Nominations Open for Image of the Year Awards from NAUMD

The North-American Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors has begun accepting submissions for its Best Dressed Public Safety Awards Program that will be presented at the 2009 NAUMD convention in Las Vegas in April. Entries are due by Feb. 28, but why wait? Winners are selected in 11 categories including specialized agencies, cities under 50 officers, and fire services/EMS agency.

Unitex Direct encourages you to submit your sharp-looking uniform program today for possible national recognition!

:: Learn More

Diamond Detective Agency
Ken Ferree
Equipment and Vehicle Coordinator

Diamond Detective Agency employs more than 1,000 security officers in 15 states across the country. This family-owned business provides private, government, and airport security for customers such as General Electric, Hilton Hotels, McDonald's Corp., Department of Homeland Security, Chicago O'Hare Airport, and the state of Florida. It also provides security for multiple school districts. Now in its second- and third-generation owners, Diamond Detective Agency looks to Unitex Direct for 99 percent of its uniform and equipment needs.

As head of the purchasing department, how do you manage to keep up with so many employees, locations, and multiple uniform parts and equipment?
I rely a lot on our account managers and hiring managers to inform me what is needed. I order everything from this location and then I ship it out. I have signatures prior to shipping so I know that everything that has been requested is authorized. I keep my own inventory tracking via Excel spreadsheet and use Quickbooks as well to monitor what I have and what I need to order. I do have a uniform shop on site at my location, and a few of our locations have small uniform shops on site as well.

Some of your major clients are school districts. Were there any special considerations for the uniforms or equipment your officers wear in those settings?
Some schools require more of a softer look so it doesn't intimidate the students as much. In some of our schools, we use a non-traditional, non-military security outfit. Some schools require just a polo shirt that has “Diamond Security” embroidered on it. Every school has a very specific type of uniform they are using, and we respect their choices for uniform, but we make sure they know who our officers are.

How does working with Unitex Direct simplify your job?
It has helped out immensely in my four years of working with uniforms and Unitex Direct. They are very well organized, and they keep a spec of all our uniforms so if I don't have something in my stock, they are able to ship things out to me immediately. They are very good at letting me know when they are low on quantities, so if I foresee needing some, I can let them know ahead of time. They are very helpful at getting additional information for products we don't usually order or for special orders – things like prices and quantities and expected arrival dates. It's been a pleasure working with every person at Unitex Direct.

How long have you been involved with the security industry, and what is a major change you've seen since you started?
I've been with this company for 11 years, and I've been in this particular role for four years now. I started as an officer in the field rotating through different sites, and then I moved into our 24-hour support center for several years before I took over managing our equipment and vehicles. One of the biggest changes is that, with the technology that we have now with the Internet and email, it's much easier to order and keep track of orders both that I've placed in the past and what has been received. It's much easier to verify everything and manage my own inventory stock because I can see how quickly things are needed by various locations.