Committee Updates – February 2026
PromoStandards committees meet each month to advance initiatives that support the continued improvement and adoption of our standards. Members are encouraged to participate in committees or workgroups that align with their interests and expertise, providing valuable opportunities for collaboration and leadership within the community. Read the updates from February 2026 below. Best Practices Committee February marked an important milestone for the PromoStandards Best Practices Committee. At the 2026 PromoStandards Tech Summit, the committee shared updates on ongoing Best Practices efforts and formally introduced the PromoStandards Supplier Self‑Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ)—a new initiative designed to strengthen integration quality and transparency across the PromoStandards ecosystem. The SAQ provides Suppliers with a structured way to evaluate and clearly communicate the quality, consistency, and maturity of their PromoStandards implementations. By aligning against published specifications and best practices, Suppliers can identify gaps, track incremental improvements over time, and give integration partners greater confidence when working together. Broad participation in the SAQ is a key step toward improving overall data quality and strengthening integrations industry‑wide.The SAQ is now live and available to all Suppliers. We strongly encourage Suppliers to complete the questionnaire thoughtfully and to the best of their ability. To support adoption, the following resources are available: The SAQ template for download and completion Instructions and guidance for uploading completed SAQs to the PromoStandards website Sample completed SAQs from Koozie Group, SanMar, and SnugZ USA, available on the PromoStandards site for reference Members can learn more about the SAQ, its purpose, and how to get started by reading the official blog post: Introducing the Supplier Self‑Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) As always, members with questions are encouraged to reach out via Slack or the #best‑practices channel, where committee members are happy to help. Thank you for your continued engagement and support as we work together to raise the bar for PromoStandards adoption and integration quality across the community.
Tech Summit 2026 People of The Year
As part of PromoStandards annual tradition at Tech Summit, we were proud to announce those selected by our members as standouts in the industry throughout 2025. Each winner is nominated based on the type of company they work for, being a Supplier, Distributor, or, Service Provider. Our Supplier of the Year winner was Ajay Kaul, IT Operations Leader at SanMar. Ajay is a long standing member of PromoStandards, and head of the Best Practices Committee. The Distributor of the Year was Allen Casey, Senior Manager of Integrations and Automation at HALO. Allen is a member of our Standards Committee. Last, but certainly not least, was our Service Provider of the Year, David Shultz, CPO at commonsku. David has been an outspoken advocate of PromoStandards for many years and has become known for creating engaging music and video content for the PromoStandards community. We would like to once again thank each of them for being outstanding members of the organization, and congratulate them as our People of The Year!
Introducing the Supplier Self Assessment Questionnaire
At Tech Summit 2026, the Best Practices Committee introduced the Supplier Self‑Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ helps Suppliers evaluate and communicate the strength of their PromoStandards implementations. It provides integration partners with greater transparency while helping suppliers identify areas for improvement over time.We encourage all Suppliers to complete the SAQ. Strong participation improves data quality and strengthens integrations across the ecosystem. Below you will find:The SAQ template for download and completionAn instructional video for uploading your completed SAQ to the PromoStandards website If you have any questions while completing the SAQ, please feel free to reach out to Ajay Kaul via slack or email marketing@promostandards.org, and we will be happy to put you in contact with one of our best practices committee members for assistance. Download the Template
Website Update – Member Exclusive Tools & Upcoming Demonstration
Hello PromoStandards Community, We are excited to share that we have updated our website! 🔹 Member Exclusive Benefits: Tools such as documentation, best practices, and the validator have always been member exclusive benefits. With our old site we were not able to fully implement this benefit, but with our new site it is now in place. 🔹 For Non-Members: Access remains limited to the Service Provider Directory and Endpoints. Please make sure you are advising your customers accordingly when it comes to available resources. There will be a a Website Demonstration during the September PromoStandards Office Hours Session. 📅 Date: September 16, 2025⏰ Time: 2 PM EST📍 Where: Zoom (link will be sent upon registration) 👉 Click here to register This session is open to both members and non-members, so please feel free to share with your teams. If you missed the session, please keep an eye out for resources to be posted or linked here.
