54 • hardware&security
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Consistently Delivering the Best
2014 was a great year for Window Ware, says
Rachel Attwood, who is looking forward to further
success in 2015 as the company strives to deliver
the best in both products and service.
»»With our ever growing
range of high quality
products, our near perfect
service record, our
streamlined services, and
our increased web presence,
2014 was a great year for
Window Ware.
One reason why so many
locksmiths use us as their
trusted suppliers is that our
range has never stopped
growing. In 2014 we added
some excellent new products
to our line, including the
advanced new range of Yale
retail locks, safes, and alarms.
In this way, we have enabled
locksmiths to offer their
customers the very latest in
home and business security
solutions.
But while it is one thing
to stock products, it is quite
another to ensure that they
are delivered promptly and on
time. That’s why, every day,
we measure our On Time and
In Full (OTIF) figures for all
deliveries. Throughout 2014,
we successfully delivered
99.5% of our top selling
products the next working
day.
Streamlining
Our Services
2014 was also marked
by certain change in our
business practices. We
introduced a Warehouse
Management System (WMS),
implementing scanners
and other technologies to
speed up our pick-up and
put-away times. This has
really made a difference in
the efficiency and accuracy
of our deliveries, and this
difference is reflected in
our outstanding growth
figures, our OTIF figures,
and in our scores of satisfied
customers.
Our strapline has always
been that we’ve got the
parts you need, and we aim
to deliver them on time, all
the time. Service is key to
us, as it results in satisfied
customers. Not only do
satisfied customers tend to
become repeat customers,
they also tend to tell their
friends about us.
Adapting To New
Practices
Of particular importance
to our strength and growth
as a business, though, is
our constant commitment
to staying ahead of the
latest trends – not just in the
locksmith industry, but in the
wider consumer market.
Simply put, we
recognised that buyer
behaviour is changing.
Rather than expecting
our customers to adapt
to our business practices,
we instead adapted our
business practices to suit
the preferences of our
customers.
The sales process used
to start with a look through
a phonebook, or with a trip
to the trade counter, these
days it invariably starts
with a Google search. It is
no coincidence that these
past few years, our most
successful on record, have
also been the years in which
we have done the most to
boost our position in the
search engines.
Going Mobile
But it goes much further
than that. It is not just buyers
and businesses that are
moving online – everyone is.
According to Ofcom figures,
62% of UK adults now use
smartphones, whilst tablet
ownership has more than
doubled in the past few
years.
Many locksmiths use their
smartphones to advertise
their services, to research
suppliers, to compare
prices, and to pu