United Response is a charity that supports people with learning difficulties, autism and mental health needs, at home and in the community. Spread across the UK they are one of the largest care providers in the sector working supporting around 2000 people. United Response approached I-Tel Group to help secure vital PPE supplies during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. They needed to establish regular, reliable, certified supply lines for equipment and support against fraud and sub-standard products.
We initially provided UR with a free consultancy. This looked into their requirements and identified short and long term solutions to their supply chain issues.
Our first port of call was to establish a bona fide supply chain for critical PPE. We used our global reach to identify key manufacturers and distributors of medically certified products. As markets began to shrink due to unprecedented demand I-Tel took immediate and decisive action to stock forecast and leverage economies of scale across our customer base. Once established we used creative, innovative means to secure the product. A good example was the successful procurement of nitrile gloves which were unavailable through any medical distributors. We achieved this through our automotive industry contacts. Renault, the car maker had a vast surplus because its sites were closed and not operational. We secured all their available stock and diverted it to the care sector.
The speed and accuracy of our data analysis and reach of our supply chain was pivotal in our success. Within weeks the supply of critical items had dried up completely but due to the sourcing and bulk buying initiative United Response wee able to access the supplies they needed to ensure they could continue to care for the people in their charge.
Following the success of our supply chain assistance United Response now have a fully managed e-procurement platform allowing users across their sites to order goods and services from I-Tel. This delivers efficiency and standardisation but most importantly data and visibility on indirect spend. Supporting multiple categories and providing warehousing and logistical support our relationship has gone from strength to strength.
