The safety supply industry is a thriving and competitive market. In 2021, the industry’s value was estimated to be almost $6 billion globally according to Polaris Market Research’s report on the subject. Part of what makes the industry so powerful is the fact that governments around the world require industries to have safety measures for workers. Avoiding worker injury and death is not just a moral obligation, it’s a legal one with consequences for failure. These requirements are common in some of the world’s largest markets such as the oil and gas industry. The more those industries grow, the more work sites require equipment. Safety equipment encompasses many items including safety PPE (personal protective equipment), protective screens, curtains, barriers, emergency sensors, and kill-switches. While some safety product suppliers specialize, others cover a wide range of products. It’s no wonder selecting safety equipment suppliers is no easy task.
The Role of Safety Product Suppliers
Before selecting safety equipment suppliers, it is worth understanding their role in the supply chain. The supply chain is the flow of goods and services from creation to delivery. It involves everything from the harvest of raw materials to the sale of the final product. It can be broken down into simple units that include manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Manufacturers create goods. Distributors move the goods from manufacturers either to a wholesaler, which will buy goods in bulk, or a retailer, which sells them to a customer. Wholesalers sell goods en masse to larger retailers and make money by simplifying the process of sourcing goods.
A supplier of safety equipment is a unique part of this flow since safety PPE exists alongside the entirety of the supply chain. The supply chains of other industries rely on safety product suppliers. In this way, these companies often act as manufacturers, distributors, and retailers at the same time. They will produce the safety supplies and sell them in bulk to large companies and firms who act as manufacturers in the supply chain. For example, a steel mill would require regular wholesale bulk orders of safety glasses, iridescent vests, industrial curtains, barriers, and more. On the other hand, they will sell items to smaller businesses that do not need bulk supplies. These smaller businesses might only act as retailers for local customers. For example, a freelance carpenter would only need to order enough PPE for one person to be able to renovate houses.
Considerations in Selecting Safety Equipment Suppliers
Quality of Inventory
Because of their unique multipurpose placement in the supply chain, any supplier of safety equipment needs to work hard to stay relevant. The first metric for selecting safety equipment suppliers is the quality of their supplies. Carelessness while manufacturing safety supplies can lead to worker injuries. This is preventable if you are vetting your supplier. Ensure your safety product company has airtight quality assurance procedures. Safety measures are enforced by a number of associations depending on the country and industry. The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) has two especially important criteria. These are the ISO 9001 for quality management and the ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) are equally important. In addition to these certifications, ask potential suppliers questions regarding their commitment to quality measures. Their answers may speak volumes about their integrity.
Range of Industries and Supplies
It is also worth selecting safety equipment suppliers after considering the size of their catalog. Safety product suppliers benefit from having a range of safety supplies available. This allows clients to source as many supplies as possible from one company. It streamlines procurement, simplifies invoicing, and builds relationships of trust and reciprocity between businesses. Having consistent, long-term customers helps suppliers gain a reputation for reliability. The ability to spread products across a range of industry supplies also makes it easier for suppliers to see what trends are developing. They can adjust to anticipate demand and create safer products. However, one potential downside of a wide-reaching supplier is that they may spread themselves too thin. Make sure they are giving adequate attention to each area of their catalog before committing to buying everything from one source.
Customer-Reviewed Reliability
As mentioned above, suppliers build a reputation with customers. Unless you are searching for a supplier of safety equipment through a search engine, the first thing you are likely to hear regarding a supplier is their reputation. A supplier’s track record during periods of market instability indicates whether they will be there for your business through tough times, or if you’ll be left to fend for yourself. This is a matter of life or death for some high-risk industries. Reliability can be researched in part from reading reviews and testimonials. For larger suppliers, it is worth asking about their supply practices. Where do they source their raw materials? What safety nets have they set up for when problems occur?
Total Cost of Ownership
The final criterion we will discuss is selecting safety equipment suppliers by cost. Prioritizing cost at the exclusion of all else is not advisable. While you may save money in the short term, product imperfections, and their ensuing injuries, will certainly cost you in the long run. In order to accurately assess these factors, consider the metric called total cost of ownership (TCO). The total cost of ownership is the cost of a purchase or investment through the entire life cycle of its use, including maintenance, upgrades, and eventual disposal. Purchases with a smaller upfront cost could have a higher TCO than a more expensive purchase of a higher quality. This is because cheaper products usually require more maintenance and will have a shorter life expectancy, forcing the business to replace them sooner. In sum, be sure to weigh cost alongside the other criteria covered here, not instead of them.
Why Singer Safety Company?
These are some of the factors to consider before choosing your source for safety PPE. The next time you are looking to acquire industrial partitions and barriers, consider Singer Safety Company. Singer Safety Company has been a trusted partner for industrial safety for over 70 years. We specialize in barriers, protective sheets, curtains, and other protective screens. Our products range from noise control systems to fire safety peripherals. Browse our offerings on our website and reach out to our team with any questions you may have. You can reference our product specifications and data sheets for free before purchasing. We are here to help.