In the midst of the national emergency response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, United States manufacturers and State governments have been unable to effectively identify and leverage manufacturing resources to fuel rapid supply chain order fulfillment and delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This lack of transparency, through all layers of the manufacturing supply chain, has resulted in increased viral exposure risk for frontline healthcare providers, as well as multi-sector business revenue loss. State government and commercial industry need better supply chain visibility to effectively manage resources in crisis response and resupply.
What is SearchPPE?
To help close this gap, Elder Research is proud to join Charlie Mike Solutions LLC, Dun & Bradstreet, Radius Advisory Group LLC, RGDuece Enterprises, and Rings Leighton Creative Services Ltd. as founding partners of SearchPPE.com. This new cloud-based portal provides a state-focused, direct order fulfillment process between small buyers and manufacturers to expedite the delivery of PPE. The website provides access to the small business supply chain that retooled to provide PPE during the national COVID emergency, but often remains unseen by buyers within their own city or state.
“Elder Research has actively contributed to the analysis of this pandemic in an effort to learn more about it and share our findings with others via our blog and a course offering on Statistics.com, but when we were approached to apply our data analytics and engineering expertise to assist with PPE logistics, we jumped at the chance to make an even larger impact in these challenging times.” stated Elder Research CTO Vic Diloreto.
“Search PPE recognizes the importance of in-state support from small businesses, in filling the PPE gaps that are left in light of federal and state distribution to the “hot spots” in major metropolitan areas, where the need is greatest, said Janey Joffee, Assistant Director, Upper Peninsula Healthcare Solutions, Marquette, Michigan. “We are happy to find companies within our own state that can produce and quickly deliver what we need in order to help save lives and get people back to work safely.”
One of the lessons learned as we emerge from the national Covid-19 emergency is that every state and industry has different needs at different times. Whether you are a retailer, a hair salon, a restaurant chain or an elementary school, the need for hand sanitizer and non-surgical PPE is probably in your re-opening plans. Likewise, healthcare providers, first responders, and individual specialty clinics still need PPE as they continue to care for and protect our most vulnerable citizens. We all must work together to ensure the transparency of manufacturers in our own state, in order to enable the timely delivery of PPE where and when it is needed.
The automated SearchPPE site allows employers and manufacturers to build and update an online profile, so they can adjust the level of supplies as they are produced or the amount they need to buy at any given time. This approach provides maximum flexibility to both the manufacturer, and employers who need to keep current on what products are available for order or re-supply.
Creating a supply chain data source of record, supported by advanced analytics, could speed evidence-based information to decision makers in a crisis and capture data to support lessons learned after the emergency is over.
How to Register
Manufacturers and buyers should go to SearchPPE.com and register. There is no fee to register on the site.
The following steps will take you through the process of registration:
- Select the following link SearchPPE.com, or load the following into your browser https://searchppe.com This will take you to the website.
- Click on Buyer or Manufacturer and fill in the requested information to create an account.
- For Manufacturers: during the registration process you will be directed to identify what PPE you have available. In addition, we ask you to upload a link to your corporate website where a buyer can reach you directly to order, pay for and ship needed PPE. We strongly recommend that your corporate site include a link specific to Covid-19 pandemic PPE supplies and that items are clearly labeled on whether they are CDC/FDA certified. Manufacturers without CDC/ FDA certified products will not be prohibited from participating on the site but are requesting to provide transparency on their product lines.
- For Buyers: The registration process is identical to that of manufacturers. You will simply choose the PPE you need from a menu and determine which manufacturer you wish to purchase from. Click directly on their corporate link, select items you need directly from the corporate site identified, order, pay and ship PPE supplies directly to your organization.
