Uniform Management System Vs Spreadsheets

We recently wrote an article after speaking to organisations who were trying to run their uniform programme by tweaking an ecommerce system, instead of investing in a Uniform Management System (UMS).

In reality, the majority of organisations that are running their own uniform programme aren’t doing this – they’re managing the order and supply of uniform to their staff through emails and spreadsheets. Whilst spreadsheets are an incredible tool for data management, they are not conducive to running an extensive uniform programme in a modern, growing business. In this article, we'll explore why that's the case, and therefore why you should consider investing in a purpose-built system.

What is a UMS?

A uniform management system (UMS) is a software solution that allows organisations to bring the control of uniform ordering, costs, budgets and allowances in-house. It’s available for staff to order their own uniform directly from suppliers, eliminating unnecessary involvement from supervisors or an ordering team. As staff are doing the orders themselves, this eliminates errors, returns and saves a lot of wasted cost.

Why Should You Invest in a UMS?

Improved Data Accuracy and Consistency

Your business is likely to implement a set budget or allowance, per employee, for their uniform. One of the biggest challenges with managing these allowances on spreadsheets is maintaining data accuracy and consistency. You firstly rely on staff entering all orders honestly and accurately. In addition, you are relying on them checking their entitlement against unused allowance from their budget each year. In practise this rarely happens, and staff are easily able to go over their set budget. In addition, with multiple users entering data into the same sheet, it can be easy to make mistakes, duplicate data or input information in the wrong format. This means reporting, and ultimately budgeting for new years, become impossible. 

A UMS, on the other hand, forces employees to use it as their only ordering tool, which automatically means they have to use the validation rules to only order within their set allowance, or request authorisation to go above this. The platform records each order to ensure that all data is accurate and consistent across all departments/locations, irrespective of who does the ordering. This helps with forecasting. 

Realtime Ordering

With spreadsheets, entering and managing multiple orders can be challenging as multiple users may be working on different versions of the same document, leading to confusion and errors.

A UMS provides an online platform, available 24/7, and can have many users ordering at the same time with no errors in reporting. It means you don’t have to rely on staff having to be physically in the office to place, or approve, uniform orders, resulting in a significant reduction in time taken from order to delivery. This is especially important to avoid start-date delays for new employees. 

Better Data Security and Access Control

Spreadsheets are often saved on individual computers or shared drives, making it difficult to manage access control and ensure data security. This becomes an increasing concern when you’re entering personal information which includes uniform sizes, and delivery locations, especially if you allow home delivery for staff. 

A UMS, on the other hand, provides advanced security features such as user roles, permissions, and authentication protocols, ensuring that only authorised personnel have access to sensitive data.

Increased Efficiency and Productivity

A UMS automates many of the manual processes involved in uniform ordering, allowing employees to focus on more strategic tasks. With a UMS, employees can easily access, update and share data in real-time, reducing the need for time-consuming, tedious tasks. You can read here how one client reduced their administrative time running their uniform programme by 92% by implementing a UMS.

Scalability

Spreadsheets are limited in terms of scalability and customisation, and can quickly become outdated as an organisation grows. A UMS can be customised to meet the unique needs of an organisation, allowing businesses to scale their operations as they grow. 

Improved Reporting and Analytics

Spreadsheets firstly rely on accurate information being inputted to analyse, which as we’ve discussed above, is rare when running a uniform programme. In addition, they’re limited in terms of reporting and analytics capabilities and it can be time-consuming to generate and analyse reports.

In contrast, a UMS provides advanced reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to gain insights into their unform usage and make informed decisions on the wardrobes, availability and allowances they offer. With a UMS, businesses can generate custom reports, create visuals and even analyse trends, all in real-time. 

Time For Change

Whilst spreadsheets are a useful tool for smaller organisations managing their uniform ordering, businesses quickly outgrow this method of order tracking. A UMS offers numerous benefits over spreadsheets, reducing errors and the time taken to administer the programme, and streamlining the whole process internally. If you’ve outgrown spreadsheets as your uniform ordering method, speak to our team to see how Smart Red’s Uniform Management System can significantly improve the way you run your uniform programme.