Safety should never be treated as a commodity. However, it’s a hard notion to avoid in a world in which commoditization runs rampant. Today, products can move from concept to creation so rapidly that even if it’s the first of its kind, it won’t be for long, as competitors quickly come to market with similar goods in a matter of days, if not weeks.
The risk of commoditization is not specific to consumer goods manufacturers. It is also a very real challenge for safety product manufacturers in the oil and gas industry. Increasingly, safety solutions are less separated in terms of quality and performance than ever before. Consequently they run the risk of being treated as commodities as products flood the market and the only perceived differentiator is price. But, can you really put a price on safety?