2 | OCTOBER 2021
News
Escalating supply chain crisis to top Glazing Summit agenda
The glazing industry has lurched from one crisis to another , from the impact of lockdown to the floodgates opening to an under-prepared industry .
But undoubtably it ’ s the supply chain crisis that has had the most significant impact on businesses across the industry .
Customers are being repeatedly let down on orders while companies are not able to offer the levels of customer service they have previously , which could potentially prove damaging in the future .
The subject is set to be covered at length at this year ’ s Glazing Summit , which has built its reputation on tackling the biggest issues in the industry .
The one-day conference , which takes place on Thursday , October 21 at Edgbaston Stadium and Conference Centre , Birmingham , will feature a combination of debates , discussions , and keynotes . Each panel debate / discussion will consist of four expert panellists and a debate host to ask the tough questions , and the Conquering the Supply Chain Crisis debate is sure to be hotly discussed .
Andrew Scott , Glazing Summit founder , said : “ The industry is in a strangle-hold with global material shortages , manufacturing delays , and spiralling costs . While some companies report record sales , without the materials to fulfil the orders , the impact can be devastating .
“ Tempers are flaring as customers are repeatedly let down while an unexpected surge in demand for home improvements has exacerbated the problem . Some suppliers are doing better than others , and we want to find out the reasons why , and look at how the quality , delivery and cost issues can be resolved .
“ We can ’ t have our heads in the sand and must face up to the supply chain crisis – which is exactly what the Glazing Summit will do .”
Attendees will be able to have their say on the supply chain debate thanks to interactive Q & A and polling platform app Slido .
The supply chain debate is just one of the major topics that the spotlight will fall on throughout the day , with regulations , sustainability , mergers and acquisitions and an installer debate also on the agenda . The day will also include a keynote speech from Greg Perdon in the morning and Geoff Burch in the afternoon . Greg is a Chief Investment Officer with Arbuthnot Latham and will be sharing his economic and business outlook for the glazing , building products and housing market , while Geoff Burch is a motivational speaker who the Sunday Times dubbed ‘ The Hells Angel of Management Consultancy .’
“ We wanted to choose controversial topics and pose the hard questions to really get the sparks flying ,” added Andrew . “ It ’ s been a hugely tough and demanding two years for our industry and we need to take the gloves off and tackle these issues headon . After all , that ’ s what the Glazing Summit is all about .”
www . glazingsummit . co . uk
Read online at www . proinstaller . co . uk
THE POWER OF PRESENTATION
Based in Sheffield , Just Trade Windows are using quoting software Framepoint ® from Tommy Trinder to keep customers thinking less about price , and more about creating a visually stunning home .
With an impressive portfolio of both supply and supply and fit customers , the team were looking for a way to quickly produce beautifully presented quotes that match their great reputation .
“ We were sending out hand drawn sketches to customers , or spec sheets that were really wordy ,” says Simon Dinnie , Business Development Manager . “ That sort of thing just doesn ’ t mean anything to the homeowner – all they were getting from it was the price .”
Framepoint ® has enabled the firm to harness the power of presentation and “ take the homeowner on a visual journey ,” Simon said .
“ You can get a better price for the job just because of the way the quote looks . If you ’ re asking for top-line on a project you have to look the part , and Framepoint ® is great for that . If a homeowner has three quotes within £ 500 , and the upper end quote is showing a much better visual journey , they ’ re going to go with that every time . Windows and doors are a big part of transforming a house and with Framepoint ® the customer can really see what they ’ re getting .”
Quotations generated via Framepoint ® have empowered the team to charge a fair price for their best-in-class service .
“ For me it ’ s great to be maximising the top-line with Framepoint ®. If you ’ ve got a project that you might usually charge at £ 20k , I definitely think that using Framepoint ® you could get £ 21k .”
Framepoint ® has helped the team on the administration side too , helping to “ really cut down on errors and save a lot of time ,” Simon said .
“ You do your initial visit , then if the customer goes ahead you ’ ll go in again for your final measure , but between those visits there ’ s often lots of conversations between myself and the customer , tweaking things , changing colours , and the surveyor isn ’ t usually part of that conversation . With Framepoint ® you ’ re visualising all these changes for the customer as you go which is really simple to do , then you just download your surveyors report in one click and the surveyor can see all of those changes you ’ ve made . It ’ s definitely a good feature !”
Simon has also got creative using Framepoint ®’ s remote selling feature alongside some handy camerawork in the showroom .
“ Framepoint ® is great for remote selling . I ’ ve taken orders by walking around the showroom with a customer on a video call on Zoom , then once I figure out the kind of thing they were after we switch to a screenshare on Framepoint ® to create their windows . Customers love it .”
www . tommytrinder . com
ISSN 2633-8866
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Issue 103 | October 2021 www . proinstaller . co . uk
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