Manufacturing Through COVID-19 Pandemic: Meeting Customer’s Needs One Wipe at a Time

At PDI, we have never been more dedicated to Be The Difference® for our customers, healthcare workers, their patients and families. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put pressure on our healthcare system, we understand how essential our infection prevention products are to reducing the spread of the virus, and we are working around the clock to support you throughout these difficult times.

We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) and its impact on both our customers and our regular business operations. PDI’s number one priority is the protection of patients, caregivers, families and our employees. As such, we have implemented rigorous protective actions to ensure the safety of our employees so we can continue to meet customer needs with minimal interruptions.

To date, PDI has implemented the following measures:

Supply Chain:

When concerns over COVID-19 first surfaced, PDI conducted a full supply chain assessment in anticipation of the increased demand. This assessment included evaluating capacity as well as raw material availability.

In summary, PDI products are manufactured in the United States, with a robust supply chain that is well positioned to address increased demand. We currently have sufficient inventory of raw materials and have contingency plans for back-up suppliers for critical raw materials to ensure on-going, continued supply.  As a result, we do not anticipate any supply chain disruption due to raw material availability.

Production:

As global demand for certain infection prevention products continues to exceed supply, PDI is working around the clock to adequately support existing distribution partners and end-user customers. PDI has been deemed as an essential business per New York State guidance and will remain in full operation. We are doing everything we can to ramp up production, including hiring workers, adding shifts and line capacity. As a result, PDI is currently producing 7 days per week, and running the maximum number of production shifts.

As surface disinfection is one of the main ways to reduce the risk of spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we have decided to prioritize production of our core surface disinfectant products included on the EPA’s List N. As a result, some non-essential products have been deprioritized and may see longer lead times.

Worker Safety:

Employee safety is a critical priority every day and especially now. We are truly grateful to all of our associates for their continued dedication to bring our essential infection prevention products to our customers.

PDI has preparedness plans in place to help protect the safety of our employees, while safely continuing business operations. First and foremost, all associates who can perform their roles from home are currently doing so across all of our facilities. However, our employees on the manufacturing floor and in the distribution center are on the front lines of producing and delivering our products to customers. For these associates, we have established social distancing and mandatory hand-washing protocols. In addition, disinfecting wipe stations, staggered lunches and breaks, relaxed time clock procedures, temperature monitoring, and increased and enhanced cleaning procedures have been implemented, among other things, to further protect our associates. As a token of our sincere appreciation for their hard work and dedication, we have offered enhanced pay and sick-leave benefits.

Distribution:

PDI has seen a steady, sharp increase in orders over the past few months and anticipates a continued increase for the foreseeable future. We are working closely with our business partners to manage this growing demand and we are prepared to continue servicing our existing customers.

In order to maximize shipping efficiencies, we are asking customers to follow their allocation guidelines, and order in full layer or pallet quantities based on their identified SKU allocation.

In addition, PDI is now shipping 7 days per week to accelerate the transport of products. Where feasible, we have modified shipment methods and hired teams of drivers to further reduce the transport time.

Learn More:

We would like to take a moment to thank you for everything you are doing in the fight against this dangerous virus. We are all in this together, and we will all come out of it stronger.  Our sales and clinical team are here to support you—whether its digital training and resources or consultation on best practices, we’re here as your partner in infection prevention.

As this is a rapidly evolving situation, we will continue to monitor the CDC website for resources and further guidance. We recommend that the general public continue to observe good personal hygiene practices, including hand washing, respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, as well as surface disinfection using an EPA-registered product.

To learn more about PDI’s disinfection products on the EPA’s List N entitled Products with Emerging Viral Pathogens and Human Coronavirus claims for use against SARS-CoV-2, click here.