Running out of disposable gloves can quickly disrupt your business. Whether you work in foodservice, cleaning, automotive, healthcare, or another industry, keeping the right number of gloves on hand is essential.

But how do you know when it’s time to reorder?

Track Your Glove Usage 

The first step in managing your glove inventory effectively is understanding how many gloves your business uses on a daily basis. Start by calculating the number of employees who regularly wear gloves and estimating how many pairs or individual gloves each person uses throughout their shift. Monitoring usage over several weeks will help you establish a more reliable baseline for your typical demand and make it easier to estimate how much inventory you need to keep on hand. However, it's also important to account for fluctuations in usage throughout the year. Busy seasons, holidays, increased production, or a temporary rise in customer demand can all lead to higher glove consumption. By recognizing these patterns and adjusting your inventory plans accordingly, you can anticipate changes in demand, maintain adequate stock levels, and reduce the likelihood of unexpected shortages that could disrupt daily operations.

Keep Track of Sizes and Types

Maintaining an adequate glove inventory means tracking more than just the total number of gloves in stock. Keep records of inventory by size, material, thickness, and color to ensure employees always have the gloves they need. If you consistently run out of one size while having excess stock of another, it may be time to adjust your inventory levels to better match employee needs and prevent shortages.

Keep a Safety Stock

Unexpected spikes in demand, shipping delays, and supplier disruptions can occur at any time, potentially leaving your business without the gloves your employees need to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Maintaining a reasonable amount of extra inventory, also known as safety stock, helps protect your business against these uncertainties and reduces the risk of running out of essential supplies before your next shipment arrives. The right amount of safety stock will depend on several factors, including how quickly your suppliers can fulfill orders, how frequently your business uses gloves, and how critical they are to daily operations. By reviewing usage patterns, monitoring supplier lead times, and adjusting stock levels as needed, you can maintain a reliable supply of gloves, minimize operational disruptions, and avoid the unnecessary costs of overstocking.

Make Reordering Part of Your Routine 

Regularly reviewing your glove inventory can help make reordering a proactive, well-planned part of your business operations. Using a simple spreadsheet or inventory management system allows you to track glove usage, monitor stock levels, identify purchasing trends, and determine when it's time to replenish supplies. Over time, this information can help you make more informed purchasing decisions, maintain appropriate stock levels, and reduce the risk of running out of essential gloves or tying up money in excess inventory. Effective inventory management is about ensuring that you have the right types of gloves, in the right sizes and quantities, exactly when your employees need them. By staying organized and reviewing inventory consistently, you can support smoother daily operations, control costs, and keep your business prepared for changing demands.

When you're ready to restock, explore GloveNation's selection of disposable gloves in a variety of materials, sizes, colors, and thicknesses.