive gift boxes, branded packaging, protective foam inserts and presentation sleeves. We can add a printed note, letter or certificate inside the box, or include your own preprinted materials, so a message from the CEO arrives with the award instead of in a separate email a week later.

Award Selection and Custom Design

Most recognition programs need more than one kind of award. Years of service, sales recognition, retirements and leadership awards rarely share a format, and a vendor with a narrow range sends you to a second and third vendor. That's 3 sets of proofs to approve, 3 invoices to reconcile and 3 ship dates to chase for one program.

Awards.com carries more than 10,000 awards in crystal, glass, acrylic, plaques and trophies, including the largest online selection of crystal awards. Programs built around milestones usually start with years of service awards, and plaques cover monthly and quarterly recognition in the same order.

When nothing in our catalog fits, the Awards.com design team builds it. Our custom awards page is where you schedule a consultation with our designers.

Account Management and Program Consultation

By year 2, an awards vendor that treats each order as a new ticket has forgotten your program, and you're re-explaining your tiers, your logo rules and your billing setup to whoever answers the phone.

Awards.com assigns a dedicated account rep to program clients. Before the first order, we align with you on who gets recognized, which awards fit each tier, the budget and the timeline. Our employee recognition program guide covers the design side in order, from tiers and criteria to timing.

Track Record and Satisfaction Guarantee

A years of service program runs for decades, so the awards vendor you pick now is the one your successor calls about the 25-year awards. Ask how long the company has made awards, who it makes them for, and what happens when something arrives wrong.

Awards.com has made awards since 1985 and has sold them online since 1997. We make awards for 80% of the Fortune 500, all branches of the US military, and more than 17,000 nonprofits, schools and universities. Every order carries our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Awards Vendor Evaluation Checklist

Put these questions to every vendor on your shortlist and compare the answers side by side.

  • Do I see a proof before production, how fast, and does it cost anything?
  • How many business days from proof approval to shipping, for stock and for custom?
  • Can you lock the price on a high-volume award, and for how long?
  • Will you hold our program inventory, and is there a storage fee?
  • Do you accept purchase orders, invoice on terms, consolidate monthly and bill by cost center?
  • When am I billed, at order or at shipment?
  • Can you ship each award to a different address?
  • How do we place orders without logging into another system?
  • What packaging and inserts can go in the box?
  • Can you cover every award type in our program, and design one when nothing in your catalog fits?
  • Is there a minimum order, and who is my contact after the first order?
  • How long have you made awards, and what happens when one arrives wrong?

Send us your program details, your quantities and your dates, and Awards.com will come back with a quote and an answer to every question on this list.

Awards Vendor FAQ

What should I look for in a corporate awards vendor?

Look at proofing, turnaround, contract pricing, inventory storage, billing, drop-shipping, ordering, packaging, selection, account management and track record. Awards.com sends a free art proof within 2 business days, ships stock awards 5 to 7 business days after proof approval, and has made awards since 1985. A low unit price means little if names come back misspelled or awards arrive after the event.

Can an awards vendor lock pricing for a recognition program?

Awards.com offers contract pricing for volume programs. When a stock award is used at high volume in your program, in the hundreds, we can lock its price for up to 2 years, so that award's line in your budget stays fixed.

Does Awards.com accept purchase orders and invoice by department?

Yes. Awards.com accepts purchase orders, works on terms and invoicing, and can send program clients a single consolidated invoice each month, billed by department or cost center. You're not billed until your order ships.

Can Awards.com ship awards to remote employees at different addresses?

Awards.com drop-ships to as many addresses as you need, so each award can go straight to a recipient's home or office. Send a spreadsheet of names and addresses, and our order management team places the orders. Free shipping on orders over $500 in merchandise applies to a single address in the contiguous US and Canada, so budget shipping for each additional address.

Will an awards vendor store inventory for our program?

Awards.com holds up to 2 years of a program's inventory free of charge. Your awards are produced in advance and kept ready, so each milestone ships from stock instead of waiting on a new production run, and nobody in your office has to store boxes.

Is there a minimum order for awards?

Awards.com has no minimum order on stock awards, so you can order as few as 1. Custom designs are most cost effective at 10 or more. Engraving and logo setup are free, and you approve a free proof before anything is produced.