S&S Activewear Completes Acquisition of alphabroder
S&S Activewear, a tech-enabled specialtydistributor of apparel and accessories, today announced that it has completed itsacquisition of alphabroder, a leading distributor of trade, retail, apparel brands andbranded products. Completion of the transaction enables S&S and alphabroder tocommence a thoughtful, multi-year integration process designed to ensure thecombined company continues to deliver exceptional customer service, whileleveraging the strengths of both brand offerings. S&S Activewear CEO Frank Myers will continue to lead the combined company, withsupport from alphabroder CEO Dan Pantano through the integration process. Fornow, S&S and alphabroder continue to go to market under their respective brandofferings backed by their existing distribution channels. “Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for our company, as we build onthe unique strengths of S&S and alphabroder to enhance the customer experience,strengthen our relationships with our industry partners and continue to invest ingrowing our sales force and technology capabilities,” said Frank Myers, CEO of S&SActivewear. “Over the past few months, we have had valuable discussions with ourcustomers and vendors that will inform the strategic direction of our company andensure S&S is best positioned to deliver for our partners into the future. As we workto bring this combination to life, our top priority is ensuring our employees,customers and vendors continue to succeed alongside S&S.”“We are pleased to officially join with S&S and kick off the integration process,” saidDan Pantano, alphabroder CEO. “Together, we are focused on building on ourbusiness momentum while continuing to exceed the expectations of our customersand our partners as we begin our next phase of growth as a combined company.” S&S Activewear Remains a Member of PromoStandards About S&S ActivewearFounded in 1988 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, S&S Activewear is aleading technology-enabled distributor of apparel and accessories in the UnitedStates and Canada. S&S offers more than 80 brands, including basic garments tofashion-forward styles, with over 4 million square feet of warehouse space acrossNorth America. S&S services a broad range of customers through its nationwidenetwork, including retail brands, e-commerce companies, garment decorators,promotional products distributors, entertainment merchandisers, lifestyle brandsand web-based platforms for apparel customization PromoStandards’ Impact “PromoStandards has contributed greatly to standardizing integration conversations with our customers. It’s removed much of the discovery phase and allowed us to get straight into implementation,” said Aaron Anderson, Sr. Director of Software Engineering at alphabroder/S&S. Become a PromoStandards Member! At PromoStandards, we understand streamlining product development and management is necessary to keep up with growing demands and a complicated supply chain. That’s why our standards are free for anyone who needs to use them. We also offer resources for our members, helping them to create even more positive change for their businesses. Members can join events, chat with the entire PromoStandards community through our Slack channel, have full access to our directory of service providers, and more. To get started, join one of our membership levels today! Read More
Member Spotlight – HALO Branded Solutions
PromoStandards is committed to improving supply chain and transactional efficiencies in the promotional products industry. The business was created in 2014 when a dedicated group of distributors, suppliers, and service providers created the first set of industry standards. Over the years, the number of standards grew, and PromoStandards became a nonprofit in 2019. In this member spotlight, we’re highlighting HALO Branded Solutions, one of the founding organizations of PromoStandards. HALO Branded Solutions is the largest promotional product distributor in the United States and has purchasing agreements with more than 250 of the world’s largest suppliers. This robust supplier network allows them to provide excellent pricing and value to their clients. Continue reading to learn more about HALO and how adopting PromoStandards integration helped move their transactions forward. HALO Branded Solutions Established in 1952 and headquartered in Sterling, Illinois, HALO Branded Solutions is the global leader in branded merchandise, company uniforms, and employee recognition and incentive solutions. With a team of over 1,800 members spread across 42 offices worldwide, HALO serves businesses of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to thousands of mid and small-size organizations. PromoStandards’ Impact Before integrating PromoStandards, HALO team members had frequent and repeated follow-up calls and emails with suppliers about order status and shipping information. With PromoStandards, this was significantly reduced, and the company experienced more timely communication between account executives and customers on order progress and shipment tracking information. “PromoStandards is a foundational element to our data integration strategy,” said Kevin Pollack, COO of HALO Branded Solutions. “We continue to build around and upon PromoStandards to streamline and standardize a wide variety of order-related processes. We see great value in expanding the use of PromoStandards in the future.” Make Your Business Even Better With PromoStandards PromoStandards makes it easy to communicate with others in the industry. Your business can also reduce the number of phone calls and emails received, thereby saving time and labor. With four membership levels, you can choose the one that works best for you. Join PromoStandards and start your journey!
