# Deck 06 · Uniform & BOM — Seed brief

**Status:** Draft (not yet built)
**Saved:** 2026-06-28 by Jeff (verbal)
**Owner:** Plex / OMX Strategy

---

## One-line thesis

Re-engineer the Uniform & Bill-of-Materials process — fix the broken steps OMX runs today, and use that fix to **open new commercial opportunities** (BOM-based selling, kit-builder, repeat-orderable rosters, branded apparel at scale).

---

## Today's problem (the bad process)

- Uniform / branded apparel orders involve multiple manual handoffs
- BOM (bill of materials) for a workplace kit is rebuilt every time
- Pricing + approvals + sizing + delivery coordinated through email and phone
- Mistakes (wrong size, wrong logo, wrong count) cost OMX margin and damage trust
- Customer's HR team owns it — but they're not procurement specialists

## What "fixed" unlocks

1. **Repeatable kit / BOM templates** — "Standard new-starter kit for an OMX customer"
2. **Roster-driven reorder** — new starter joins → kit auto-built → approval → ship
3. **Size + logo memory** — never re-collect what we already know
4. **Margin protection** — quote engine knows the BOM cost + price
5. **New revenue:** branded apparel programmes for SMBs that can't afford a Cintas-style provider

## Data + info to work through tomorrow

### Problem framing (what's broken)

- Every uniform / branded apparel order is a one-off email chain (HR ↔ OMX ↔ supplier ↔ logo printer)
- Sizing collected from scratch every time even for repeat customers
- BOM (kit definition) rebuilt every time — no template library
- Mistakes (size, logo, count) → returns, re-runs, lost margin
- Slow turnaround means customers go to specialist uniform suppliers (Cintas-class) instead

### Benefits (the value story)

| Lever | Rough $ value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| **Template re-use** | Med | Reduce rebuild time per order |
| **Sizing memory** | Med | Customer doesn't re-collect sizes for known staff |
| **Roster-driven reorder** | High | New starter = auto-built kit → ship without a phone call |
| **Margin guard** | Med | Engine quotes BOM cost + margin — no rep mis-pricing |
| **New revenue: SMB branded apparel programme** | High | Today OMX doesn't really play here; Cintas-style monthly programme is open whitespace |
| **Stickiness** | Strategic | Once customer's roster + kit data is in OMX, switching cost is high |

### Memory references

- Ask Max new-starter scenario (Slide 12) is the consumer surface of this engine
- BOM engine is also the underlying for self-serve quoting (Deck 04)
- "Stewart" / "Stuart Wright" is NOT a real person (Jeff hard rule 2026-06-11)

### Open questions to resolve tomorrow

- Roster integration — Xero payroll? BambooHR? Manual upload?
- Logo printer relationship — keep current or rebuild?
- Sizing storage — privacy / GDPR angle on holding staff body measurements
- Programme pricing model — monthly subscription? per-starter? per-piece?

## Cross-link with Ask Max

The new-starter scenario on Ask Max Slide 12 ("Sarah's starting Monday, order her kit") **is the front-door to this platform**. The deck shows the demo; this is the underlying engine.

## Layout candidates from the gold standard

- Cover: WeWork — HR person at desk with sizing spreadsheet
- Problem vector grid: Manual rebuild / Email handoffs / Sizing errors / Lost margin
- Solution mirror grid: Templated BOM / Roster-driven / Size memory / Margin guard
- Market size: # workplaces buying uniform / branded apparel
- Tagline: "Every team. Every starter. One kit."
- Product: BOM builder UI composite
- Mind-map breadth: HR / new-starter / re-fit / branded merch / safety PPE / event
- How-it-works: New-starter walkthrough (Ask Max's Slide 12 scenario)
- Differentiation: vs. spreadsheet / vs. external uniform supplier
- Architecture: BOM engine → Roster sync → Pronto → Salesforce
- Roadmap: Pilot 5 customers → expand → branded apparel programme

---

## Research deepening (background-agent, 2026-06-28)

### 1. NZ uniform / workwear market sizing

- Global workwear & uniforms market: **~$67.92B USD (2025)**, CAGR 4.3% to 2031 (StratView, Cognitive Market Research).
- NZ proxy sizing (GDP-share method, NZ ~0.27% of global GDP, uniform-intensity slightly above average due to primary industries): **NZ uniform/workwear market ~NZ$300M-$450M/yr**. Confirm with IBISWorld NZ corporate apparel/uniforms when accessible.
- NZ key players:
  - **Total Image Group (TIG)** — AU-based, 350k+ employees in AU branded apparel, expanding to NZ (totalimagegroup.com.au/newzealanduniforms).
  - **Cintas** — global leader (51-of-53-year sales+EPS growth streak); NZ footprint is light/indirect.
  - **NZ Safety Blackwoods** — strong workwear + PPE position, B2B service model.
  - **JB Hi-Fi** — appears in seed; correction: JB does NOT play in uniform/workwear (consumer tech). Strike from comparator list.
  - **Engelbert Strauss** — European workwear, e-commerce model, NZ-import only.
- Sources: stratviewresearch.com; cognitivemarketresearch.com; totalimagegroup.com.au.

