Travel nursing agencies onboard hundreds of clinicians per year, each on a 13-week assignment at a different facility. Ordering bulk welcome kits up front means paying for inventory that sits in a warehouse until nurses sign—and often goes to waste when assignments fall through. Merchloop's per-assignment fulfillment model eliminates that problem entirely: a kit ships to the nurse's assignment housing the moment a contract is signed, printed and embroidered on demand with zero upfront inventory.
Why Do Bulk Welcome Kits Fail Travel Nurse Programs?
Bulk kits tie up capital in pre-printed inventory that may never ship. Travel nurse contract fall-through rates and last-minute facility changes make pre-buying especially risky—agencies routinely end up with boxes of scrubs in sizes and colors that never match the next wave of placements.
Per-assignment fulfillment solves this at the structural level. Each kit is produced only after a nurse signs, so there is no overstock, no storage cost, and no waste from cancelled contracts. You pay only for what ships.
What Should a Travel Nurse Welcome Kit Include?
A strong travel nurse welcome kit contains three to five items that are immediately useful on day one at the assignment facility: branded scrubs in the facility's color standard, an agency-branded insulated tumbler, and a personalized welcome card. Optional additions include a branded tote or duffel for carrying gear between housing and the unit.
- Scrub top: the Onna Women's Limitless V-Neck Stretch Scrub Top ($36.50) and the Onna Men's Limitless V-Neck Stretch Scrub Top ($36.50) are popular for travel nurse programs because the four-way stretch fabric holds up across 13-week assignment cycles.
- Scrub bottom: the Jaanuu Women's Silex Knit-Waist Scrub Joggers ($53.00) pair cleanly with any top and travel well in a suitcase.
- Insulated tumbler: a matte black 20 oz tumbler with the agency logo embossed or printed.
- Welcome card: a printed message from the agency acknowledging the assignment and next steps.
- Branded tote or duffel (optional): useful for nurses commuting from housing to the unit.
Keep the kit to four or five items. Every additional item adds production time and shipping weight. A focused kit that arrives on time is more valuable than an elaborate kit that arrives late.
How Does Per-Assignment Triggering Work?
Per-assignment triggering means the fulfillment order fires automatically or manually the moment a nurse's contract is confirmed, not weeks in advance. Merchloop's on-demand platform supports this workflow: your onboarding coordinator places the order for that individual nurse, specifying the shipping address (assignment housing), size, and facility color preference, and production begins immediately.
Standard production runs 7 to 10 business days. For nurses with a fast start date, rush production is available in 3 to 5 business days for a 30% surcharge. Because Merchloop operates a vertically integrated US-based production facility with printing and embroidery under one roof, there is no handoff delay between decoration and shipping.
There are no minimum order quantities. A single kit for one nurse ships the same day production completes, at the same per-unit price as a batch of 50.
What Does a Per-Assignment Kit Cost?
Cost varies by item selection, but a typical three-item travel nurse kit runs between $90 and $140 per nurse at transparent per-item pricing with no hidden fees. The table below shows a sample kit build.
| Item | Example Product | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|
| Scrub top (embroidered) | Onna Limitless V-Neck Stretch Scrub Top | $36.50 |
| Scrub jogger (embroidered) | Jaanuu Silex Knit-Waist Scrub Jogger | $53.00 |
| Matte insulated tumbler (printed) | 20 oz matte tumbler | Varies by product |
| Printed welcome card | Custom agency card | Varies by product |
Pricing is transparent at the item level. There are no setup fees, no monthly platform fees, and no design fees for the company store itself. Agencies pay only for what they order, per assignment.
How Do Travel Nurse Agencies Set Up a Fulfillment Program With Merchloop?
Setup takes under 24 hours using Merchloop Lite, the free company store tier. No monthly fees, no setup fees, no design fees. Your onboarding team loads the approved kit items into the store, sets the agency logo and facility color options, and the store is live.
When a nurse signs a contract, the coordinator opens the store, selects the nurse's size and the facility's color standard, enters the assignment housing address, and places the order. Production begins the same business day. The nurse receives a tracking notification and the kit arrives before or on their first day at the facility.
For agencies placing 20 or more kits per month, a dedicated account manager can help configure the store to streamline repeat ordering. See how similar programs work in on-demand merch for travel nurses and PRN staff and in the broader guide to healthcare onboarding welcome kits without pre-buying inventory.
Can the Kit Match Each Facility's Color Standard?
Yes. Scrub color is selected at the time of the order, not pre-printed in bulk. If your agency places nurses across 15 different health systems each with different uniform color policies—navy at one, ceil blue at another, burgundy at a third—each kit is produced in the correct color for that assignment. No separate bulk order per facility required.
The Jaanuu Women's Cesi Ultrasoft Scrub V-Neck Top ($54.50) is available in multiple colorways and carries the agency logo embroidered on the left chest, keeping the branding consistent regardless of the base fabric color.
Agency logo placement on scrubs follows standard embroidery position: left chest, small and discreet. This is consistent with infection control and PPE layering requirements at most facilities.
How Does This Compare to Other Fulfillment Approaches?
The three common approaches travel nurse agencies use are: bulk pre-buy, third-party 3PL warehousing, and on-demand per-assignment fulfillment. Each has a different cost structure and risk profile.
| Approach | Upfront Cost | Waste Risk | Per-Address Shipping | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk pre-buy | High (inventory investment) | High (unsold stock) | Manual pick-and-pack required | Agencies with very predictable, stable volume |
| 3PL warehousing | Medium (storage fees) | Medium (monthly carrying cost) | Yes, but adds fees per pick | Agencies with 200+ active nurses at once |
| On-demand per-assignment (Merchloop) | Zero (no inventory) | Zero (only pay per order) | Yes, direct to housing | Agencies of any size with variable placement volume |
On-demand per-assignment fulfillment carries the lowest financial risk of the three. The tradeoff is lead time: 7 to 10 business days standard, versus same-day from a warehouse. Planning kit orders at contract signing rather than start date solves this for most agencies.
Build the Kit
Shop the welcome kit.
Every item below is on demand and unlocked at zero minimums in the Merchloop catalog. Combine them, edit colors, add your logo, and ship to one address or fifty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Merchloop ship a single welcome kit directly to a nurse's assignment housing address?
Yes. Every order ships directly to the address you specify at the time of ordering, including temporary housing addresses. There are no minimum order quantities, so a single kit for one nurse ships just like a batch of 20. Standard delivery is 7 to 10 business days after production begins.
What if a nurse's assignment is cancelled after the kit is ordered?
Because kits are produced on demand after the order is placed, cancellations need to happen before production begins. Merchloop's team can advise on order timing relative to contract confirmation windows. Most agencies place kit orders at contract signing rather than at offer acceptance to reduce this risk.
Can the scrub color change assignment to assignment for the same nurse?
Yes. Color is selected per order, not locked to a nurse profile. If a nurse moves from a navy-standard facility to a ceil-blue-standard facility for their next assignment, the next kit is simply ordered in the new color. Each kit is produced independently with no inventory constraint.
Is there a fee to set up the agency's company store on Merchloop?
No. Merchloop Lite is a free company store tier with no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no design fees. Agencies pay only for the items they order, at transparent per-item pricing. A store can be live and ready to place kit orders in under 24 hours.
How long does rush production take for a nurse with a fast start date?
Rush production is available in 3 to 5 business days for a 30% surcharge on the order total. This is handled through Merchloop's in-house production facility, which keeps printing and embroidery under one roof and eliminates handoff delays between decoration steps.
