It’s the law of supply and demand: Workers in businesses across the industrial spectrum depend on disposable gloves to safely perform their daily tasks. They order, take delivery, and wear them on the job. Rinse and repeat. It’s commerce, the way it’s supposed to work.
Where the equation gets interesting is determining which vendors can always deliver the gloves needed, when they’re needed, at scale, without backorders or other roadblocks. That’s where fill rates come into play.
In medical use, double-gloving—wearing one pair of gloves over another—is commonplace.
Healthcare professionals, always looking for extra protection from bloodborne pathogens, germs, viruses, and bacteria, have long double-gloved when the fear of contamination is high. In the early days of the pandemic, even with widespread glove shortages, an extra pair of gloves was seen not as an extravagance but a necessity.
Second of four parts
Disposable glove factories, especially in Southeast Asia, continue to optimize their production lines. Some of the world’s largest makers of disposable gloves are working to return to profitability and expect it will take well into 2025 to do so.
The current state of the disposable glove market is defined by several factors that have become common over the last few years.
On the surface, the market appears to be in good shape. Acute glove shortages are behind us, pricing has returned to favorable levels, the supply chain has seen many broken links repaired, and there is no longer a sense of emergency weighing heavily on the entire glove trade.
Compliance is not a flashy topic in the realm of disposable gloves.
Despite its lofty position as one of four pillars in AMMEX’s core capabilities—along with fill rates, quality control, and customer service—it may not enjoy the buzz that surrounds the other three.
Janitorial & sanitation businesses need predictability and consistency. No one likes surprises, especially when it comes to their hand protection.
Those “bargain” disposable gloves that promised savings of a couple bucks per box? Maybe they hold up OK with light-duty tasks. But maybe they don’t—and workers ended up with glove after glove ripping, or leaking when working with cleaning solutions, or shredding when even the slightest resistance is met.
Color is important in any discussion of disposable gloves, even if there are no industry standards for different colors of gloves. What makes it important is what you and your company do with it: Creating a color-coding scheme can prove beneficial in a variety of ways, from hygiene to general organization.
Thirty-five years ago, when AMMEX was just getting started, industrial gloves came in essentially two variations: ivory or off-white for latex, and for vinyl and poly, opaque or transparent.
Last of four parts
Unlike many other vendors in the disposable glove industry, AMMEX is focused on delivering products and solutions through sustainable processes for our customers and operating our business in a responsible way. In 2024, we are committed to an agenda of achieving measurable targets.
First of four parts
In a unique way, the disposable glove market continues to work through an interesting set of circumstances initiated by the pandemic. The devil is always in the details and involves looking at operational factors beyond simple price comparisons.
How much does customer service matter in the disposable glove industry?
To be honest, some folks likely don’t rate it as a prerequisite to doing business. Disposable gloves are a commodity operating in what can be a purely transactional universe. How much for the gloves? Great. Here’s your money. Next?
