American Greetings - One Supply Chain Doesn’t Fit All
The Problem
American Greetings was producing $0.99 cards and $9.99 cards using the same supply chain. The result?
Costs were too high for budget cards.
Processes were too rigid for premium ones.
And scaling either meant breaking the system.
The company needed a supply chain that could flex—without snapping.
Cleveland, Ohio
1906
Social expressions
$1.6 billion
27,500
Challenge
Build a system that:
Reduces per-unit costs for simple, high-volume cards.
Maintains high quality for premium, hand-finished cards.
Supports both models without duplicating effort or infrastructure.
Results
10–18% cost savings per card across various types
Transportation cost optimized to ~$0.004 per card from China
Faster throughput for automated cards
Premium quality preserved for handcrafted designs
Increased resilience via supply chain diversification and risk buffers
Process
1. Cost Dissection
We broke down total cost per card by type and production method (current, automated, outsourced). Factoring in labor, freight, and inventory carrying costs, we mapped the following:
Card
Card Type | Current | Automation | Outsourcing |
|---|---|---|---|
Simple | $0.036 | $0.032 | $0.044 |
Moderate | $0.073 | $0.056 | $0.069 |
Complex (no handwork) | $0.117 | $0.108 | $0.112 |
Complex + Handwork | $0.207 | — | $0.169 |
2. Segmentation by Complexity
We classified SKUs into four production “tracks”:
Automate simple cards with high repetition.
Outsource moderate and complex cards to low-cost regions.
Keep in-house the premium, hand-crafted pieces needing tight control.
Optimize inventory by forecasting demand separately for each track.
3. Scenario Simulation
We modeled outcomes using a hybrid supply chain approach:
Cost impact
Lead time risk
Labor headcount reduction
Transition costs for automation
This gave us a clear go/no-go framework for investment decisions.
Conclusion
American Greetings didn’t just need to cut costs. They needed clarity.
The solution? A hybrid, split-by-purpose supply chain that aligns each product’s complexity with its most efficient path to production.
Simple cards now move fast and cheap. Premium cards get the care they deserve.
One company. Two markets. A smart, scalable system that delivers on both fronts.