Have you ever had a situation where a customer needed a glove—and you couldn’t get the right size, or color, or mil thickness?
Maybe they were on backorder. Maybe something more complicated was involved, like labor issues at the factory or the port.
Whatever the case, if your customers can’t get the gloves they need when they need them, they won’t be your customers for long.
Many people who get into the single-use glove business learn quickly how difficult it can be to keep their customers happy.
Need a couple boxes? Should be no problem. A case or two? A challenge at times but still largely doable.
How about 200 cases? Well, that’s where things can get complicated.
Deliver or find a new line of work
How are accounts in the glove market won or lost? Because somebody couldn’t keep their customers happy by delivering the goods on time, on price, and at scale.
Even after 35 years in business, AIC doesn’t have a magic wand. But the School of Hard Knocks has taught us to build the support system we need, from the factory to ships sailing the ocean blue to our warehouses around North America.
We don’t claim to be perfect. Our fill rate on top products is 98%-plus, not 100%. But based on our experience, we know it’s uncommon in the glove business to maintain this high of a fill rate.
Practice makes pretty darn good
We’ve seen enough challenges to be able to solve them. There’s a lot of footwork involved. Our crack teams plan six to nine months in advance to ensure no shortages are looming.
Low prices aside (and yes, they do matter), being able to deliver the goods at scale when they’re needed the most will help you resonate with customers. Consistently high fill rates are a great way to build trust and maintain long-term customer relationships.
For businesses that rely on disposable gloves, supply chain interruptions can lead to downtime—or, worse, employees forced to do their jobs without adequate hand protection. With our fill rates on top products—like Gloveworks Black Nitrile (GPNB) and Orange Nitrile with Raised Diamond Texture (GWON)—disruptions are minimized.
We take this stuff seriously
AIC has teams on the ground that remain in constant communication with the manufacturers who make our gloves. These teams perform 100% quality-control inspections of shipments to ensure products meet or exceed our rigorous standards.
Customer retention is about fill rates, among other things. If you can’t keep up with what customers need, you’ll find yourself looking for new customers.