Member Spotlight – Hit Promotional Products
Distributors, suppliers, service providers, and decorators drive the success and growth of the promotional product industry. PromoStandards is an organization where those entities can collaborate to create and integrate industry-changing order communication and management standards. In this member spotlight, we highlight Hit Promotional Products, a top industry supplier that provides premier design services with your favorite in-demand brands. Please keep reading for more on Hit and how PromoStandards has helped its business. About Hit Promotional Products Hit Promotional Products (Hit) is a family-owned business—a leader in the promotional products industry for over 50 years and ranks among the top five suppliers in the U.S. As a PromoStandards Advisory Supplier member, the company holds two spots on our 2024 Board of Directors and a spot as a 2024 Executive Committee member-at-large. The supplier is headquartered in Largo, Florida, and operates production facilities across four states: Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Hit’s collective production space, totaling 1.4 million sq. ft., and 3,000 team members allow the company to produce more than 3,500 orders daily, with about $200 million worth of inventory on the ground, water, or on order at any given time. Throughout its years of operation, Hit has continuously evolved to meet the demands of changing times and customer needs. Today, customers can expect a supplier that: PromoStandards’ Impact “PromoStandards has changed the way we do business internally. Serving up data for order status, tracking, invoice, (etc.), nearly in real-time and at scale has allowed Hit to upgrade systems and build robust internal business processes,” said Raj Mukherjee, CIO at Hit Promotional Products. “It [PromoStandards] has become key to our customer sales cycle.” Before adopting PromoStandards’ industry standards, Hit faced the challenge of integrating with distributors on a case-by-case basis to communicate and manage inventory, invoices, orders, and products. As any supplier in the industry will confirm, specializing their communications systems for each distributor is tedious, time-consuming, and increases the risk of clerical errors and miscommunication. Hit Promotional Products sits among the list of fellow distributors, suppliers, and service providers collaborating to create the first industry standards before PromoStandards’ official founding in 2019. Since then, the company has maintained its leading position in PromoStandards development and integration. Benefits that Hit has observed with PromoStandards integration include: Drive the Industry as a PromoStandards Member! At PromoStandards, we aim to develop, improve, drive the adoption of, and facilitate the integration of promotional product industry communication standards. Our members comprise an extensive community of distributors, suppliers, service providers, and decorators who, by integrating our standards, can send and receive order information in real time. Join PromoStandards today by selecting one of our four membership levels so you can streamline your operations and scale your business.
Looking Back and Looking Forward – Letter From the Chair
PromoStandards started back in 2014 when a group of highly committed industry technology leaders rolled up their sleeves to create the first set of industry standards from the ground up. “Working in a cramped conference room with fellow executives from the industry’s most prominent companies was an exhilarating and incredibly productive experience,” said PromoStandards Chair Eric Alessi. “These are some of my fondest memories of collaborating in the industry.” The industry, what we expect from technology, and PromoStandards have changed over the course of a decade. As 2023 comes to a close, Alessi reflects on how PromoStandards has evolved. Our Volunteers While many board members maintain a hands-on approach, there has been a notable increase in dedicated volunteers who generously contribute their time and expertise for the betterment of the industry. This influx lightens the load for board members and fosters a more united and cooperative approach toward achieving progress. Our Focus The board is still laser-focused on our mission to facilitate the development and adoption of open interoperability standards. We continue to create new standards, and now we’re at a place where we can update these standards. Order Status 2.0.0 and Order Shipment Notification 2.0.0 are new versions of standards that were released in 2023. Our Future PromoStandards has firmly established itself as the industry standard for digital integration. We’re looking to the future to prepare for what’s next and continue to care for the standards and community we’ve built. We are ready to journey into the next decade and hope you join us. Here’s to a great year in 2024 and the years that lie ahead!
