Summary

Cacti launched nationally with distribution already handled. What wasn't handled was everything around the product: POS displays, retail kits, branded merchandise and activation materials scattered across vendors. We centralized all of it, assembled kits, and shipped them to stores, field teams and events.

The situation

Beverage distribution moves liquid. It does not move the displays, signage, promotional kits and merchandise that decide whether the liquid sells once it's on a shelf.

Cacti had the first part solved. Product was available across key markets with real demand behind it. The gap was execution at retail, and it's a gap most brands don't see until they're in it.

Without a system, marketing assets end up spread across vendors, printers and regional teams. Nobody can answer what exists, where it is, or what's already deployed. Fulfillment becomes reactive: a field team asks for materials, someone tracks them down, and the campaign moves at the speed of that search.

At national scale, with thousands of components across markets, that becomes the constraint on how fast a brand can activate.

What we did

Centralized every marketing asset in one place. POS displays, retail signage, promotional kits, branded merchandise and activation materials, consolidated into one controlled location instead of spread across vendors and regions.

Tracked everything in a WMS. Every item scanned at intake, categorized by campaign, and monitored through its lifecycle, so the brand team could answer what's available, what's deployed and what's ready to ship without asking anyone.

Pre-assembled retail kits. Signage, displays and campaign materials built into complete kits rather than shipped as components. Every store receives the same execution-ready package, and retail partners don't have to assemble anything.

Shipped direct to stores, field teams and events. Materials distributed to retail locations, field marketing teams and activation sites, so people on the ground had what they needed before they arrived.

Results

Faster deployment from centralized inventory and streamlined fulfillment, with campaign materials moving quickly from warehouse to market.

Consistent execution across markets, since every location received the same pre-assembled kit rather than assembling their own version.

Real-time visibility into what existed and what had been deployed, so campaign planning ran on data.

Less friction for field teams and retail partners, who stopped chasing materials across vendors.

Capacity to scale as campaigns expanded, without a proportional increase in coordination.

Why this one matters

This is a capability few brands know to ask for, and not every 3PL is set up to handle.

Distribution and trade marketing execution are different jobs. Distribution puts product on a shelf. Trade marketing decides whether anyone notices it there, and it runs on physical materials that have to be built, stored, kitted and shipped on a campaign calendar.

Most brands hand that to their distributor, who isn't set up for it, or to an agency, which isn't a warehouse. The materials end up somewhere in between, and campaigns slow to the speed of finding things.

The pre-assembled kit is the specific insight. Shipping components to a store and expecting staff to build the display means every location does it differently and some don't do it at all. Shipping a finished kit means the execution is identical everywhere.

Questions this raises

What is trade marketing logistics? Storing, assembling and distributing the physical materials behind retail execution: POS displays, signage, promotional kits, branded merchandise and activation assets. It's distinct from moving product.

Why not have our distributor handle marketing materials? Distributors are built to move product at volume, not to store, kit and deploy campaign assets on a marketing calendar. The two run on different timelines and different skills.

Can you assemble retail kits? Yes. Signage, displays and campaign materials pre-assembled into complete kits so each location receives an identical, execution-ready package.

Can you ship to field teams and event sites, not just stores? Yes. Retail locations, field marketing teams and activation sites, timed so materials arrive before the team does.

How do you keep execution consistent across markets? Standardized kits assembled centrally. Consistency fails when individual locations assemble their own materials from loose components.

Want to learn more?

Let TCB show you how retail execution is done the right way!