Sampleful | FAQs

Why should I choose Sampleful instead of a larger e-commerce platform like Shopify or Wix?

There's a massive difference between what Sampleful does, versus what Shopify, Wix, and other commercial e-commerce platforms do:

Multi-tier requestor/recipient approach
Requestor knowledge level of products
R&D or custom sample requests
Approval workflows
Checks and balances to prevent competitive intelligence data mining

This is not a full list of differences! See our Features page for more.

My sample fulfillment team uses email to receive requests already – what benefit am I getting that I don't already have?

As you probably already know, sample departments aren't typically scrutinized as closely as sales pipeline opportunities are.

You're here reading this because you know or are starting to understand that when you cannot reliably and quickly fill sample requests with pertinent, consistent communication to all stakeholders that you will lose out to your competitors more often.

We often see undelivered sample requests due to customers or recipients not knowing what day they will be delivered their sample, requested on their behalf. Sample coordinators must look at multiple tracking numbers through a manual, tedious process to ensure recipients are notified.

Sampleful streamlines and automates this communication between all stakeholders without relying on (or interrupting) your fulfillment team(s)! Check out our explainer videos on what this looks like or see for yourself by starting your free trial! No credit card required!

We just use a spreadsheet to manage sample requests – what benefit does Sampleful bring to my organization?

Spreadsheets and workbooks are widely used. There are many critical pitfalls that are costing your organization time, missed opportunities, and potentially opening your organization to severe security threats.

Common detriments include:

Subject to significant human error
External distributors and agents pose an extreme security risk your organization
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Shared workbooks files can be lost or corrupted
Slow and have severe scalability limitations
Multiple users in a file create significant revision control risks (even in SharePoint)
Workbooks protected by passwords pose a severe risk, as they can be hacked within minutes by a bad actor
User permissions are on or off, no separation

Sampleful utilizes an enterprise cloud database platform with lightning-fast response times that can be scaled infinitely, and solve each and every problem above, and more! Thousands of requests can be processed simultaneously and accurately updated in the database.

My organization uses MS Teams and SharePoint – why would I use Sampleful versus a shared spreadsheet and/or a SharePoint site where everyone in my organization can have access?

As a team that includes extensive experience in sample fulfillment in a MS Teams and SharePoint environment, the primary issue we've experienced the scale being extremely limited and the features being limited. Issues that we have significantly improved on are:

Having a more reliable and secure access portal for external users such as distributors and 3rd party sales agents/consultants
Using an workbook, especially when shared in MS Teams, leaves your data too close to everyone to where human error can derail the integrity of your data.
Setting up a true enterprise grade system within Teams, internally, will cost your organization potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of development, deployment, and integration. Sampleful is the elegant, off-the-shelf solution to meet and exceed your organization's needs. Choose the Enterprise option for virtually limitless customization if you need additional support and features!

My company uses an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system – why would I use Sampleful versus developing an ERP solution?

Our team has extensive experience with ERP systems including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics/AX, Salesforce, and others; including project management for deploying new models and features for interdepartmental connectivity.

ERP system solution deployment takes a significant amount of time
ERP solutions are immensely expensive, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars
The most important reason is that once an ERP solution is deployed it is extremely rare, in our experience, that the value is truly utilized; the expense does not justify the means

The value that Sampleful brings is that it's a perfected balance of targeted and simplified interdepartmental communication and workflows with measurable and immediate KPI value (key performance indicators).

I need to provide justification for my organization's leadership before moving ahead with Sampleful – how can Sampleful help?

We are happy to help justify your project. Please contact us by email at support@sampleful.com with a call-back number and a proposed convenient time, and we will call you to answer a few simple questions. We will help prepare the justification and value proposition to your organization's leadership.

How should I choose between the plan options: Flex, Professional, or when should I consider Enterprise?

Flex is intended for smaller organizations or sales forces.

Professional is intended for small to mid-size companies looking to grow and capitalize on their rapidly growing business and sales force to hit the ground running and converting ample opportunities – getting ahead of your competitors and in front of your customers here and now.

Enterprise is where the rubber meets the road for an organization looking for a solid foundation coupled with nearly limitless customization options to suit your needs with zero compromise; nothing is off the table. Custom APIs? Restructured workflows? Our development team will work closely with your organization to execute the perfect solution for your needs. We want to be your partner in capitalizing on an oft overlooked but essential business opportunity pipeline element: the perfect sample fulfillment process to create long-lasting and strong relationships with all of your customers with a splash of "oh" and "ah" from them on the sophistication yet tactful solution that Sampleful brings.

What information does my organization need to provide to fully utilize Sampleful?

For the Flex and Professional plan options, you will input your:

Product trade names
Product names and export controls, including commodity codes and other sample preparation instructions
Fulfillment site location(s)
Initial admin users, product managers, and sample coordinators
Requestor user accounts, including external users (distributors, agents)
Starting inventories by site
...and a handful of preference and organizational settings such as preferred/standard sample sizes, shipping options, units of measure

For the Enterprise plan option, you will need to provide this information and more details on the product you wish to have. We will help you every step of the way to create the perfect solution for your business.

How secure is my data if I use Sampleful?

We take data security very seriously, including security education snippets in our email communications such as "don't click links in emails unless you verify the source."

Sampleful utilizes an industry-leading cloud-based database and hosting. This includes security and protection of the highest levels available on the market.

Clients' data is backed up daily, including all information within its databases.

Under the Enterprise Plan, clients have the option to self-host their database (either with a preferred cloud provider and account, or on-premises) via a secure IPSEC/VPN tunnel.

What happens to my data if I decide to no longer use Sampleful?

We personally guarantee that if you decide to part ways with Sampleful we will provide all of your data in CSV format. To receive this complimentary service, email support@sampleful.com.

Frequently Asked Questions