Uniform Inventory Solutions: The Vestis Advantage

We understand small businesses, we know how important it is to stay productive. Planned or not, things change all the time. Whether it’s industry or market trends, or direct changes within your own customer base or business structure. Much like the rest of your operations, your uniform inventory likely needs to change and adapt.

Company uniforms are very important to your identity but keeping them clean and presentable for each employee can prove challenging day in and day out. You need the right quantity of clean uniforms readily available for everyone (and in their sizes) at the start of each shift. You also need a process for handling and cleaning soiled uniforms that can build up quickly throughout the workweek. Unexpected things like a big event, a surge in demand or unpredictable seasonal shifts make planning even more challenging.

With all of this, it becomes important for businesses to have a system in place for uniform management. Do you have enough uniform inventory for today? For tomorrow? What if both of those days are exceptionally busy? If uniforms aren’t ready, it might impact productivity and efficiency while you sort it out.

Luckily, Vestis has over 75 years of experience managing uniform programs for businesses in many different industries. We know just how to effectively manage uniform inventory using a proven system.

The Benefits of Workforce Uniforms

Workforce uniforms can benefit your organization in many ways, but only if the uniforms are clean and ready to wear.

Employee Morale

People who look good will feel good, and feeling good can actually translate into a happier and more productive workforce. This benefit should not be overlooked since employee morale can be a key factor in overall business success.

Professional Company Image

When employees look good, your business looks good too. Projecting a polished image to your customers and to the market in general can go a long way in creating a long-lasting identity associated with professionalism. And uniforms can do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of creating a memorable image.

Employee Safety

Even if your organization doesn’t need enhanced safety apparel for hazardous duties like those legally required for some jobs, you can still boost employee safety through quality uniforms. If they’re comfortable and confident, then they’re probably working with greater awareness. There are more practical ways that uniforms can improve safety, including:

• Identifying non-employees walking about your facilities
• Identifying certain seniority levels permission levels of employee inside the facility
• Having enough cold-weather uniform options during colder environments to ensure the health and safety of your team on the job

Working with Vestis, your rental service also includes repairs and replacements so that your employees never have to worry about a torn sleeve or missing button becoming a safety hazard.

Whatever the reason, a solid, reliable uniform program means your team has the right garments at the right time providing a safer experience overall.

But to reap these benefits, you must first ensure you actually have the correct number of employee uniforms at all times – including busy seasons or other situations when workforce numbers might change quickly.

Events and Special Occasions

In some industries, events and special occasions may mean you need more staff, which means you’ll need more uniforms than usual. In these instances, it’s important to have enough uniforms on hand to cover these team members.

Surge in Work Demand

A surge in demand isn’t always predictable like an event is. If you call in extra staff to handle a higher demand, will you have enough uniforms to cover the additional employees? Will you have enough uniforms to start the next shift with clean garments? It’s certainly worth exploring a flexible uniform inventory system to be able to handle these special circumstances so that all your workers are dressed for success when duty calls.

Seasonal Shifts & New Hires

Some seasons require an increase in staff to keep the business running smoothly. Similar to work demand surges, extra uniforms available during these crucial busy times can be key to maintaining image and allowing you to meet seasonal volumes. Luckily, seasonal swings are typically easier to predict. With a rental program, you can also quickly add new wearers to your uniform program as new employees are hired.

Vestis Uniform Inventory Solutions

Vestis understands unpredictability, which is why our inventory solutions are designed to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. That’s why we make it easy for customers to quickly adjust their uniform rental plan based on the situation.

Route Sales Representatives (RSRs) can work with you to ensure that you have the proper inventory storage and inventory management system in place, and luckily, it’s a simple process.

A system for collecting and containing soiled garments can be easy and effective. Laundry bags positioned on a laundry bag stand can help your employees know where to place their dirty uniforms, towels and linens. You might even have several different laundry collection areas for different types of garments or soils.

Garment lockers are also handy for keeping clean uniforms out of harm’s way and centrally located for your team.

Other Inventory Solutions

It’s not just your uniform inventory that’s impacted by special events, increased demand or seasonality. Towels, linens, first aid supplies and even restroom supplies can become quickly depleted without a proper inventory management solution already in place. Who is monitoring these essential supplies to ensure you’re equipped to handle higher volume situations?

For towels, Vestis offers a great towel management solution that collects dirty towels and stores clean towels.

Vestis offers a proactive approach to your inventory management, and that attention to detail extends throughout all our service areas, including towels, first aid supplies, linens, restroom supplies and beyond. With each visit, we check your inventory in each area, and we let you know when inventory levels seem depleted or look like they’ll run out over the next week so that you can make necessary adjustments.

Your Inventory Management Partner

Having all your employees properly dressed in clean company gear can be essential to your business success. And you need to be prepared for whatever changes affect your operations. After all, changes can come quickly and by surprise.

Vestis is proud to serve as the inventory management partner for thousands of businesses across the country, regularly monitoring uniform quantities and prepping our clients for any additional uniform needs that might arise in the near and distant future. Our inventory management is a part of our everyday process as we aim to help our customers be prepared to do business and look sharp.