Does it get on your nerves too when Christmas seems to start before we’ve even stored the deckchairs and barbecue away?
So be assured that this is not about Christmas salutations but how, with a bit of planning and forethought, you and your customers can have a very Happy Christmas indeed, with their new windows and doors beautifully installed and ready for the rellies turning up for the seasonal feast.
I am always bemused by the sudden urgency to install new frames just because Aunt Betty and the cousins are visiting over the Festive Season. But I am also grateful for anything that boosts sales. And whilst the swollen order book is wonderful, some planning is also required due to the rush and of course, the fact that us window makers and our suppliers are also preparing to take a few days off.
How many remember the post-Covid rush when the Joneses, Smiths and Shahs all decided that having started at the yellowing window and door frames in their homes for three months, they had to have them all replaced NOW!? None of us could have anticipated that freak, if welcome, sales jamboree. But whilst for suppliers like us it more than made up for the weeks of production that we lost, it also threw the home improvement industry into turmoil. And this continued of course, up to and through Christmas 2020 after the supply chain broke down as international suppliers, especially in China, closed and created severe product shortages.
That may all be behind us now and in terms of product availability, we’re pretty much back to pre-covid now, even for aluminium, which we were initially sceptical about. So we and many other fabricators are now back to offering Just In Time manufacturing which means almost what it says on the tin: lead times are now around two weeks or even slightly less, across the board and including colour. BUT….don’t let this go to your head! You still need to think about things and plan ahead…
There are some other basic rules that will ensure that your punter will be delighted that she can show off her magnificent new windows and especially the new entrance door, to Aunt Betty, which means that you can get paid early and not have your ears bent as you are sitting down to your turkey.
And whilst we will supply your orders by the cut-off date, the Christmas and New Year shut-down means that any additional parts orders or last-minute finishing touches etc. won’t be sorted for at least another fortnight. Leave yourself some leeway.
Also, if you use a supplier that either handles most of the manufacturing services in-house such as glass unit production, colour-bonding, woodgrain lamination, and profile bending, or work with long-standing local supply partners, you can be sure that your order will be dealt with by the same team at the same location. Anything out of the ordinary can be quoted and tracked and brought together by your account manager.
Do not over-promise to your customer; Do TALK to your supplier account manager throughout and don’t make assumptions, even if you think you know that last-orders-by date. Once booked in, check your order status throughout to make sure everything is on track and actually, keep your customer in the picture too. Always good for their confidence in you too.
Then, having got all of your pre-Christmas installs completed on time and in full….you can worry full time on buying that Christmas-pressie-you-forgot for your wife/husband/what-have-you.
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