Matchmaking PPE with firms is platform’s purpose

Market for masks alone could be worth $3.5B

TORONTO • Canadian industry players have thrown their support behind a new online matchmaking platform that facilitates connections between legitimate suppliers of personal protective equipment and companies seeking the gear required to protect workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Startup Bulky.io, a platform for shippers to match chemical bulk freight loads with available tanker capacity, decided to use its Ai-enhanced matching technology to help Canadian manufacturers find buyers for products they’ve raced to make during the pandemic including hand sanitizer, surgical masks, N95 masks, surface sanitizer, face shields and gowns.

The new Rapid Response Platform is free and has the backing of the federal government, businesses and industry associations

Supporters include the Business Development Bank of Canada, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, chemical producer BASF Canada and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.

“Our small team in Alberta and Newfoundland quickly realized we could make real impact during this COVID-19 crisis by automated and instant matching of supply and demand,” Devshree Gavande, Bulky’s vice- president of architecture, said in a statement.

Transactions take place outside of the platform once suppliers and businesses use it to find each other.

With PPE supply chains facing unprecedented stress due to the spike in global demand, the platform is needed so manufacturers can keep employees protected once factories reopen, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters director Matt Poirier said in a statement.

Trust will be one of the key elements of the platform, given its backing from industry heavy hitters.

“We’re all giving it our stamp of approval,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.

Manufacturers and businesses alike have had problems sourcing legitimate suppliers in the scramble to make and buy medical gear during the pandemic. Many auto parts manufacturers “lost hair chasing sources down rabbit holes” when they shifted gears to produce medical gear when the automotive production industry shut down, Volpe said.

The AMPA was happy to support a platform that sources real PPE and cuts down on the work of sifting out substandard products, Volpe said. Plus it makes it faster for buyers to move product and for any business to figure out who has what, how much they have and when they can deliver.

Demand for PPE is expected to grow exponentially as the Canadian government reopens the economy and businesses require additional safety measures in the workplace.

The disposable mask market alone could grow to an estimated $3.5 billion over the next 12 months for both medical N95 masks and non-medical masks, according to an analysis by Ottawa- based consultancy Allam Advisory Group. It expects demand to explode to 3.3 billion masks in that period, with 330 million surgical masks ordered by the Canadian government alone, of which only 33.5 million have been delivered to date.

“The numbers are pretty staggering in terms of what’s required,” consultant Omar Allam said.

While the initial demand came from the health- care sector, industrial and consumer markets will also require masks. Based on import restrictions and challenges procuring goods overseas, Allam sees the opportunity for manufacturers to ramp up domestic production to meet both short- and long- term needs.

“The market will see an increase in new entrants and industry consolidation is possible as some smaller Canadian companies may not be able to meet the investment requirements, program management, risk- taking, and they may not have access to diversified and resilient supply chain networks,” the advisory group said in the report.

The numbers are prett y staggering.