Streamlining PPE & Safety Procurement with tradeit

As safety & PPE suppliers strive to meet the demand for their products, B2B ordering portals have emerged as a critical tool for streamlining the procurement process, optimising supply chain efficiency, and ensuring the timely delivery of vital protective equipment. With tradeit, from Red Technology, PPE suppliers can harness the power of B2B Ordering Portals to transform their operations and better serve their customers, while meeting any legislative requirements.

B2B Ordering Portals: A Game-Changer for Safety & PPE Suppliers

Industries relying heavily on PPE and Safety equipment, such as construction, energy, manufacturing, aerospace and healthcare, often operate with remote workforces spread across the country or further afield. Additionally, stringent legislative requirements govern the procurement, maintenance, and use of PPE, imposing obligations on both suppliers and buyers to ensure compliance with safety standards and regulations.

By leveraging technology and automation, tradeit’s e-procurement portal streamlines and standardises procurement workflows, reduces manual errors, and enhances visibility and control over the entire procurement lifecycle. For safety & PPE suppliers, e-procurement offers numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, cost savings, and better collaboration with buyers and suppliers.

Key features of tradeit's B2B Portal for safety & PPE suppliers

tradeit's e-procurement solution is specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of PPE suppliers, providing a comprehensive suite of features and functionalities to streamline the procurement process and drive operational excellence. Here are some key features:

Centralised Procurement Hub - tradeit serves as a centralised platform for managing procurement activities, enabling suppliers to create, manage, and track purchase orders (including PODs), ensuring transparency and efficiency in procurement operations across multiple locations. Status changes can trigger email alerts including internal approval of orders/quotes.

Grouping/Splitting of Orders - Coordinating the procurement and delivery of PPE to dispersed workforce locations entails logistical intricacies, including managing multiple delivery addresses, varying requirements, and transportation logistics. Using tradeit, orders can be split into multiples so each staff member’s PPE/Equipment is grouped together (and named) for single box shipment (i.e. often referred to as staff packs, person packing, man packs, or manbagging), either to the same address or to individual addresses, all from a single master order meaning it’s ideal for central purchasing hubs or offices when placing orders for a large team of remote/satellite workers or locations.

Wardrobe Management - Your customers can create approved lists of products (product wardrobes) for their staff to buy from. They can define restrictions like how much they can order e.g. staff can order 2 jackets, 2 trousers & 2 boots in X period of time, or have a budget/points allowance assigned based on their role. They can also have a bundle of pre-defined garments based on their job role where the only option is to select the sizes they require.

Compliance Management Tools - tradeit offers built-in compliance management tools to assist suppliers in adhering to legislative requirements, including automated documentation generation, certification tracking, and regulatory reporting capabilities, ensuring adherence to safety standards and regulations. This can be combined with automated alerts mentioned below.

Budget Setting - Enable budget setting for users/departments or company-wide with timeframes and alerts when close to limits. Also includes override function with permission from designated user.

Role/User Management -Define what each user is able to do and see within the portal with granular permissions managed by the master user(s) including placing, raising and approving orders (with spend thresholds for order values if required), updating customer information, adding new users, authorising returns, and much more.

Reporting (Spend, Compliance, User & more) - Ability for your customers to view overall spend and spend per user / group / site / location / budget / cost code etc... Compliance reporting can include which users have what PPE, its age, compliance & if user has signed for PPE/Equipment.

PunchOut - Integration and support for PunchOut catalogue/website format for ordering.

Configure Alerts - Using the platform’s triggered email functionality, notifications can be created to alert customers to certain key information e.g. if a certified product / PPE has a warranty period then alert main buyer to users who have ordered workwear that now needs replacing. Additionally, the platform can also target users that have remaining allowance encouraging them to spend.

Automated requisition and approval workflows - With tradeit, customers can automate the requisition and approval process, streamlining the creation and approval of orders. Customisable workflows allow suppliers to define approval rules based on factors such as order value, product category, user job title and budget allocation, ensuring compliance with their customers’ organisational policies, regulations and budgets.

Push Tailored Content - Using the platform's extensive CMS you can tailor and personalise content, offers and more to users based on who they are e.g. If it’s the master purchaser, you can start to push extended catalogue items, offers & promotions to them.

Invoicing & Credit Limits - Allow your customers to have full visibility and control of their accounts, allow them to view/pay invoicing online, see credit terms & limits and more.

User Groups - Create user groups (based on things such as location, job role or department for example) and assign specific products to those groups.

Supplier Catalogue Management - Allows PPE suppliers to create and manage digital catalogues of their products, complete with detailed product descriptions, specifications, and pricing information. Suppliers can easily upload and update their catalogues, ensuring that buyers have access to the latest product offerings and pricing.

Real-Time Inventory Visibility - tradeit provides real-time visibility into inventory levels and availability across multiple stock locations, allowing buyers to make informed purchasing decisions based on current stock levels. Suppliers can set up automated alerts for low stock levels, backorders, and replenishment requirements, ensuring that inventory is replenished promptly to meet demand.

Quotation Management - Enables users to generate new quotes which can be converted into orders, modified, saved, or sent to other users for approval and purchase.

Quick Ordering/Re-Ordering - Order multiple products (including different variations like size & colour from a single page) for faster purchasing. Also includes simple re-ordering of previously purchased items with a single click.

Design Builder - Enables customers to create new personalised products with their own designs, logos, names and text on, including a preview and overview of additional charges. Can include the editing of existing custom products if required and if role allows.

Purchase Orders - Purchase Order validation against predefined format or existing records to ensure alignment with internal accounting.

Personalisation - Personalise company/department level admin areas with specific customer branding elements such as logos, colour schemes and information. Also allows the personalisation of products, pricing, payment options, shipping options, downloads, marketing information and much more.

Self-Service Portal - tradeit's self-service portal empowers users to manage their accounts, track orders, and communicate with buyers in real time. The portal provides suppliers with a centralised platform to access critical information and perform essential tasks, reducing reliance on manual interventions and improving collaboration with buyers.

Integration with ERP Systems - tradeit seamlessly integrates with leading ERP systems, enabling seamless data synchronisation and streamlining order processing, invoicing, and inventory management. By eliminating manual data entry and reconciliation tasks, integration with ERP systems improves accuracy, efficiency, and productivity across the procurement process.

Conclusion

As safety equipment suppliers navigate the challenges of procuring PPE for remote workforces while meeting legislative requirements, tradeit's B2B Portal emerges as a game-changer, empowering suppliers to streamline procurement processes, optimise inventory management, and ensure regulatory compliance. By leveraging tradeit's robust capabilities, safety equipment suppliers can overcome the complexities of e-procurement, deliver prompt and reliable service to remote workforce locations, and uphold the highest standards of safety and regulatory compliance in today's dynamic business landscape.