How Manufacturers Can Work with the Government to Provide PPE
Hospitals, businesses, schools andindividualswill continue to needprotective gear—but how much andforhow long? The 51Թ has been working with the federal government to help manufacturers meet this urgent need,acting asago-between to get millions of masks, gloves and more where theyhave togo.The 51Թ and The Manufacturing Institute’s Center for Manufacturing Research have an estimate of how many disposable face coverings America’s workforce needs every month.
As part ofa recent Departmentof Defenseseminar,Herb Grant, the director of the 51Թ’s Creators Respond effort,outlined how manufacturers canget involved.Here is a brief recap of the event.
How much?Here’s what we know:
- As of July 9, the DoD hadalready procured nearly 3 million gowns, nearly 140 million medical gloves, nearly 18 million surgical masksand more than 5 million N95 respirators(according to ٳDoD’sJoint Acquisition Task Force).
- The 51Թ has estimated the demand for facial coveringsapproaches1.7 billion pieces per month—and that’s just for industries that don’t typically use PPE. Meeting that demand will require manufacturers to add capacity by investing in new or retooling existing production lines.
The DoD says thatinformation helped clarifythatthe total demand is not fully understood, but it is far greater than previously thought.
How long? According to Grant,ٳdeputydirector of ٳWhite House Supply Chain Task Forceexpectsٳdemandfor PPE to continue beyond next year,andperhaps eventhrough 2023.
How can manufacturers get involved? There arethreemajor ways in which manufacturers can help, said Grant.
- Increase your capacity to produce PPE:Manufacturersshould evaluate whether they canshift capacity or invest in new capacity—which may involvetalking to Creators Respond abouthow the government can support those investments.
- Sell PPE to the government:Manufacturers canfind outhow their production lines up with the government’s needs andconsider participating in variousfederalprograms.
- Sell PPE toٳindustry:As the 1.7 billionpermonth demandestimate shows,industries across the countryneed the PPE that manufacturers are producing—and will keep needing more.
How to sell to the government:There arethreethingsmanufacturersneed to do before selling products to the government, Grant advises.
- Geta DUNS number: A Data Universal Numbering System number is a unique ID that is required to register with the federal government for contracts or grants (you can obtain one ).
- Register with SAM:The System for Award Management consolidates the capabilities of existing federal procurement systems—and you can register at.
- Check for contracting opportunities:The webinarcovereda range of sites that offer contracting opportunities, including:
- ;
- ; and
- .
The last word:“The bottom line is the manufacturing industry, which has been on the front lines, will continue to lead our country through recovery and renewal,” said Grant.
Check out afullrecording of the event.