How can I reduce the cost of safety footwear?

With prices going up across the board, and businesses feeling the pinch, it’s understandable to be looking for ways to save money. We are often approached by clients who ask:

How can I reduce safety footwear costs for my business?

Reducing the cost of safety footwear to your business is really very simple. There are only two things you need to do:

• Buy better quality; and
• Establish appropriate spending controls.

Where this gets complicated is when people ask the question without really understanding what they’re asking.

Sometimes, we get asked this question by clients, we give them the answer above, set them on course to do both of those things, and everyone is happy.

Occasionally, we are approached by clients who focus on price-per-item (or, in this case, pair). They may be asking us: ‘How can I reduce the cost of safety footwear?’, but what they really mean is: ‘How can I reduce the price I’m paying for my safety footwear?’ Do you see the difference?

Reducing safety footwear costs – by buying better quality

Now we both know that it’s unlikely they couldn’t find shoes, trainers or boots labelled ‘safety footwear’ somewhere online that allows them to spend that desired £5 or £10 per pair less than they are currently paying. So, is this what they really want to know, or are they actually asking: ‘How can I reduce the price I’m paying for my safety footwear, without impacting on safety, durability and comfort for my team?”

You can almost always buy cheaper – but it doesn’t usually pay to do so.

So, if price-per-pair isn’t the answer, what about price-per-wear?

A good quality pair of safety shoes will last longer than a poor quality one – that’s a fact. Even if those shoes are a bit more expensive, if you don’t need to replace them so often then you’re spending less money in the longer-term because your price-per-wear is lower.

Find out more: Read our blog on workwear and PPE costs.

Investing in a good quality product up front is the first step to reducing safety footwear costs for your business.

Learn how to spot the warning signs with our guide to telling good from bad quality safety footwear.

Reducing safety footwear costs – by controlling expenditure

The second (and only other) step is to ensure you have in place controls that allow your business to get the most from its investment.

It’s all well and good investing in a top-notch pair of safety trainers with an 18-month warranty, but that warranty is no good to you if your employees don’t take good care of them, and they are unwearable after six months.

Instead, an effective way to maximise return on your footwear investment is to combine educating your team on how long safety footwear should last and how to take good care of it, with controls on how often new footwear can be ordered.

For instance, our online ordering portal – Control-iT® – enables businesses to establish not only what products can be ordered by their employees, but who can order what, and how often.

If your employees can only order a pair of safety shoes or trainers every 18 months, then they are going to be incentivised to take good care of their allocated pair.

Find out more: Talk to us about how we can help you to lower your safety footwear costs by reducing your price-per-wear.