8 min read
Uniform programs are by far the most effective way for companies to ensure consistent branding, boost employee safety and drive team morale. According to a study by Red Kap & Tower Watson, 19.2% of companies reported higher employee engagement due to a uniform program.
Since uniform programs are designed to outfit a large number of employees, they often come with stringent design rules & buying guidelines. At a time when businesses are looking for customizable, unified, 360-degree online uniform ordering solutions, it’s important for uniform distributors and retailers as well to transition to technologically advanced enterprise eCommerce platforms that can handle the complex needs of uniform programs.
So, whether you’re already managing uniform programs or looking to get started to grow your revenue, here are 5 must-haves for your eCommerce platform to efficiently run & manage enterprise employee apparel programs.
1. Grouping & Buying Rules: In large organizations, uniform mandates vary from department to department. Not every employee will require the same uniform items. In order to ensure they only see uniforms relevant to their job functions when they log in and experience a highly-personalized uniform ordering experience on the portal, employees with similar uniform needs are grouped together and mapped to their respective job IDs.
For instance, an airline crew member shouldn’t have access to pilot uniforms on the portal and vice versa. Similarly, companies even have limitations on the number of uniforms an employee can order in a given fiscal year. Unless such rules are baked into the eCommerce platform hosting those uniform programs, it can give rise to countless discrepancies that may even compromise the business outlook.
Admins responsible for maintaining employee uniform portals should be able to group employees & products easily while being mindful of the purchasing rules too. So, if you’re serving uniforms to enterprises with diverse uniform requirements, make sure your eCommerce portal supports grouping for a seamless experience from start to end.
2. Payment Flexibility: Personalizing the uniform ordering experience of employees doesn’t end at showing the products they need. It also has a lot to do with how easily they can place their orders and check out. A recent study revealed that the average checkout abandonment rate is around 70%, which means 7 out of 10 buyers do not even complete their transaction. Of all the other factors that affect conversion, limited payout options is the main reason.
For uniform distributors and retailers serving large corporations with strict uniform guidelines and employee count running in thousands, it’s imperative that the employee purchasing portal is able to handle multiple payment integrations. Besides the usual option of using credit/debit cards, to create a stellar uniform program, the platform should be customizable to incorporate organization-specific uniform purchasing options like allowance, payroll deduction, gift cards, and quotas. This way, by letting employees order using their preferred payment modes, uniform distributors can significantly reduce cart abandonment and increase sales.
Therefore, eCommerce platforms built to handle the needs of uniform programs should be considered to efficiently run & manage B2B employee apparel stores.
3. Shipping Customization: For organizations with employees scattered in different parts of the country, shipping groups are used to control uniform misuse in the following ways:
For any business, lowering migration and training time for employees are key considerations when choosing a new uniform vendor. Thus, having an eCommerce platform that is readymade for enterprise uniform programs, seamlessly integrates with the organizational software to exchange data, ensures complete security, and delight employees with a flawless uniform buying experience will only tilt the needle in their favor.
