--- title: "Issue the Right PPE to the Right Worker, Against the Right Allowance" url: https://www.uncap.com/industry/safety-ppe author: "Denis Dyli" published: 2026-09-24 updated: 2026-11-05 summary: "Uncap builds safety and PPE distribution ecommerce on Shopify where the transaction is issuing equipment to a named worker, in a size, from the list their site approved, against an allowance. Site and job role approved catalogs use Shopify Plus B2B catalogs assigned to companies and locations, so unapproved items are absent rather than merely unbuyable. Sizing and fit, including respirator facepiece sizing, and ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA certification documentation are structured data on the product and travel with the order. The per-worker allowance engine is built during implementation, so it is scoped and priced as a build on Uncap Portal's multi-user account structure, with contract pricing synced from the ERP through Uncap Connect." --- # Issue the Right PPE to the Right Worker, Against the Right Allowance > Uncap builds safety and PPE distribution ecommerce on Shopify where the transaction is issuing equipment to a named worker, in a size, from the list their site approved, against an allowance. Site and job role approved catalogs use Shopify Plus B2B catalogs assigned to companies and locations, so unapproved items are absent rather than merely unbuyable. Sizing and fit, including respirator facepiece sizing, and ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA certification documentation are structured data on the product and travel with the order. The per-worker allowance engine is built during implementation, so it is scoped and priced as a build on Uncap Portal's multi-user account structure, with contract pricing synced from the ERP through Uncap Connect. ## The challenge **Where a generic storefront breaks for safety and PPE** A safety manager is not buying gloves. They are issuing gloves. | | Factor | Generic storefront setup | What a PPE distributor needs | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sizing and fit | A size option, like a shirt. | Size systems per category, with respirator facepiece sizing where the choice is made. | | Certification | A document in a library. | ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA markings, ratings and revisions on the product. | | Approved catalogs | One catalog per customer. | A different approved catalog per site and per job role. | | Issuance | An order with a price. | A per-worker allowance with a period, a reset, replacement rules and co-pay above the limit. | **The hardest requirement in this trade is built during implementation.** Uncap builds employee issue tracking against site allowances as a custom rules engine or an ERP-connected workflow, scoped and priced in the implementation. That reframes the project. Treat it as a B2B portal, product data and document management, and ERP integration program, not just a storefront. If you are being shown a storefront demo, you are being shown the smallest part of this. **Sizing and fit is product data that behaves like a fitting room.** A glove size is not a shirt size is not a respirator facepiece. Fit matters legally, not just comfortably: the wrong respirator size is a failed fit test and a compliance exposure. "Respirator fit test" draws roughly 5,400 US searches a month at a cost per click of $13.19, which is a large audience for a problem most distributor sites do not address at all. **Certification documentation is the product.** ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA markings, cut levels, impact ratings, arc flash calories, declaration of conformity, lot and manufacture date. A buyer choosing between two apparently identical gloves is choosing between two documents. **Approved catalogs are site specific, not customer specific.** The same employer approves different PPE at a refinery than at a warehouse. Catalog access is a safety decision made per site, sometimes per job role, and it changes after every incident review. **Issuance is an accounting system.** Per-worker allowance, reset period, replacement rules, damaged-in-service exceptions, co-pay above the limit, and a report the EHS manager runs quarterly. It draws down at issue and it has to reconcile. ## The Uncap solution **From the site's approved list to an issued item** The native mechanism and the build, named separately. ### 1. Native, The site's approved catalog Each site, and each job role where needed, is assigned its own catalog. - Shopify Plus B2B catalogs assigned to companies and locations - Unapproved items are absent, not merely unbuyable ### 2. Product data, The right size, documented Sizing, fit and certification carried as structured product data. - Respirator facepiece sizing at the point of choice - ANSI and NIOSH documentation travels with the order ### 3. Build, Issued against the allowance The per-worker allowance engine is scoped and priced as a build. - Balance, period and reset - Supervisor approval above a threshold - Reconciliation the EHS manager can run Because the deciding capability is built during implementation and the shape of the work is integration, the platform is the foundation and the partner is the variable. One Shopify mechanism matters here: the Shopify Plus plan offers an unlimited number of B2B catalogs and direct assignment to companies and locations. For a business whose central requirement is a different approved catalog per site, that is not a small detail. It is the mechanism. **Site approved catalogs, using that mechanism.