If your business goes through gloves, masks, wipes or sanitiser every week, the way you buy them can add up to a real difference in cost and admin time. Here's what to weigh up.
The obvious saving: price per unit
Suppliers price cartons lower per glove, mask or wipe than single boxes, because packing and shipping a larger unit is more efficient. The saving compounds the more consumables your team gets through — a clinic, workshop or cleaning business chewing through several boxes a week will usually save more over a year buying by the carton than restocking piecemeal.
Fewer stockouts, fewer emergency orders
Running out of gloves or masks mid-shift is more than an inconvenience — for many workplaces it means downtime or a compliance gap. Holding a carton or two in the storeroom gives you a buffer against delivery delays, unexpected demand spikes, or simply forgetting to reorder on time.
Less admin, fewer deliveries
Every order placed is time spent comparing prices, checking stock, and processing an invoice. Consolidating your PPE and hygiene consumables into fewer, larger orders cuts down on that admin overhead and reduces the number of deliveries your site needs to receive and unpack.
What to check before you commit to a carton
Bulk buying only pays off if you'll actually use the stock before it degrades or your requirements change. A few practical checks:
• Shelf life: nitrile and latex gloves, sanitiser and disinfectant wipes all have a usable shelf life — check the use-by guidance if you're stocking many months ahead.
• Storage space: a carton takes up more room than a box; make sure you've got clean, dry storage for it.
• Sizing and specification: confirm glove size and mask type before ordering a full carton, since exchanging a large quantity is more hassle than exchanging a single box.
Where to start
We've put together a Bulk Deals range covering our most frequently reordered gloves, masks, wipes and sanitiser at carton pricing, so you can compare the per-unit cost against your usual box order and see the difference for yourself.