Comparing a second supplier with the current fulfilment setup

Add a second POD supplier only for a defined job: an item the current route cannot supply, a named fallback or a better-supported version of an existing offer. Compare the same product requirements and Australian destination against the current setup. A larger catalogue or an advertised local network is not enough to establish that the second route will work.

Define the gap and the comparison

Record the current blank or material, decoration method, artwork dimensions, variants, print areas, packaging requirements and sales channel. Give the candidate the same brief. Mark any substituted blank, method or variant; that change may require new images, sizing information or copy.

For the same basket and destination, record current production and delivery charges, production estimate, transit estimate and exception handling. Keep selling fees and likely remedy costs visible. Compare the customer promise as well as the supplier charge.

Check each candidate's operating model

Printful: fulfilment-location controls. Printful's help centre addresses whether a seller can choose where products are fulfilled. The current rule for the exact product and order should be confirmed in the account.

Printify: provider selection or replace/switch. Printify documents how to change print providers or replace (switch) products. Replacing a live listing is a switch, not a parallel fallback.

Printify: Printify Choice Global Fulfillment. Printify documents a programme called Printify Choice Global Fulfillment. Coverage for a particular listing and destination must be confirmed before it is treated as the second route.

Gelato: dynamic production assignment. Gelato lists Australian apparel production, although technical or logistical limits can move an order elsewhere. It assigns locations using availability, delivery address and capacity, and says it does not currently display an order's exact production location. This model cannot support a promise that every parcel came from a fixed Australian site.

Pros and Cons of Each Supplier’s Operating Model for Australia

Decide how the second route will be used

Create a row for every required variant: product fit, file and print-area fit, route visibility, full supplier charge, supported customer estimate and exception process. Keep an unknown marked unknown.

If the documentation screen passes, a representative paid order can check one configuration's item, parcel and mapping. It cannot establish a supplier-wide defect rate or future delivery performance.

Decide whether the candidate will carry a separate product, replace an existing route or remain a manual fallback for named variants. Check open orders before any switch; a change to a live product listing is not evidence that an already submitted order has moved suppliers. If both routes stay active, describe any material product or delivery differences to buyers.