** Each site, and where needed each job role, is assigned its own catalog. A worker at that site sees what their site approved and does not see what it did not. This is a catalog assignment rather than a front-end filter, so an unapproved item is absent rather than merely unbuyable. **The allowance engine.** [Uncap Portal](/products/portal) provides multi-user accounts with roles and permissions, where each buyer sees their own assortment and pricing. That is the foundation a per-worker allowance sits on: a balance with a period and a reset, replacement rules, co-pay above the limit, supervisor approval above a threshold, and restoration on return. Building that engine is implementation work. It appears in the scope with a number rather than on a feature list. Uncap builds the same architecture for employee uniform programs, described on the [Workwear and Uniforms](/industry/workwear-uniforms) page, which is the closest neighboring problem. **Sizing, fit and certification as structured product data.** Size systems per category, fit and sizing guidance on the product, respirator facepiece sizing surfaced where the choice is made, and certification documents attached to the product with their markings, ratings and revision, rather than living in a documents library. This half of the project is product data and document management, which is exactly how it is scoped. **Kitting for onboarding.** A new-hire PPE kit is set up as a set of items in the right sizes for one person and ordered together at the account's contract pricing. It is configured during implementation, alongside the allowance engine. **Contract pricing and ERP.** [Uncap Connect](/products/connect) syncs ERP pricing, inventory, customer accounts and orders directly to Shopify across thirteen published integrations. [Uncap Quotes](/products/quotes) runs the full configure, price, quote workflow inside the Shopify admin, with negotiated prices, tiers and volume breaks applied automatically, approvals routed to the right approver, revisions that keep the version history, and an approved quote converting to a Shopify order in one click. ## Key features **What Uncap builds for safety and PPE distributors** Fit, certification, approved catalogs and issuance against an allowance. ### 01 · Allowances, Per-worker allowance and issuance Balance, period, reset, replacement rules and co-pay above the limit. ### 02 · Catalogs, Site and role specific approved catalogs Assigned rather than filtered, using B2B catalogs assigned to companies and locations. ### 03 · Fit, Sizing and fit data on the product Size systems per category and respirator facepiece sizing. ### 04 · Certification, Certification documentation ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA markings carried on the product and with the order. ### 05 · Kits, New-hire and role based kits A full kit in one worker's sizes, ordered together at contract pricing. ### 06 · Accounts, Multi-site account structure Matching an employer's site and supervisor structure. ### 07 · Pricing, Contract pricing from the ERP Account and site level negotiated pricing rendered at checkout. ### 08 · Quotes, Quoting with revision history Account pricing, approval routing and version history for annual programs. ### 09 · ERP, ERP integration Thirteen published integrations syncing pricing, inventory, accounts and orders. **Per-worker allowance and issuance.** Balance, period, reset, replacement rules, damaged-in-service exceptions, co-pay above the limit, supervisor approval above a threshold, and reconciliation the EHS manager can run. **Site and role specific approved catalogs.** A different approved catalog per site and per job role, assigned rather than filtered, using Shopify Plus's unlimited B2B catalogs with direct assignment to companies and locations. **Sizing and fit data on the product.** Size systems per category, fit guidance, and respirator facepiece sizing surfaced at the point of choice. **Certification documentation attached to the product.** ANSI, NIOSH, ASTM, EN and CSA markings, cut levels, impact ratings, arc flash values, declarations of conformity and revision dates, carried on the product and with the order. **New-hire and role based kits.** A full PPE kit in one worker's sizes, set up once and ordered together at the account's contract pricing. **Multi-site account structure.