DOORS & WINDOWS
OUT WITH THE OLD PAPER WORK , AND IN WITH THE NEW UPGRADED SERVICE AND EFFICIENCY
» QUICKSLIDE HAS ONCE AGAIN highlighted its commitment to improving standards and service with a comprehensive overhaul of its business management and IT infrastructure .
The latest investment will allow the West Yorkshire based fabricator to drastically reduce its reliance on old fashioned paperwork , introduce digital , automated documents for invoicing and order notes , and allow for much greater efficiency in the processing , manufacture , transport and delivery of its market leading product range .
Developed using the latest EvoNET management tool from fenestration industry software specialist , Business Micros , the new system means that every order that arrives at Quickslide can now be tracked from the factory floor , right up to point of delivery . As well as being able to automatically generate orders into delivery runs , the new system integrates with satellite navigation and introduces a host of other commercial benefits for Quickslide that include automatic email and text messaging delivery updates for customers .
Quickslide ’ s managing director , Ben Weber , commented : “ The ability to automatically send and archive digital invoices , sales orders and delivery notes has clear advantages in terms of reducing the amount of paper and ink we use , as well as the time saved on office administration , but there are direct benefits for our customers too .
“ Barcode scanning enables us to keep track of orders , as well as introduce another level of quality control . The EvoNET system links with TomTom , so it can work out the best route for our drivers prior to departure and enables EvoNET to alert them if anything has been missed before they head off , or if an order is left on the wagon by mistake between stops . It virtually eliminates the risk of errors and means that our customers have even greater confidence that their orders will arrive on time , which in turn , delivers a better level of service to their homeowner customers .” To complement the addition of the new EvoNET system , Quickslide has also appointed a Software Engineer , a new role that has been introduced to help facilitate further developments to the company ’ s business management strategy and one that underlines its commitment to ongoing digital improvements .
www . quickslide . co . uk
STRONG REINFORCEMENT CONFIRMED AS GLOBAL STEEL SHORTAGE REACHES CRISIS POINT
» ANGLO EUROPEAN GROUP , UK supplier of galvanised frame reinforcement for window and door fabricators , has responded to mounting reports of a global crisis in the supply of steel , by assuring its customers that the company has taken significant steps to guarantee stocks for at least six months , with negotiations continuing for the third quarter of 2021 .
Global shortages and consequent price increases have been caused by what has been called a ‘ perfect storm ’ in market conditions that include fluctuations caused by Covid-19 as well as international politics , a return to pre-pandemic automotive production volumes ; and China becoming a nett importer of steel for the first time in a decade .
Further , iron ore costs are at a nine-year high with both planned and emergency steel mill outages also contributing . Against this backdrop , the World Steel Association ( www .
worldsteel . org ) whose members represent 85 % of global steel production , predicts demand for finished steel to increase by 4.1 % in 2021 . Underlining these issues are increases in the global price of raw steel that will amount to almost 80 % between September 2020 and April 2021 .
Anglo European Group CEO Paul Sullivan says : “ We have been supplying steel reinforcement to the UK window and door industry for more than 30 years and the current market conditions are without doubt the most volatile that we have experienced in that time . Price increases are substantial and changing daily , and these will have to be passed on as they take place , however , the key issue is continuity of supply . To ensure that our customers do not experience potentially severe disruption to their production output caused by shortages of steel reinforcement , we have secured supplies at least until July 31st
2021 , with negotiations at an advanced stage for the second half of the year .“
Anglo European Group continues to manufacture all of its own products , including reinforcements , couplers and bay poles for all leading PVC-U systems , at the company ’ s twoacre site in Manchester .
www . angloeuropeangroup . co . uk
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