Offer Architecture
Category: offers Sources: trace-summary-services-icp-competitors-background.md, Services & Offers Notion workspace (2026-08-01) Confidence: high Last Updated: 2026-08-01
Service Philosophy
Trace PPE Pathway: Know the route. Move the product. Regain control. Build capability.
Services are grouped by the customer journey stage and tied together by this pathway. All fixed-fee services and retainers exclude laboratory and certification-body fees, which are separate, approved in writing, and passed on at cost without markup.
Know the route
- Route Finder
Move the product forward
- Certification Project
Regain control
- Issue Support, Range Review, Technical Ownership
Build capability
- Team Training
1. Route Finder — £395
Positioning line: Know the route before you commit.
Who it's for: Startups developing a new protective product; established brands entering a new product or market; founders, product leaders, and teams preparing to bring PPE to market.
Problem solved: The team is about to commit budget but does not know the correct order of action, what evidence is needed, which dependencies matter, or where material risks sit.
What it is: A fixed-fee, five-working-day review for a team needing to understand the route before committing major budget, testing, certification activity, or launch effort.
Deliverable: Current position, product understanding, route and sequence, cost and dependency view, evidence position, material risks and assumptions, clear next decision.
Boundaries: Trace advises and maps the route. The review covers only the product family and variants specified during agreed product intake. Any subsequent product families or variants not specified at that point require separate agreement. Independent laboratories, notified bodies, and regulators retain their own decisions.
Status: Price confirmed at £395. Exact scope, required pre-work information and follow-on handover remain controlled by the current service specification.
2. Certification Project — £1,500–£350 per product scope
Positioning line: Move PPE certification forward.
Who it's for: Brands with understood route; product and technical teams preparing for testing or certification; teams needing one technical point of coordination.
Problem solved: Route is broadly known, but the client lacks time or capacity to manage the chasing, updates, submissions, evidence, and actions needed to keep the PPE project moving.
What it is: A defined project for PPE products where the route is understood and the client needs help preparing, coordinating, documenting, or progressing testing and certification activity.
Delivery scopes (private internal prices under one public service):
| Scope | First product | Subsequent product |
|---|---|---|
| Full Certification Project | £1,500 | £1,000 |
| Documentation-only | £950 | £650 |
| Testing-only coordination | £350 | £250 |
| Certification-only coordination | £350 | £250 |
What Full Project includes: Defined scope and responsibility map, prepared information and documentation, test and certification coordination, visible actions/dependencies/decisions, weekly written status updates, clear handover and maintenance requirements.
What Documentation-only includes: Review and organise product evidence, prepare or update technical documentation, prepare evidence index, prepare DoC draft, coordinate IFU/marking/product information inputs, weekly status updates.
What Testing-only includes: Confirm testing brief, prepare test-house submission, coordinate sample and document requirements, manage questions and actions, track reports and outstanding points, weekly status updates.
What Certification-only includes: Prepare certification submission, coordinate with certification body, track comments/requests/actions, manage submission updates and follow-up, weekly status updates.
Boundaries: Trace prepares and coordinates. Trace works with test houses and certification bodies but does not perform independent testing, issue certificates, or control certification decisions. Test-house and certification-body fees are separate.
Key distinction: Subsequent-product pricing applies only where client route, documentation structure, and working relationship are already established. Materially different product, market, or route is priced as a new first product.
3. Range Review — £150–£350 per product
Positioning line: Know what to keep, fix, or remove.
Who it's for: Established PPE brands with live ranges; businesses that have inherited a product portfolio; brands with product, evidence, or certificate uncertainty; commercial, quality, product, and technical leaders.
Problem solved: The business has PPE products in development, in stock, or on market, but cannot confidently see which products are properly supported, which evidence belongs to each product, what is missing, or which products should be kept, fixed, consolidated, paused, or removed.
What it is: A structured review of an active or inherited PPE range to establish what products are supported, what evidence belongs to each product, what needs attention, and which products should be kept, fixed, consolidated, paused, or removed.
Deliverables: Defined range population and review boundary, product-to-evidence view, review of reports/certificates/technical documentation/DoC/IFU/markings/claims, documentation and traceability gaps, risk and priority assessment, product-level recommendation (retain/fix/consolidate/pause/remove), compliance calendar and next-cycle plan, ownership and action order, next commercial or technical decision, prioritised list of products suitable for Deep Product Review.
Pricing:
| Review type | Price |
|---|---|
| Portfolio Review | £150 per product (minimum 10 products: £1,500) |
| Deep Product Review | £350 per product |
Portfolio Review allows approximately one hour per product plus analysis and reporting. Deep Product Review is used for products where Portfolio Review identifies material uncertainty, product change, certificate-scope questions, or significant keep/fix/pause/remove decisions.
Boundaries: Range Review identifies and prioritises issues. It is not automatic certification, legal opinion, recall-management service, or guarantee of market access.
4. Issue Support — £450–£950
Positioning line: Get PPE issues under control.
Who it's for: PPE brands facing a defined active issue; founders and technical/commercial leaders under launch pressure; teams needing rapid technical organisation.
Problem solved: PPE product is about to ship, stuck in testing, held up in certification, challenged by marketplace, or affected by serious documentation or safety concern. Need someone to establish position quickly, coordinate response, and keep next actions moving.
What it is: Priority technical support when a defined issue has interrupted a PPE product project or live product route.