** Multi-user accounts with roles and permissions, where each buyer sees their own assortment and pricing, matching an employer's site and supervisor structure rather than yours. **Contract pricing from the ERP.** Account and site level negotiated pricing rendered at checkout rather than corrected afterward. **Quoting with revision history.** Configure, price and quote inside the Shopify admin, with account pricing applied automatically, approvals routed to the right approver and revisions that keep the version history for annual programs. **ERP integration.** Thirteen published integrations covering NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, Sage, Acumatica, Odoo, QuickBooks, Fishbowl, Cin7 and Syspro. ## Why Uncap **The deciding requirement is named as a build.** Employee issue tracking against site allowances is built during implementation. It carries a scope and a price here rather than a checkbox. **The catalog mechanism is real and native.** Shopify Plus offers unlimited B2B catalogs with direct assignment to companies and locations, the exact mechanism site-specific approved catalogs need. **The allowance architecture already exists in a neighboring trade.** The same engine runs employee uniform programs, which is a closer analogue to PPE issuance than anything in general B2B commerce. **The project is scoped as what it is.** A portal, a product data and document layer, and an ERP integration. Not a storefront with compliance bolted on. Related pages: [Janitorial and Sanitation](/industry/janitorial-sanitation), the sibling page for the consumables half of this catalog, Workwear and Uniforms, which shares the allowance and issuance architecture, and [Industrial Supply and MRO](/industry/industrial-supply-mro), where safety sits as a named category and where many of these accounts also buy. Safety distributors can also see [distribution on Shopify](/solutions/distributors). ## Ready to talk Bring one site's approved PPE list and one worker's issuance record for the last twelve months. Between them they contain the catalog, the sizes, the allowance and the reporting, which is the entire build. [Talk to Our Experts](/quote), or start with a [Blueprint](https://www.uncap.com/blueprint), the paid discovery engagement that maps the allowance model, catalog structure, certification data layer and ERP integration before any build begins. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can Shopify track PPE issued to employees against a site allowance? Yes, as an implementation build. Uncap builds the allowance engine on Shopify's B2B account structure and scopes it with a price. Ask any partner you shortlist to show you where they have built it before. ### Can each site see a different approved PPE catalog? Yes, and this part is native. The Shopify Plus plan offers an unlimited number of B2B catalogs and direct assignment to companies and locations. A site's approved list is a catalog assignment rather than a display rule, so unapproved product is absent rather than merely unbuyable. Job role catalogs work the same way. ### How is sizing and fit handled? As structured product data rather than a PDF. Size systems differ by category, so glove, garment, footwear and respirator sizing are modeled separately, with fit guidance and facepiece sizing surfaced where the buyer makes the choice. Respirator sizing in particular is a compliance matter rather than a comfort one. ### Where do ANSI and NIOSH certifications live? On the product and on the order. Markings, cut levels, impact ratings, arc flash values, declarations of conformity and revision dates are attached to the product record and travel with the order, rather than sitting in a documents library somebody has to search during an audit. ### Can we order a full PPE kit for a new hire? Yes. A new-hire kit in one worker's sizes is set up once and ordered together at the account's contract pricing, rather than as eleven separate searches. It is configured during implementation, alongside the allowance engine. ### Do you have PPE clients? Not as a published case study yet, and this page does not borrow one. Uncap's published builds in the neighboring half of this catalog are Sanitaire and Microfiber Wholesale, both in janitorial and cleaning supply, and the allowance and issuance architecture described here is the one Uncap builds for employee uniform programs. That distinction is worth demanding from any agency showing you a safety logo. ### What is the difference between this page and the janitorial page? The buyer's problem. This page is compliance: fit, certification, approved catalogs and issuing equipment to named workers against an allowance. Janitorial and Sanitation is consumables, dispensing programs, routes and standing orders. Most distributors sell both, and the two builds share the account and ERP layers while sharing very little above them.