Defining Quality: What Police Departments Want in their Uniform Programs

By Jackie Rosselli

This month, as the nation’s chiefs of police travel to New Orleans for the annual IACP conference, and the country’s leading uniform suppliers make the same journey to promote their latest products, UniformMarket decided to pose a question certain to be on the minds of both: What are departments looking for in their uniform programs?

A sampling of those entered in the recent Best Dressed Law Enforcement Competition, sponsored by the NAUMD, suggests that above all, today’s police departments are seeking quality – quality in appearance, in performance and product. Some are even willing to pay a premium to achieve it.

But what, exactly, is considered quality, and what role does value play in determining it? Moreover, can quality be obtained at all price points?

For the police customers of Nye Uniforms, quality is defined by durability. “There’s a desire for a return-to-basics approach to uniforming,” says sales rep Bill Ricard. “Departments are shunning some of the trendier styling options in favor of better quality fabrics in heavier weights. We’re now selling pants in a heavier fabric weight than we have in the recent past, and we’re seeing an upswing in requests for blended fabrics, particularly Dacron/Wool and Poly/Rayon, which are not only durable but look better longer.”

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Personalities in Politics

By Joseph Greco, M.S.O.D.

Like it or not when there are people in an organization with an agenda, some manifestation of politics occurs. The recognition that politics exist is usually associated with an uncomfortable negative connotation. But consider a viewpoint that politics is the maneuvering for the use of power and power is the ability to make changes. If you think about it in this context, politics need not be so bad. Of course, the way one conducts his behavior and the nature of the changes to be made can make life uncomfortable for the parties affected.

Changes can affect us in a large or small sense. If your role gets reassigned or you have to relocate, that move may be appropriate for the company but possibly not beneficial for you. You may need cooperation from another department that could support your performance but you may not get the requested response.

The challenge in understanding and dealing with politics is to determine how you can achieve the best results given the corporate mission or specific goals and the resources or personalities involved. If you happen to be the manager and thus have legitimate authority, getting the changes needed with a subordinate will probably be easier than dealing with your boss or a co-worker. How can a better understanding of the nature of people in an organization be utilized to accomplish tasks in a positive manner? One answer is to learn to reduce the stress while dealing with others.

People have various types of personalities and operate with different viewpoints or frameworks. That doesn’t necessarily make them (or you) right or wrong in any particular instance. It’s just a natural phenomenon. Through research conducted among thousands of managers, British authors Fisher, Rooke and Torbert, in their book, “Personal and Organisational Transformation through action inquiry” have identified what they term “overarching frameworks.”

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Action Alert: Federal Prison Industries

In July, members of the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Coalition expressed strong support for Section 824 (Modification of Competition Requirements for Purchases from Federal Prison Industries) of the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (S.1547). Additionally, they urged Senators to vote against any amendment to strike or weaken Section 824 but the legislation was not acted upon at that time.

The Senate has now resumed consideration of non-Iraq amendments to the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. If you believe that private business and prison industries should compete on a level playing field, now is the time to let your elected representatives know. The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA), is spearheading the latest campaign, and suggests the following:

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UNIVATOR AWARDS

“Awards are nice, but they don’t really add to my bottom line. Why should I enter this, or any other, competition?”

It’s a question that some may be asking as they consider entering this year’s UNIVATOR Awards, a program that honors the best in product design, customer service, use of technology and marketing and public relations techniques sponsored annually by UniformMarket.

For those on the fence, consider the following. Unlike other competitions, UNIVATOR casts the spotlight where it truly belongs – on you, the country’s most innovative creators and distributors of uniform products and services. Winning entries appear online in the January edition of UniformMarket, and are featured prominently in the Spring/Summer issue of Made to Measure magazine, giving your company both national and international exposure. And exposure, as any public relations executive would tell you, often leads to increased opportunity.

Beyond that, the UNIVATOR, and awards in general, gives you something that may be difficult to get on your own, no matter how good the product or service – credibility.

“The award provided us with validation from an objective third party,” says Steve Gilkeson, whose company, Perfection Uniforms, won an award last year for the launch of its Matrix product line. “We’re a small, but growing company, and any validation helps to grow our customer base.” Perfection used the results as a marketing tool, posting its success on its website and advertising the award in its catalog. “Do customers read every detail about the win? No, but they read enough to learn that we’re considered industry innovators, and that helps the relationship,” adds Gilkeson.

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ONLINE ENTRY FORM.... available here

UniformMarket Store System Welcomes New Users

The following companies have launched new web sites using the UniformMarket Store System:

	Chef Uniforms of Dallas www.chefuniformsofdallas.com
	Nu-Crisp Apparel, CO www.nucrisp.com
	Unison Marketing Group www.unisonmarketingusa.com
Sites Coming soon....	Primo Uniform, NY MP Uniform, PA Uniform Junction, CO At Work Uniforms, AL Lark Uniforms, WI and others...

Looking to improve your web site and online customer service?

Survey Results: MAP Pricing Good for Uniform Biz

Respondents to last month’s survey on MAP pricing were in overwhelming agreement – MAP is good for the uniform industry and its practice doesn’t necessarily violate antitrust law.

By a 5 to 1 margin, respondents agreed with the Supreme Court and its recent ruling on MAP. In June, the Court struck down an antitrust rule nearly a century old. In the 5-4 decision, the Court said that it is no longer automatically unlawful for manufacturers and distributors to agree on setting minimum retail prices. The court further instructed judges considering such agreements for possible antitrust violations to apply a case-by-case approach, known as a “rule of reason,” to assess their impact on competition.

By the same margin, survey respondents agreed with the statement that “MAP pricing would be good for the industry.” “It levels the playing field. Lets everyone play a little more fairly,” noted one respondent.

“It prevents fly by night operations from coming in and taking margins down to unacceptable levels. It allows dealer/distributors to be successful in their businesses and offer the long term support that their customers need. It isn't about getting a uniform at the lowest price -- it's about service,” noted another.

Most agreed the institution of MAP was a win-win scenario. “The consumer thinks he got a bargain and the seller may be getting more than they would ask if the system weren't in place,” these respondents noted.

MAP is an acronym which stands for Minimum Advertised Price. MAP is a voluntary agreement that all legitimate authorized retailers enter into with their authorized supplier, usually the manufacturer. According to such agreements, retailers can usually sell MAP restricted items for any price they choose, but may not display in any print or online advertising, a price below the Minimum Advertised Price.