### 2. Industries needing uniform programs (sized for NZ)

| Sector | NZ employed (Stats NZ rough) | Uniform-intensity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Hospitality** | ~190k | High (front-of-house, kitchen, hotel) | High turnover = high re-kit cycle |
| **Healthcare** | ~270k | Very high (scrubs, lab coats) | Regulated; sizing memory matters most |
| **Logistics / DC / Transport** | ~180k | High (hi-vis, safety) | PPE-adjacent; overlaps NZ Safety BW |
| **Retail (non-food)** | ~120k | Medium (branded polos / aprons) | Low-margin but high volume |
| **Government / local body** | ~330k | Medium-high (council, schools, defence, police) | Procurement-led, contract-shaped |
| **Construction** | ~290k | High (workwear + PPE) | Crowded supplier base |
| **Education (uniformed)** | ~67k staff (excludes students) | Low for staff | Student uniform is a different deck |

Top 3 wedges by addressable spend: **Healthcare, Hospitality, Logistics** — all currently underserved by OMX, all have HR-owned procurement (not strategic sourcing).

### 3. HR pain points + cost benchmarks

- HR admin time per new starter (industry benchmarks): **10-20 hours** total; ~10 hours of that is paperwork + kit setup.
- Welcome kit direct cost: **$20-$100/employee** (typical).
- Onboarding direct cost SMB: **$600-$1,800/hire** (equipment + materials + admin + kit).
- SHRM benchmark total onboarding cost: **$4,100/hire** (all-in).
- Onboarding cost = ~22% of hire's first-year salary (SHRM-aligned).
- Sizing errors specifically: every wrong-size return cycle costs ~$30-$60 in reverse-logistics + admin + delay. With 5-15% size-error rate at first issue (industry typical), an SMB onboarding 50 starters/yr loses **$150-$450/yr** purely to size mistakes — small per-customer but a credibility-killer.
- Sources: SHRM onboarding; Careerminds; BambooHR cost-of-onboarding 2026; eduMe.

### 4. Comparable BOM / uniform platforms

| Platform | Model | Notes for OMX read-across |
|---|---|---|
| **Cintas Ready** | Uniform rental + laundry, 11-garment baseline per starter, weekly pickup, TruCount RFID tracking | Service-heavy; OMX can't match rental but CAN match the **roster + kit-template** layer |
| **IWG (Iconic Workwear)** | AU branded apparel, e-commerce + corporate accounts | Closer to OMX play — purchase model not rental |
| **Engelbert Strauss** | EU workwear, premium e-commerce | UX gold standard for kit-builder + size-memory |
| **TIG (Total Image Group)** | AU/NZ uniform manufacturer + branded apparel programmes | Direct competitor in NZ for SMB whitespace |
| **Alsco** | NZ rental linen + workwear | Rental model, less BOM-flexible |

**OMX whitespace**: SMB (5-50 FTE) branded-apparel programmes are largely unserved — too small for Cintas/Alsco, too operationally complex for the customer to self-run on a spreadsheet. The BOM-template + roster-sync layer is the unlock.

### 5. OMX uniform supplier base (placeholder — needs master-data confirmation)

- No clean uniform-specific supplier list surfaced in OMX project memory in this sweep.
- Working assumption (verify with master-data team):
  - OMX likely buys generic branded apparel via local NZ apparel wholesalers (Gildan / AS Colour / Stencil distributors).
  - Embellishment (embroidery / screen-print) likely outsourced to 1-3 NZ logo houses.
  - Hi-vis / PPE overlaps existing OMX safety supplier base.
- **Open question for tomorrow**: who is OMX's current apparel-fulfilment partner — and is the relationship contractual or ad-hoc? This shapes whether BOM-engine is greenfield or layered onto existing rails.

### 6. Logo / embellishment workflow current state

- Industry-typical broken state (matches seed's described pain):
  - Artwork received as email attachment, often in wrong format (JPG instead of vector EPS/AI).
  - Manual approval chain: customer brand → OMX rep → logo house → proof back → customer sign-off (5-15 email round-trips).
  - Re-runs from wrong artwork are common; cost absorbed by OMX or written off as goodwill.
- 2026 best-practice (BOM platforms like Engelbert Strauss, Cintas Ready):
  - Single artwork upload + automated format check (vector, colour-space, min resolution).
  - One-time customer brand-approval; lock artwork to BOM template.
  - Auto-generated proof PDF for customer sign-off; logo house gets machine-ready file.
- **OMX uplift**: even partial automation of artwork intake removes the most rep-time-intensive step in the current process, AND removes the most common margin-leak (re-runs).

### 7. Cross-reference back to memory

- "Stewart Wright" / "Stuart" = NOT a person (hard rule `feedback_no_stuart_person.md`). Confirmed already in seed.
- Ask Max Slide 12 (new-starter scenario) is the consumer surface; this deck is the engine.
- Roster integration candidates: Xero Payroll (NZ ~600k subs), MYOB PayGlobal, BambooHR. **atoMiC** (per `project_omx_atomic_full_org_with_manager.md`) provides the proven OMX-internal pattern for staff/manager hierarchy ingest — same pattern reused for customer roster sync.