As an industrial distributor, you probably get a few questions about disposable gloves.
If you’re comfortable answering them, terrific! That makes you a leader of the pack (vroom, vroom) and sets you up for lots of success. Gloves can be a lucrative addition to your business.
We frequently hear from customers who say they bought gloves from another vendor at a low price, but they can’t find that deal again. In fact, that vendor can’t seem to source the glove at all.
If you’re an industrial distributor, you’ve likely come across vendors who can’t be trusted to consistently deliver what you need at a price that works for you. Sure, it’s nice to save a few bucks here or there on a case of gloves, but can you count on that arrangement to hold up over time?
Second of two parts
Most economists are in agreement on one word to describe what 2023 holds for the U.S. economy: uncertainty. The divergence of views on what will happen is as large as it has been in many years.
A steady drumbeat of “recession is coming” rattled around the public consciousness for the last half of 2022. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates seven times last year in an effort to throttle inflation. Underperforming stock markets have not helped matters.
First of two parts
The new year has the potential to be wildly successful for distributors that sell disposable gloves. In 2023, the $15 billion-plus market will continue to evolve as we put the worst of the pandemic behind us.
What makes us say this?
After gloves go through the production process—formers dipped in solution, dried in high heat, rinsed in a chlorinated solution (in the case of latex), dried again—their interior needs to be finished.
This process makes it easier to pull on and remove gloves. Without interior finishing, gloves can stick to skin and cause a struggle to get them on or off.
What’s so interesting about how disposable gloves are made? Quite a lot, it seems.
We frequently get questions about what’s involved in making gloves. We’ve also published a few blog posts over the years describing the manufacturing process, and they’re always among our most popular.
We get a lot of questions about the difference between exam- and industrial-grade gloves.
We also get a lot of questions about Acceptable Quality Level, or AQL. What is it, and how does it apply to disposable gloves?
Second of three parts
Most distributor partners of AMMEX count disposable gloves as only a small percentage of their overall business. That figure is between 2% and 5%, depending on which industry they’re servicing.
That may not seem like much emphasis. But in truth, success is less about how much significance you attach to the percentage of gloves in your overall catalog. What really matters is market penetration and the percentage of overall glove spend you’ve captured within your customer base, says Corey Townsell, vice president of sales at AMMEX.
First of three parts
All things considered, it’s relatively simple to get started selling gloves and pick up a few thousand bucks in the process. Get your reseller certificate, knock on some doors, lay out a good spiel, and you too can move some nitrile or latex or vinyl product.
But how do you grow those sales to $10,000, $100,000, or more? Where does the magic kick in and elevate the proceedings to a higher plane?
Latex allergies get a lot of attention, especially in the disposable glove business. An important part of finding “the right glove for the job” is determining whether the person wearing said glove is allergic to natural rubber latex proteins, and recommending substitutes if necessary.
In truth, such allergies are rare. They affect approximately 1 percent of the general population and 8 to 12 percent of healthcare workers. (Latex allergies become more prevalent in people who are exposed to the material regularly, and most medical-grade gloves are made from latex.)
