Agency Branded Merchandise Scope of Work Checklist

A branded merchandise scope of work records the required result, included work, client and agency inputs, owners, assumptions, exclusions, acceptance points, and change process for one project. It helps the parties price and hand off the same scope. This checklist is a planning aid, not a contract or legal advice.

Start with the agency merchandise client brief when the audience, purpose, quantity, budget, branding, destination, or date is still undecided. Use the scope record once the agency needs to define how a chosen direction will be researched, quoted, approved, packed, and delivered.

State the required result before listing tasks

Describe the finished outcome in observable terms. For example: “Prepare an approved set of branded participant kits, packed to the agreed specification and delivered to the named receiving point for the client's event.” The example defines a result; it does not claim that a particular product, packing service, or date is feasible.

Federal Acquisition Regulation 37.602 directs federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to describe work in terms of required results rather than how it is performed or the number of hours, and to assess performance against measurable standards. Its statement-of-objectives provisions include purpose, scope or mission, period and place, background, performance objectives, and operating constraints. A private merchandise project is not a federal performance contract, but that list is a useful completeness check. 48 CFR 37.602

For a merchandise project, record:

• Business moment and intended recipient use.
• Finished products or complete kits required.
• Quantity basis, variants, and any justified spare or tolerance question.
• Approved delivery point and required in-hand window.
• Brand, presentation, documentation, and procurement constraints.
• Evidence that will show whether each agreed deliverable was supplied.

Keep a desired outcome separate from an unsupported promise. “Ready for the event” is incomplete until the parties define what is being delivered, where, and which client decisions or external dependencies control the schedule.

Separate deliverables, inputs, assumptions, and exclusions

These four categories prevent different parties from reading the same sentence in different ways.

Category	What to record
Deliverable	The item, document, decision, proof, pack, report, or delivery handoff to be provided, with its version and acceptance basis
Required input	Artwork, quantity, destination, approval, product fact, payment step, or other dependency another role must provide
Assumption	A stated fact used for planning that must be rechecked if it changes
Exclusion	Work or responsibility that is outside the proposed scope, including who owns it instead when known

An assumption should not hide a missing core input. If the delivery address, artwork authority, or approved quantity is unknown, record the owner and decision date rather than treating a placeholder as confirmed.

Exclusions should be specific enough to prevent surprise. “Website development, recipient address collection, client media outreach, and venue labor are client or agency responsibilities” is clearer than “other services excluded.” Include only exclusions that apply to the actual project; this example does not assign those responsibilities universally.

Create one scope row per workstream

Use the following table for the project. Add or remove rows according to the real scope.

Workstream	Scope record
Product direction	Result and included work: Suitable candidate or selected item described against the brief; Required inputs and owner: Brief version, quantity, budget, use, date; Acceptance evidence: Client records the direction selected for the stated next step; Assumptions and exclusions: Selection is not a production release.
Commercial quote	Result and included work: Applicable configuration and cost scope; Required inputs and owner: Product, decoration, quantity, packaging, destination; Acceptance evidence: Quote version and inclusions/exclusions reviewed; Assumptions and exclusions: Validity and unresolved charges remain visible.
Artwork and proof	Result and included work: Production artwork/proof for the agreed product and locations; Required inputs and owner: Approved marks, files, colors, dimensions, approver; Acceptance evidence: Exact proof version and decision recorded; Assumptions and exclusions: Physical outcome depends on the selected proof/sample route.
Packaging or kitting	Result and included work: Complete pack specification and proposed assembly scope; Required inputs and owner: Component list, inserts, variants, pack counts; Acceptance evidence: Approved pack specification or sample path; Assumptions and exclusions: No assembly, storage, or fulfillment capability is presumed.
Delivery handoff	Result and included work: Goods reach the named agreed point under the quoted route; Required inputs and owner: Receiving location, hours, labels, date, contact role; Acceptance evidence: Carrier/receiving evidence available under the agreed service; Assumptions and exclusions: Receipt at one point is not individual-recipient delivery.
Project closeout	Result and included work: Delivered scope and unresolved exceptions summarized; Required inputs and owner: Final shipment, issue, and remaining-stock information; Acceptance evidence: Agency and client record the next action; Assumptions and exclusions: No causal campaign-performance claim is implied.

The table does not make every row an openXpromo deliverable. It gives the agency a place to state who owns the result and which supplier capability must be confirmed.

Name the decision roles without multiplying approvers

Each decision needs a driver, one authorized approver where the organization permits, contributors with relevant knowledge, and the people who must be informed. Atlassian's DACI framework uses those four roles and separates contributors from the approver. That is one available planning model, not a required agency structure or evidence that a specific tool improves the project. Atlassian DACI framework

Use the client's and agency's actual titles. One person may hold several roles. Record authority by decision: concept, budget, artwork, product documents, proof, production release, and any material change. Do not assume that an account lead, designer, procurement contact, or supplier can approve outside the authority assigned to them.

Keep client communication and supplier instructions aligned. If the agency controls the client relationship, state who may communicate which decisions. Do not infer white-label service, blind shipping, net pricing, or a no-solicitation agreement from the word “agency”; any such arrangement needs written confirmation.

Define commercial views without exposing the wrong information

State which document is a supplier quote, an agency internal comparison, or a client-facing proposal. These views may contain different information and should not be forwarded interchangeably.

Record the currency, quantity, configuration, cost inclusions, exclusions, credits, taxes or duties where applicable, payment conditions, and quote validity. If the client-facing amount includes agency services, keep the merchandise sourcing budget clear inside the authorized agency record. Do not publish supplier-confidential pricing or internal margin information in a general client deck.

The merchandise quote comparison worksheet explains how to normalize known, included, not-applicable, and unknown cost lines. This scope record determines which work and costs the project actually requires.

Define acceptance at each decision, not only at delivery

Acceptance should identify the deliverable, version, reviewer, decision, conditions, date, and next action. A client can accept a concept for quoting without approving a purchase. A proof approval can authorize specified artwork while commercial or production-release conditions remain open.

For physical review, define what a digital proof, blank sample, decorated sample, or pack check is expected to establish. The sample and artwork approval checklist provides the detailed buyer review. Do not turn acceptance of one artifact into approval of facts it does not show.

The actual agreement controls warranties, remedies, cancellation, liability, payment, and production authorization. This checklist creates none of those terms. The agency's authorized commercial or legal owner should review the agreement appropriate to the project.

Use a controlled change record

When scope changes, record:

• Current scope or quote version.
• Requested change and business reason.
• Deliverables, quantities, artwork, packaging, destinations, or dates affected.
• Supplier confirmation of whether affected work can still change.
• Cost, schedule, proof, documentation, and acceptance consequences.
• Authorized client and agency decision owners.
• Revised version, decision, conditions, and timestamp.

Pause only the affected decision or work when that is still possible under the agreed process. If production has already been released, an updated scope record does not cancel earlier instructions. Obtain the supplier's acknowledgement of what can be held or changed before representing the revision as executable.

Send a scope-complete sourcing request

Before requesting a final comparison, check that the scope names the result, configuration, quantities, budget basis, artwork authority, proof path, packaging, destination, in-hand date, acceptance owners, and material unknowns.

openXpromo is a B2B sourcing partner for corporate gifts and branded merchandise. Send the merchandise project scope with the relevant brief and product references. Product, price, minimum, decoration, proof, packing, availability, documentation, freight, and timing remain subject to project-specific written confirmation. The submitted checklist does not establish that every listed workstream is available or included.