Make the Most of Your 2011 Uniform Procurement Budget

Whew, you're through with the hard part of getting the executives to sign off on your uniform budget for the 2011 fiscal year.  Now, phase two of the challenge begins - execution.  You will need to apply the same care and thought that you applied to creating your budget, to executing it.

The last few years have showcased the trend of budget cuts and reductions.  98 percent of all companies and departments are working with smaller budgets for 2011 than they did in 2010.  The irony of the matter is that headcounts have already been cut to bare-bones, so you're not actually working with fewer people from the prior year - just fewer dollars.  So how, you wonder, do you pull 2011 uniform procurement off?  Here are some tips.

1.  Comparison Shop.  The good ole days of buying from the 1st vendor on the google search page or that vendor you've always used are over.  The current economic conditions require that you seek out the vendors with the best prices.  Use price comparison sites like The Find and Google Product Search to get easy spec/price comparisons.  Both The Find and Google Product Search are great sources to find a wide variety of vendors for medical scrubs, janitorial uniforms, work shirts, work pants, chef pants, chef coats, lab coats, disposable lab coats and children's disposable lab coats.  Take advantage of these sources when selecting who your uniform vendors will be for 2011.

2.  Stick With Your Standards.  Paying less for your uniforms does not mean settling for less.  Discount vendors are popping up all over the place in response to the constant economic downturn of the last few years.  Many discount vendors offer the same quality as the name brand houses, but without the name brand price tag.  When faced with a discount vendor that offers the same quality as name brand vendors for less - GO WITH THE DISCOUNT VENDOR.  If you're not immediately comfortable shifting from "name brands", start with baby steps.  Order a sample quantity from the discount vendor.  The beauty of discount vendors is that it is not a big loss to try them out.

3.  Request Customized Quotes.  If you are ordering a large quantity or will submit repeat orders of uniforms, scrubs, work shirts, work pants, chef pants, chef coats, lab coats or disposable lab coats, request a customized quote.  EZ Uniforms and Scrubs welcomes requests for quotes!

4.  Consolidate Your Orders.  Find a vendor that sells most of the items you need.  If you buy uniforms for a janitorial company, order the work shirts, work pants, polo shirts and embroidery from the same company for the biggest savings.  Similarly for medical offices, order your scrubs, scrub skirts, lab coats and embroidery from the same vendor to get the best pricing possible. 

Follow these easy steps to meet your 2011 uniform procurement budget.  Be sure to leave us comments about how much money you save on uniforms for the 2011 fiscal year.

Email us at EZ Uniforms and Scrubs for our price lists to assist you with your 2011 uniform procurement budget research (info@ezuniforms.com).  We'll be happy to send you customized quotes to help you stay on budget for 2011.