Uniform Management System vs Ecommerce System

Our experience over the past few months have shown us that a lot of businesses out there – large organisations and workwear suppliers – are attempting to use a standard ecommerce platform as their uniform management system (UMS). 

Perhaps uniquely, Big Red Digital understand the key differences between a UMS and a traditional ecommerce system because we build and support both. We want to highlight that by trying to use an ecommerce system as a UMS, you’ll fail.

We can say this with certainly, because in the early stages of creating the Smart Red platform, we tried exactly that! We initially used an open-source ecommerce system, with modifications, and whilst there was some success in this, ultimately it was overly complicated. The upside of this was that we understood the processes required, and this knowledge led us to develop the Smart Red platform as a stand-alone solution.

Why Do You Need a Dedicated Uniform Management System?

Goals

Ecommerce systems are designed to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers, from browsing products and placing orders to payment and delivery. The main goal behind the platform is to drive sales by consistently upselling (convincing you to add more products to your basket) and/or cross-selling (showing you add-ons or relevant products) to shoppers across the journey to checkout.

Uniform Management Systems are the polar opposite. Users need the products they can shop for restricted to comply with a strict uniform code, and potentially safety standards. In addition, most employees will have an annual allowance or budget to spend, therefore it’s counter-intuitive to be encouraged to add unnecessary products to their basket.  Ultimately a UMS aim to streamline procurement and purchasing processes for businesses to ensure employees only order what they need. 

Discoverability

Ecommerce systems must be easily found in marketplaces – on Google, Amazon Shopping and other relevant areas. The volume-driven nature of ecommerce sales means a lot of the investment and time goes into attracting new customers to the platform.

Conversely, most UMS need to be secure with a bespoke URL and login details for each employee/company. Most of the time employees are not paying for their uniform on the platform, therefore restricting access becomes paramount. To protect brand identity and budgets, a UMS should only be found and used by authorised individuals. The complex security needs of all clients who'll be connecting with the UMS often will write-off a standard ecommerce system at the outset. 

Pricing

Ecommerce systems will have a set price of products/services on the platform which is typically straightforward and fixed. It’s possible to register and create accounts, where you can tailor discounts to users with codes, but this is where the price variation ends. 

In contrast, a UMS often involves negotiated pricing based on factors such as volume, frequency of purchase, and customer loyalty. This can involve tiered pricing, and needs an in-built flexibility per client to work effectively.  This simply isn’t supported with a traditional ecommerce system, without setting up separately platforms for every client. 

Sector Specific

By its very nature, a standard ecommerce system needs to be a one-size fits all. It needs to have broad-brush functionality that all possible sectors could use. Whilst this is entirely necessary for a platform used by all industries, this is often at the detriment to the complex functionality required for uniform businesses. Sizes, colours, attributes etc aren't easily handled, or quick to set up, and processing orders can quickly become unmanageable. 

Conversely, a Uniform Management System is built specifically to deal with the complexities that come with uniform ordering. Dealing with wearer wardrobes, allowances and controls as standard, a UMS will make client set up quick and easy, and allow you to add an unlimited number of companies to the one platform. In addition, the development team behind the platform will be highly experienced in the uniform field, and can offer tailored advice and guidance that's simply impossible to get from an off-the-shelf ecommerce system.

Scalability

An ecommerce solution is often an all-or-nothing platform. For B2C businesses, this is ideal as they’ll need the majority, if not all of the features, that comes with the system. A UMS is designed to scale with a business, making it a flexible solution for growing businesses. As a business expands and adds new channels, products, or services, a UMS can adapt to meet changing needs and provide a seamless experience for customers and employees.

Support

User Support for an ecommerce platform varies in options, depending upon the provider. Usually this is in the form of a FAQs page or a help forum, but can also include a ticketing system, or a call centre. Where transaction and individual client values are small, this is usually sufficient to cover the needs of each business.

However when you're a uniform supplier, with uniform orders coming from key clients with high-value orders, you're likely to rely on this User Support more frequently, with higher expecations. Any good UMS will have active User Support for all clients, where you can speak to the actual developers of the platform, not a faceless web-page or a call centre. You will rely on a quick turnaround to ensure your customers are kept happy, and daily transactions keep flowing to protect your key revenue streams. 

Ecommerce Vs UMS

A uniform management system offers businesses a comprehensive set of tools for managing their operations across multiple channels. While a traditional ecommerce system is focused primarily on online transactions, a UMS provides a holistic view of the business needs, streamlines operations and is built specifically for the uniform industry. By using a UMS, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and provide a better customer experience across all channels. If you need to make the switch, contact us today so we can guide you through the process. 

Want to Hear More?

Our Head of Sales talks more about the differences between ecommerce systems and Uniform Management systems. Click the link to listen.