Cheapest Workwear is NOT always Best for you!

Cheapest Workwear is NOT always Best for you!
That’s right, there is a huge misconception amongst a lot of Procurement Officers and Managers that they need to save “just” money for their company by purchasing the cheapest workwear uniforms after assessing various quotations received from a few potential suppliers.
While their intentions might be genuine and correct in one way but unfortunately, they are overlooking the overall picture when it comes to saving money for their company or boss.
They need to also consider additional factors that can help them choose the best value, quality and at the same time save money $$$ for their company. There are some basic factors that each Procurement officer or Manager must consider when assessing multiple quotations received from their potential suppliers.

1) History of the supplier:

a) Are they well known in the industry?
b) How long have they been supplying into the market?
c) Do they specialise in workwear uniforms, if so do they supply other non-PPC/PPE products as well?
d) Do they have a well-established brand name in the industry and are already supplying to prominent local companies and overseas?

2) Quality of the Workwear:
Purchasing workwear uniforms, is nothing like purchasing a Bula shirt, designer T-shirt or pants from a retail store. It requires to physically sighting the actual samples from the potential suppliers and comparing them by placing them next to each other.
Compare the following key points when checking:
a) Handle of the fabric, is it lighter, heavier, firm, stiff or just appears weak?
b) Compare the quality of zips, buttons, studs, do they appear solid, tightly fixed (not loose) and do they open and close firmly? Thread quality, are they sewn firmly onto the garment or are there a lot of loose threads floating around the sample?  If the potential supplier isn’t able to provide you with a sample to look at then that’s a “red flag” as to the ability of the supplier to provide you with your requirement.

 3) Cheapest Quotes is NOT always the Best
If your company has already been buying workwear before then consider how long do they last before you need to replace them? 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years?. It would mainly depend on the environment your staff is working in.

However, the “quality make” of the garment will play a critical role in determining the longevity and value of your workwear.
In a simple formula, say you had a choice of purchasing a workshirt from your 2 potential suppliers as follows,
Company ABC – $10
Company XYZ – $15
All along you have been buying from Company ABC because their quotation has always been $5 cheaper. On paper, it shows that you have saved your company and boss $5 per shirt. Hooray!!$$$ But wait!!! Here’s the thing.
The workshirt that you’ve bought from Company ABC generally has been lasting for 6months to maximum a year before  you need to replace them again!

 But after you have assessed examined the shirt from company XYZ, they appear to use better quality fabric, trims and has better sewing quality plus they have been supplying to numerous well-known companies all over Fiji and manufactured to AUS/NZ Standards. The better quality of components used on the workshirt would make the shirt last for at least 1 year to 1 & half years!

To put it simply if you purchased the $15 shirt from Company XYZ, then you don’t have to procure another shirt for at least after 1 and half years of use because it will last longer due to better quality.
However, within that same timeframe of 1 and half years, you would have had to procure 2 shirts from Company ABC, $10 x 2 shirts = $20 spent on workwear.

So based on the above simple scenario, its clearly shows that even though per unit price Company XYZ is more expensive when comparing per unit cost. However, when you compare your annual spend on the workwear uniforms for 1 or 2 years, Company ABC definitely becomes more expensive because you will need to keep replacing your uniforms more often and your annual budget on Uniform purchases will increase!

While at the same time, the $15 workshirt doesn’t need replacement until after 1 and half years! And that $15 investment has saved your company money in the long run! Now exponent that savings by 100 or 1000 shirts! Imagine the annual savings you will doing for your company! That’s what you call “Smart Purchasing”!

Here at RG Direct, we have saved our customers thousands of dollars if not, tens of thousands of dollars annually on their uniform procurement. Our STYLO & WORKARMOUR uniforms are proven to last longer because we only used tried and tested components into our garments. We will never compromise the quality of components used to save few bucks. Our aim is always to give the best value for our customers so they can get the best bang for their buck!

So call our sales team now and speak to them about how we can save you $$$ from your annual workwear uniform budgets!!