GREENSBORO, N.C. — Healthcare workers need PPE. But now so do servers at restaurants and the people checking you out at stores.
If health care facilities are having trouble getting items (and they've been ordering them since the beginning of time) how can the owners of these businesses get them and know they're not getting scammed?
”You're talking to three guys working in the tech field and we saw how it was impacting our communities and we wanted a way to help our communities and move forward safely,” says JT Garwood of PPE Exchange.
The three guys came up with an amazon-esque website that links
PPE providers with purchasers. But it's not just an online marketplace free for all. To be a seller, you have to prove you're on the up and up.
“We start with a one-on-one phone conversation, from there references and make sure they have confirmed deliveries and they're not someone who pops up overnight,” explains Jake Deichmann.
Now, couldn't those vendors just lie and make up a bogus business? The guys thought about that too. This digital marketplace is what’s called a blockchain marketplace.
Russ Decker says the blockchain technology sniffs out the scams. “It really sheds light on who is changing data, we take a look at the vendor verification, the images they provide and look at the validity of the product.”
Right now, the group is working with the North Carolina Hospital Association. But this site is meant to help retailers, construction companies, restaurants, and other businesses who need PPE for their employees but don’t really have experience for getting those kinds of items.