GovPlanet and US Department of Defense providing important PPE to essential workers
Every week, Ritchie Bros.’ GovPlanet marketplace sells thousands of items from the US Department of Defense, including demilitarized vehicles, uniforms, tents, medical supplies, and more. In mid-March, when a shortage of personal protective equipment for essential workers was announced, GovPlanet and the US DoD looked through all upcoming inventory, pulled items, and provided them to frontline employees.
In the past month, GovPlanet has returned ventilators, masks, gloves, and various other medical supplies to the US Department of Defense to be distributed to its customers. Much of this work has been coordinated by the US Defense Logistics Agency, the nation’s combat logistics support agency.
“During these unprecedented times, we are all doing our best to support those battling COVID-19 on the frontlines,” said Michael Cannon, Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services Director. “We are working closely with our partners to ensure items get to those that need them. GovPlanet has done an inventory of all items they have acquired from us to find anything that may be useful to the pandemic response efforts.”
Ritchie Bros.’ GovPlanet marketplace has been working with the US DoD and DLA since 2014.
“Since mid-March, we have pulled more than 12,000 N95 medical masks from our inventory and returned them to the Defense Logistics Agency for redistribution to the frontline employees who need them,” said Doug Feick, Senior Vice President, Government Services, Ritchie Bros. “We continue to monitor all incoming inventory to determine additional high-priority items that may be of use.”
GovPlanet, a Ritchie Bros. solution, was launched in 2014 to address the specialized equipment disposition needs of public entities, from federal, including military, to state, local and municipal. Each week, on average, GovPlanet draws close to 90,000 attendees to its online auctions. Items go into preview two weeks in advance and bidders can view photos, video and inspection reports. All items sold on GovPlanet have been inspected and come with IronPlanet’s exclusive IronClad Assurance® equipment condition certifications, which give bidders the confidence to buy online from anywhere in the world.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company’s selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world’s largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance® equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The company’s suite of multichannel sales solutions also includes Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions, a complete end-to-end asset management and disposition system. Ritchie Bros. also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Kruse Energy, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services.
