Whilst many of our usual suppliers temporarily ran out of stock, countless new providers popped up and seized an opportunity. However, we had to ensure that any companies we linked up with were reliable, responsible and compliant, which required serious attention to detail.
Sure enough, having done our research, we found that some of these new suppliers didn’t have certificates that were up to standard or were missing them entirely. This meant continuing the search until we were satisfied that our stock would be of the highest calibre.
Due to us working with new suppliers and a larger number than usual, we were expected to pay up front for PPE stock rather than the conventional invoicing system. Whilst ordering too little would mean letting our customers down, ordering too much could potentially put us in a difficult financial situation.
Thankfully, our fantastic finance department and sales team worked together very closely to manage the company’s cash flow and ordering system. The result was happy customers and the continuation of a healthy operational infrastructure.
As with many other businesses, we’d never really needed to work from home. Suddenly our sales, administrative and management teams were required to stay away from SafetyCare HQ at a time when our customer base needed us more than ever before. Everyone was so busy and there was significant pressure on each member of staff, yet they didn’t have access to their daily working environments.
Luckily, we’ve always believed in being fully prepared for any eventuality. Our IT and phone systems were quickly adapted so that our teams could work from home without reducing their performance. In fact, they worked extremely hard to process the flood of new orders and ensured that our customers remained confident in our abilities.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, our business was mainly geared toward the aviation and transport sectors. This suddenly changed, as the food transport network grew enormously due to online grocery shopping instantly becoming the norm. The same applied to a wide variety of courier companies, as everything from Amazon to small retailers began taking an unprecedented volume of orders.
These key workers needed protecting from the virus, so we stepped up to keep pickers, packers, store workers, drivers and delivery people safe with a wide range of PPE.
Likewise, people working in the tourism industry needed to know that they could order PPE without being let down. Staff at hotels, B&Bs, caravan parks, heritage sites and many other types of businesses required compliant equipment, so our sales teams remained in regular touch with them to clearly answer queries and quickly solve problems.
Whilst the focus was on looking after our customers and making cuts to our profit margins to keep our prices stable, we also had to think about our own people. Working from home was a difficult move for some members of staff, especially those who live alone and would miss the camaraderie of the office.
We made sure that everyone at SafetyCare stayed upbeat through regular Zoom calls, Monday morning motivational messages, open dialogues, and encouraging virtual coffee breaks. All of our employees went above and beyond to stay on track and delivered the highest level of customer service throughout the pandemic – we really couldn’t be more proud of them!
Whilst 2020 saw a period of adjustment, 2021 is set to be our year of expansion. We’re ready to increase operations, streamline processes, optimise efficiency and modernise our workplace. This will enable us to offer our customers an even better service that can handle anything, all while providing the ultimate working environment for our wonderful employees.
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