Selecting a uniform retailer is just the beginning — uniform customers must outfit hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of employees with high-quality uniforms that fit perfectly and clearly identify each worker based on company and position. That’s a tall order in today’s business environment, so it’s easy to see why so many companies emphasize employee-driven uniform purchasing.
Unfortunately, managing employee purchasing can be a huge struggle, particularly for large enterprises. Employees may select the wrong uniform, go beyond provided allowances, or purchase uniforms without supervisor approval. More often, problems are initiated not by employees, but by HR, which may fail to update ordering systems quickly enough to reflect who is currently on payroll. These and other problems can be avoided through the use of an online order for employees solution that emphasizes easy ordering under strict parameters and administrative supervision. The ideal online system will allow your uniform customers to accomplish the following:
Maintain Excellent Records
Managing employee ordering can be tricky for large companies with high turnover. Ordering solutions should allow customers to promptly add new employees or delete those who have left the company. Large enterprises sometimes implement direct integration to HR records, but funding and other issues make many customers wary of this setup. Most uniform providers prefer online solutions that allow customers and select administrators to manage everything on their own.
Set Up Administrative Roles
Administrative abilities vary significantly based on company size and structure. The ideal uniform purchasing solution allows customers, selected supervisors, or HR teams to act as administrators, managing the addition or deletion of employees as the company grows and changes. Ordering style is equally important; whether customers prefer to order their employees’ uniforms one at a time or in bulk via imports, they should be able to access uniforms as they see fit.
Facilitate Rules-Based Purchases
Employees should not be given complete freedom to choose the style or number of items they desire. Parameters must be set to ensure that each employee is outfitted correctly based on his or her role and the company’s budget. A rules-based purchasing system can eliminate employee confusion in ordering while also reducing the potential for uniform returns or budgetary issues. Ideally, your website solution will allow customers to manage employee uniform ordering based on the following rules:
- Quotas — Each employee is allowed to order a specific number of items on an annual basis.
- Allowances — Employees are given a specific amount to spend on uniforms within a given time period.
- Purchase order — An open line of credit that allows employees to place orders using their own purchase order numbers.
- Supervisor approval — A supervisor must approve employee orders before they are shipped out. This minimizes the potential for employee mistakes in uniform ordering.
The Uniform Program Management from Sellers Commerce and UniformMarket offers all of the uniform ordering tools and parameters outlined above, among others. These online tools promote accurate, efficient, and affordable uniform ordering, thereby significantly increasing customer satisfaction. Visit Uniform Program Management’s website today to learn more and to pursue a streamlined approach to employee-driven uniform ordering.