How to Order Scrubs for Your Staff: A Guide for Hospitals, Practices and Schools
When a hospital department, private practice, dental office or nursing program needs uniforms for its whole team, the process looks very different from one person buying a scrub set for themselves. Sizes have to be collected, budgets have to be set, logos have to be approved, and everything has to arrive before a start date that usually cannot move.
This guide walks through how organizations typically handle uniform ordering, what to plan for, and the questions worth asking any supplier before you commit. If you already know what your team needs and would rather go straight to setting something up, you can request a group order page for your organization here.
Who Usually Handles Uniform Ordering
The person responsible is rarely a full-time buyer. It is far more often a practice manager, an office administrator, a nurse manager, a program coordinator or a department lead who has picked up uniforms alongside a dozen other responsibilities. If that describes you, the good news is that the process is more straightforward than it first appears once the right structure is in place.
The Three Ways Organizations Usually Buy
1. Employees Buy Their Own and Submit for Reimbursement
This is the simplest arrangement and the one that creates the least administrative work upfront. Staff purchase what they need and submit receipts. The trade-off is consistency, because without clear guidance people end up in slightly different colors, brands and styles.
2. The Organization Sets an Allowance
Each employee receives a set dollar amount toward their order and pays any balance above it themselves. This is a popular middle ground because it controls cost, keeps the overall look consistent, and still gives staff a genuine choice in fit and style. Allowances are usually refreshed annually or at hire.
3. The Organization Is Billed Directly
Everything goes on one account and one statement. This works well for larger orders, for programs that supply uniforms as a benefit, and for any organization that needs a single invoice for accounting. It takes the most setup and the least ongoing effort.
Sizing Across a Whole Team
Sizing is where group orders most often go wrong. Scrubs fit differently from brand to brand, and a medium in one line can run closer to a large in another. Collecting sizes over email tends to produce a spreadsheet full of guesses, and guesses produce exchanges.
There are two reliable ways around this. The first is an on-site fitting, where the supplier brings samples to your building and staff try things on during a break. The second is a dedicated group ordering page, where each person selects their own size and style from a list you have approved, while the organization keeps control of what is offered. If the second sounds like what your team needs, you can tell us about your group and we will set one up.
Embroidery, Logos and Credentials
Most organizations want a logo, a name, credentials or a department line. A few things are worth knowing before you build a plan around it.
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Most suppliers, ourselves included, embroider only on garments purchased from them, because stitching on outside items carries a real risk of damaging something that cannot be replaced.
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Name lines are usually limited by character count. Ours allow one line of twenty characters or fewer, with a small additional charge for a second line.
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A logo needs approval from whoever owns it at your organization. Sorting that out early prevents a delay at the worst possible moment.
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Embroidery is generally priced by turnaround rather than by design. Ours runs from ten dollars for a one-week turnaround up to thirty dollars for same-day service when our embroidery specialist is in.
Planning Your Timeline
Work backward from the date people need to be wearing the uniforms, rather than forward from the date you start. For a typical group order, plan on about two weeks for items to arrive in store and about a week for embroidery once they have arrived, which comes to roughly three weeks in total. Then add time for collecting sizes, which is almost always the slowest step and the one entirely outside your supplier's control.
Dress Codes and Color Standards
Many healthcare organizations now assign scrub colors by role, so that patients and families can tell at a glance who is a nurse, who is a technician and who is from environmental services. If your organization has a color standard, or is considering one, the practical question for any supplier is simple. Can they reliably stock that exact color, in every size your team needs, all year round? A standard that staff cannot actually buy into becomes a source of frustration very quickly.
Do Not Forget New Hires
The initial order is the part everyone plans for. The part that gets forgotten is what happens in March when three new people start. A uniform arrangement that only works once a year is not really a program. Ask any supplier how replenishment works, whether the ordering page stays live between cycles, and how quickly a single new employee can be outfitted.
Questions Worth Asking Any Supplier
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Is there a minimum order, and does it also apply to reorders?
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Can staff try garments on in person before the order is placed?
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Will you come to our site to run a fitting?
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How are exchanges handled when something does not fit?
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Can you stock our required colors consistently through the year?
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Is embroidery done in house or sent out?
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How does a new hire order between cycles?
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Can we be invoiced, and in what format?
How Group Ordering Works at ScrubHaven
At ScrubHaven we set up a dedicated ordering page for your organization. Your team selects their own sizes and styles from what you have approved, embroidery is done in house, and there is no minimum order. We can arrange billing by monthly statement, set up a per-employee allowance, or simply let staff order and pay individually, whichever suits the way your organization already works.
We also run on-site fittings, bringing samples to your building so people can find the right size without leaving work. And with two stores open seven days a week, anyone who would rather come in and try things on has somewhere to go on their own schedule.
If you would like to talk through what would work for your team, you can start here: ScrubHaven Group Order Form. There is no obligation at all, and we are glad to answer questions even if the timing is not right just yet.
More on Ordering Uniforms for a Team
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