Exclusive: One billion pieces of PPE delivered by Devon firm

A Devon tech business behind a digital procurement platform has facilitated the delivery of more than one billion items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Barnstaple-based Applegate Marketplace, an artificial intelligence-powered procurement platform that connects commercial buyers with providers of goods and services, started to see high demand for PPE items on its platform during the early stages of the pandemic. The company's customers include care homes, nursing agencies and councils, many of which struggled to procure essential equipment as the coronavirus spread last year. 

Applegate set up a dedicated Covid-19 supply hub, which has provided equipment all over the UK and beyond. Even NATO has ordered supplies using the platform, contributing to the staggering one billion items of PPE delivered over the past year. 

Stuart Brocklehurst, Applegate's CEO, told SWTD: "We didn’t want to make a profit out of the shortages in equipment [at the start of the pandemic] so we set up a non-commercial service, a Covid-19 supply hub to enable the connection of supply and demand in the challenging times. A year on from being set up, we have arranged delivery of over a billion items of PPE alone.

“In many cases we’ve been people’s last resort because their regular suppliers haven’t been able to help and we’ve been able to get deliveries to them," said Brocklehurst. "It’s been hugely positive to be able to do that.”