Member Spotlight – Antera Software USA, Inc.
PromoStandards is a community, and those who become members have access to important information and proven service providers. In this member spotlight, we’ll cover Antera Software USA, Inc., a service provider that runs promotional product software for distributors, suppliers, and printers. Here’s an in-depth look into who Antera Software is and how adopting PromoStandards integration helped move their transactions forward. Antera Software Antera Software, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, specializes in creating and implementing custom software solutions that target challenges faced by promotional products and print industries. Its flagship cloud-based software, Advance, is used by industry professionals worldwide to automate their workflows and manage businesses effectively. Advance offers a comprehensive suite of operational and financial management capabilities, incorporating cutting-edge CRM technology and integrated modules. One of its key features is its Open API technology, which allows for seamless integration with third-party products and common accounting systems, such as QuickBooks. PromoStandards’ Impact Before integrating PromoStandards, Antera Software faced the industry-specific challenge of inconsistent information. Many of their customers were unhappy with the out-of-date data. To come up with a common way to integrate, employees of Antera Software talked with promotional product suppliers and distributors to come up with a common way to integrate. It was these people who mentioned PromoStandards. Antera Software utilizes all PromoStandards endpoints in Advance. This allows customers to collaborate effectively on orders and exchange data, documents, and information in real-time, resulting in tremendous time savings. What’s more, distributors have the ability to see live inventory levels and place orders electronically. Changes made automatically update on the platform. “PromoStandards has allowed our customers to grow exponentially. The accuracy and speed of information from PromoStandards have allowed them to increase their volume of business with fewer employees,” said Rick Peters, CEO of Antera Software USA, Inc. Become a PromoStandards Member! At PromoStandards, we make it easy to communicate with others in your industry. Find suppliers, distributors, and decorators and send and receive information to them in real-time. With four membership levels, you can choose the one that works best for you. Join PromoStandards and start your journey!
Looking Forward – Letter From the Chair
PromoStandards is inherently forward-thinking. With a commitment to leveraging established open standards and developing new technologies, the organization actively strives to enhance the efficiency of the promotional products industry. Our proven success serves as a testament to our mission and approach. This month, PromoStandards Chair Eric Alessi reflects on how PromoStandards understands and meets industry needs. PromoStandards’ Survey To better understand the top needs of the industry, PromoStandards surveyed its members in the summer of 2023. Amongst its members are the most progressive and successful companies in the industry. Survey results did not disappoint. The data, full of valuable insights, is indispensable in confirming our success and determining what we need to do to move forward. Our Progress In November 2023, the analysis of the survey served as a foundation for discussions at the Board’s Annual Planning Meeting in Tampa, Florida. It provided clarity for our path moving forward. The meeting kicked off with a timeline illustrating our progress. PromoStandards started in 2015 as a group of progressive companies committed to the industry, became a nonprofit in 2019, and held its first official in-person board meeting and membership meeting in 2020. Like the standards developed, PromoStandards has iterated and grown. The organization went from a version 1.0 organization at its inception to version 2.0 with official meetings. Now, PromoStandards is at the cusp of 3.0 as it continues to refine and expand its standards based on industry feedback. Know Your Starting Point Anyone who’s traveled knows that to understand where you are going, you need to understand where you’ve been. Otherwise, it’s difficult to determine if you’re on the right track. The starting point serves as a reference throughout your journey, allowing you to gauge the distance covered so far and forecast the time it will take to reach the next milestone. Looking back, it’s amazing what PromoStandards has accomplished. It’s been a remarkable journey. Our future looks equally amazing. There are more great things to come. Travel to the Tech Summit Make it a point to travel to the 2024 Tech Summit. It features three days of education tracts. Attendees will learn about PromoStandards integrations and industry-relevant technology, and have ample opportunity to network with industry peers. We look forward to seeing you there!
