What is a "3C" decoration order and why is it important?

If a New York Promo Products company sent an order to a contract decorator in New Jersey we assume it would be in English. But the specifications, even if written in English, would likely be misunderstood on many points. For example, the order might call for sewing the logo at “LC”, by which the sender means “Left Chest”. But the contract embroiderer knows could mean “Left Chest”, “Left Collar” or “Left Cuff”. Or the order might use only “1251” for the 2nd color in the logo. Madiera 1251 is Kelly Green, but Sulky 1251 is a light teal. Which is it? These are but two examples of many possible misunderstandings in a single order sent from one company to another.

The first order will generate a lot of emails and phone calls while these erstwhile partners work out the ambiguities. After that every order should be easier as they work out a common understanding, as long as key contacts are not out for the day, or one quits. 

One major Promotional Products company studied their own process for working with contractors. They found that the average order took about 2 hours of clerical time spread over a full day to eliminate questions and come to full agreement. They figured that process averaged $28 per order just for their time. We can assume the contract decorator spent as much time on the process themselves. 

That is a massive cost. One company estimated the total cost for the industry is over 2 Billon dollars per year. What is the solution?

 The solution is automation. It was done long ago in other industries. Automation has a prerequisite and that is standardization. And the starting point for standardization in the decorated products industry is what we call a "3C Order"

 A 3C Order is one which meets a rigorous standard for uniformity of format, completeness and content.  :3C: stands for Clear, Complete, Correct.  Others in the industry call this a "Well-Formed Order".  No matter what you call it, a 3C Order can be immediately accepted by the receiving production facility because it has everything the contractor needs to proceed immediately and produce it without delays or stoppages for lack of infomration.  In other workds, it can be instantly understood by anyone in the industry.

 We’ve worked out a way to create complete 3C Orders (even including manufacturing palette specific colors!), send them securely to another company in seconds, be immediately understood by the receiving company, come to written agreement on changes and accept them in minutes.  Its a two step process.  First, the order is produced using the EmbTrak Coloring system, which requires all information and checks it with automatic validation tools.  Second, the order can be went within EmbTrak via the DecoLINK system for the Distributors copy of EmbTrak electronically over the Web to the Contractor's copy of EmbTrak without change or delay. And if there are questions about the order, either party can query the other using the built in Audit Log, which records all the back and forth until agreement in writing is reached.  

That should be the standard throughout the industry!