July

Protect Yourself!

Posted on 27 July 2012

Personal Protective Equipment (or PPE as its known) is to be supplied and used at work wherever there are risks to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. It is defined by the 1992 Work Regulations as, “all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work which protects them against one or more risks to their health and safety”. Here at Consumables we have a vast selection of PPE ranging from Personal Protection clothing, respiratory equipment, through to fall management equipment and much, much more. In fact, we offer such a huge and diverse range that over the coming weeks we’re going to look into some of our products in more detail.

Health and Safety in the work place is of paramount important to any employer and at Consumableswe pride ourselves on being able to provide you with top quality protective equipment, helping to reduce the risk of injury to your or your staff.

As well as our core range of PPE we also provide a number of other services, such as audits, on-site training, online training, site surveys, and much, much more. Intrigued? Well fear not as, time from time, we’ll take you step by step through all the products we can offer….

U-vend™

Posted on 24 July 2012

Welcome to the 21st Century! Forget the traditional snack vending machine, you don’t need another packet of crisps anyway… but what you might need is more office stationery supplies, or to replace some of your chemical protection clothing or equipment. Using the latest web-enabled vending technology Consumables Solutions can offer a fully-managed, fully-tailored  on-site vending solution.


Connected to your U-control™ procurement system, this solution gives you the ultimate flexibility, availability and control of even the smallest and fastest moving consumables used in a production process ensuring that your staff have access to the products that they require, when they require them, without you losing control of spend and consumption.


The touch pad facility also enables users to obtain advise on how to use or wear products safely, thereby maintaining full compliance for staff. The benefits of installing a U-vend™ into your premises are extensive; including cost reductions, automatic re-order of stock and an integrated audio visual training and compliance facility to name but a few. For more information or a list of all the benefits of U-vend™ please visit our website.

U-count™

Posted on 20 July 2012

Some companies do not require the full service of the on-site One-team™  and if that’s you then fear not, the management solution that’s right for you is U-count™! U-count™ offers you all the same efficiencies  and savings as our One-teamTM solution but utilises your own facilities and staff. Using our online e-commerce portal U-controlTM, which forms your own corporate branded online shop, U-count™ offers companies the same level of control and reporting  as One-team™ but the management and reporting of stock levels is supervised by yourselves, using U-control™ to re-order as and when is necessary.


As with all of our Consumables Solutions there are many benefits to introducing one of our managed supply chain solutions. Past clients have found a reduction in administration costs, improvements in cash flow and time management, and much greater visibility and control over their spend and usage, to name but a few. For a full list of all the benefits and a more in depth look at the solutions that we can offer please visit our website.

One-team™ fully managed on-site solution

Posted on 18 July 2012

At Consumables Solutions we pride ourselves on providing companies with a added-value supply chain solutions. Our One-team™ fully managed on-site solution, first introduced on site Dairy Crest in 1995, is a complete system designed to reduce paperwork, number of orders, invoices and suppliers to site, and a wealth of other associated problems. Focusing on management control, our One-team™ solution provides customers with full visibility of spend, usage by cost centre, site, authorised signatory and product, helping to significantly reduce wastage and misuse across site.


As your on-site partner we can provide a one-stop shop and single point of purchase for all consumable and commodity items required across a single or multi-site business. Whether you’re looking for computer consumables and office stationery supplies to laboratory equipment supply and related PPE supplies, or anything in between, our solutions allow personnel within the organisation to place orders from their place of work and have our on-site Consumables Solutions Store Manager deliver them back. Your on-site store will be managed by a Consumables Solution’s member of staff giving you immediate availability to the product that you require.


There are many benefits to using our One-team™ solution, including the fact it saves money, improves efficiency, provides instant KPI reporting for stock usage and costs and is also a highly sustainable solution as it reduces paper work, deliveries, controls wastage and prevents over stocking. For more information on One-team™ and all the associated benefits please check out our website.

U-control™

Posted on 16 July 2012

For most companies, the process of managing and monitoring the procurement of consumables can create an auditing and accountability nightmare. Usually considered low-interest, non-inventory items, the level of control and management information for such products tends to be non-existent. Here at Consumables Solutions we can offer clients a streamline service which combines multi-site and multi-user controls across our full range via one central e-procurement platform.


U-control™ gives your procurement managers complete control over the procurement of workplace supplies within your organisation and empowers staff to choose and order products in the knowledge that the purchasing administration is managed and budgets cannot be exceeded.


We believe that our investment in U-control™ shows our commitment to finding solutions that help protect our environment. By reducing the number of suppliers and deliveries to site, and by removing the need to raise paperwork for purchase orders, good receipts, internal requisitions on site, U-control™ provides the most efficient and effective paperless supply chain whilst further enhancing and enforcing the controls required on site to manage and monitor the supply of product and services. Using the authorisation control and spend limits that you define, U-control™ allows for the procurement of products and the authorisation of orders without the need for anyone to leave their place of work, reducing down time and maximising productivity.


There is no cost for the creation of your own branded U-control™ site for contract clients. Training and set up is also provided. There are many benefits to having your own on-line U-control™ shop including, most importantly, cost reduction, compliance and control. For more detail and closer looks at the benefits please visit our U-control™ page on our website.


Consumables on the move

Posted on 1 July 2012

Highcross has let 2,800 sq ft office space to Consumables Solutions, at its 1000 Lakeside building in Portsmouth.

The company, which is a distributor of workplace supplies, including stationery, protective clothing, packaging and laboratory equipment, is the first to move into newly available refurbished office accommodation on 1000 Lakeside’s third floor.

Highcross has just completed the major refurbishment of around 18,500 sq ft of space, to create additional Grade A office accommodation. The flexible open plan space can be sub-divided into individual office suites from 2,000 sq ft.

Consumables Solutions has taken the office space on a ten-year let. The company was previously based at Horndean and was looking for space in the Portsmouth area with the flexibility for further expansion. Managing Director, Jonathan Hall, comments:

“The company is undergoing a period of exciting and significant change with the imminent launch of our new Consumables.com transactional website and the recent outsourcing of our logistics operation. The high quality office space, immediate availability of leased line connectivity and the flexibility to grow on site were key factors in our decision to take space at 1000 Lakeside.”

In addition to its Consumables.com operation which goes live in early October, Consumables Solutions also has a separate division, providing added value on site purchasing and management solutions for major companies.