Many long, happy, lasting relationships start with a serendipitous meeting followed by a tentative first date, then a series of meetings where each person finds out more of what they like about the other. Eventually it becomes apparent that staying together will make them both live much happier and more fulfilled lives. And so it was with Australia Post and Alpha First Aid – minus all the romance, of course!

The serendipitous meeting occurred when Australia Post’s Heathwood Delivery Centre in Brisbane’s southwestern outer suburbs could no longer source its first aid kits from its usual supplier. It needed 50 updated kits for the site. A team member at Australia Post had dealt with Alpha First Aid in a previous role, so a call was made to Alpha’s owner, Wayne Messer, to see if he could provide a quote. After the initial meeting to discuss Heathwood’s specific requirements, Alpha’s competitive quote for a customised product was accepted.

Suzie Alley, Senior Administrator for Australia Post’s Business Services Unit in Queensland, explains how the two-year relationship with Alpha First Aid developed from there. Following the first purchase, they looked into their existing kits [across the business] and realised they didn’t meet their current needs. ‘Safety is a big focus at Australia Post. If you’re not compliant with standards, you can’t keep your team safe’, she says.

First, Australia Post reviewed all its delivery centres in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Then it launched a drive to get all delivery centres compliant with safety standards for its posties. It needed first response first aid kits that were easy to use and always available. Mail is delivered to Australians by bicycle, electric bike, motor bike, walkers and vans and each has specific needs. For example, motor bike riders need burn cream in their kits and sadly, all posties need wound care items to treat dog bites. ‘You’d be surprised how many dog bites our postal delivery officers have to deal with’, says Suzie. At the time of writing, all of Australia Post’s 127 corporate retail stores in Queensland and the Northern Territory, as well as all modes of delivery were compliant with standards and had met needs, with the exception of delivery vans. A program to roll out new first aid kits to its fleet of vans is commencing nationally soon. Making Australia Post’s parcel delivery contractors compliant will complete the program rollout.

In consultation with Alpha First Aid, Australia Post has also developed a K1 response kit for each delivery facility, which includes a wall kit and a portable kit for first response, deployed when news of an accident involving an employee reaches the delivery facility.

‘One of the other things we found out from our review was that people found our process to buy first aid kits was confusing for them, particularly in delivery centres’, says Suzie. This realisation sparked a conversation with Alpha, resulting in an online, tailored first aid kit supply and replenishment service. This gives administrators in Australia Post’s delivery centres access to Alpha First Aid’s online shopping function, which includes its customised Australia Post product pages. The items available on these pages are specially-designed and clearly-named first aid kits that meet compliance requirements, as well as stock to replenish supplies. This function will be fully deployed nationally over the next 12 months.

Suzie remains very happy with the close business relationship with Alpha First Aid. ‘Alpha has never ducked a curve ball! They’ve been easy to deal with and there has never been a problem.’ She says that Australia Post continues to look for solutions like this one to help support the safety of its people.

Alpha hopes the relationship will remain strong and mutually beneficial for years to come.