Deliverables: Defined issue and affected scope, evidence and product position, immediate facts and uncertainties, response plan and priorities, coordination actions, clear owners, deadlines, and next decision.
Pricing by issue type:
| Issue type | Price |
|---|---|
| Testing issue | £450 |
| Certification issue | £650 |
| Marketplace challenge | £750 |
| Supplier-document or evidence issue | £450 |
| Product-change issue | £650 |
| Recall or regulatory response | £950 |
Each price covers defined issue scope, initial review, agreed response actions, and clear next decision. Wider remediation, legal work, recall management, or multi-product work requires separate approval and scope.
Boundaries: This is an exceptional entry route, not a guaranteed resolution service. Trace does not provide legal advice or control decisions made by regulators, marketplaces, test houses, or certification bodies.
5. Technical Ownership — £750–£2,500+/month
Positioning line: Technical responsibility without a full hire.
Who it's for: Growing PPE brands without a full technical team; businesses with recurring product, supplier, evidence, or certification decisions; teams needing external technical owner or structured oversight.
Problem solved: Important technical decisions are recurring, ownership is unclear, or the business needs a technical function before a full-time hire is justified.
What it is: Ongoing technical responsibility and advisory support for a PPE business that needs continuity without immediately hiring a full internal function.
Three levels:
| Level | Price | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Ownership — Advisory | £750/month | Defined technical advice and decision support for smaller PPE business. No new-product documentation production or full range ownership. |
| Technical Ownership — Oversight | £1,500/month | Ongoing control of existing range, evidence position, certificate calendar, product changes, technical actions, and agreed external follow-up. No full new-product documentation sets. |
| Technical Ownership — Operations | From £2,500/month | Runs agreed technical workflow, including new-product documentation, evidence maintenance, product changes, test-house preparation, certification-body coordination, and regular status reporting. |
Deliverables: Written responsibility schedule, named owners and response route, agreed rhythm and access, ongoing product/evidence/supplier/certification oversight, review points and clear exclusions.
Operations pricing rule: Starts at £2,500/month including one standard new-product documentation set. Each additional standard new product adds £500/month. Standard product assumes established route, usable client evidence, agreed documentation format, and no new regulatory strategy. Materially different route, market, or complex product is included only if accepted into responsibility schedule and priced accordingly.
Key distinction: A retainer is not undefined access. Scope, capacity, response expectations, and independent-party responsibilities must be explicit. Normally begins with a Range Review.
Boundaries: Technical Ownership normally begins with a Range Review. Pricing is based on responsibility and product volume, not hours. The client retains responsibility for product claims, final approval, DoC signature, and third-party costs.
6. Team Training — £750–£3,500
Positioning line: Build PPE capability.
Who it's for: PPE product-development teams; technical, quality, and compliance teams; new starters working with PPE; teams overly dependent on one technical specialist; brands wanting internal PPE champions.
Problem solved: Teams are expected to make PPE compliance decisions but lack confidence, structure, or practical understanding to do so consistently. Important knowledge sits with one person, and documentation, product, evidence, testing, and certification decisions are often disconnected.
What it is: Practical, interactive PPE training built around real decisions, evidence problems, documentation failures, and product questions that teams face when bringing PPE to market. Delivered through Trace's app-based training platform.
Three sessions:
| Session | Price | Format | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPE Foundation | £750 | Group or individual | All PPE teams |
| PPE Document Workshop | £1,750 | One-to-one with Glen | Teams building documentation capability |
| Motorcycle Advanced | £1,500 | One-to-one with Glen, client's products | Motorcycle protective-apparel brands |
| Complete three-session pathway | £3,500 | Combination | Teams building full capability |
PPE Foundation introduces the Product → Evidence → Certificate → Claim chain, core PPE compliance concepts, CE and UKCA requirements, who does what across product/testing/certification/documentation, common failure points, and how to ask better compliance questions. Does not train people to become technical PPE specialists.
PPE Document Workshop is one-to-one working through Trace's interactive platform around real-world documentation failures, evidence gaps, certification-body questions, test-house issues, product variant decisions, practical solutions, and methods for keeping documentation usable and current. Intended outcome: develop internal PPE documentation champions who can recognise problems earlier, challenge weak evidence, and reduce dependence on one specialist.
Motorcycle Advanced is product-specific for motorcycle protective apparel, built around the client's own motorcycle products and range, including product decisions, protective components and claims, evidence and testing, technical documentation, certification questions, product variants and changes, and common motorcycle PPE failure points.
Before session: Client completes short product intake covering product types/families, intended protection claims, current standards/certificates, product variants, known testing/certification issues, and questions. Trace maps relevant standards pathway from agreed product scope.
After session: Client receives short action summary covering product routes discussed, relevant standards, key decisions, evidence or documentation gaps, questions requiring external confirmation, and recommended next actions.
Boundaries: Trace provides practical training and capability development. Training does not replace independent testing, certification-body assessment, legal advice, or the client's responsibility for its products and market decisions.
Status: Fees confirmed. Complete pathway saves £500 against booking sessions separately. Interactive platform design and build are managed separately.
Offer Progression
Customers typically enter through:
- Route Finder if starting fresh (startups with new products)
- Range Review if managing an established business
From there, they progress to:
- Certification Project for defined product launches
- Issue Support for urgent matters
- Technical Ownership for ongoing responsibility
- Team Training for capability building (can run alongside other services)