4 minute read
Installers time is money by Omega
INSTALLERS TIME IS MONEY ...
As Omega PLC enters its 25th year, The Installer magazine team thought it a perfect time to review one of the BiKBBI´s prominent Corporate Sponsors at its impressive kitchen manufacturing complex in South Yorkshire.
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This UK manufacturer is a supplier to the independent kitchen specialist sector through its four kitchen brands: Sheraton, Mackintosh, Chippendale and English Rose. We managed to catch up with Omega’s Retail Sales Director, James Bishton to discuss some headline findings of recent Q&A workshops held with Installers.
How important is the Installer in the decision-making process of selecting a kitchen?
It became clear from our research that if an Installer provides advice to an end customer relating to a potential kitchen purchase, the advice is often perceived as an authoritative view on product quality.
It’s a genuine position of trust and its earnt as the consumer knows that the installer will be working in their home and therefore a sound influencer and therefore a highly influential part of the decision process. This guidance is why many kitchen retailers place such huge significance on their Installers opinion when selecting products to retail.
Why do Installer’s hold Omega PLC’s kitchens in such high regard?
Benjamin Franklin, the face on the $100 bill, was credited with the phrase ‘Time is Money.’ Interestingly this adage originated with in an essay by Franklin entitled ‘Advice to a Young Tradesman.’ With such demand for good kitchen installers today, the saying has never been more appropriate and the constant need for time efficiency without compromising on quality is where the Omega product stands out and resonates with many developers, retailers and installers.
We discovered through our workshop Q&A’s that Installers prefer a quality product to fit. In addition to quality specification there were 3 further key factors all linked to time that impacted on the product they choose to promote. These factors are ‘ease of supply/resolution’, ‘on time and in full’ and ‘ease of installation.’ If the installer has these boxes ticked, they can be the most powerful brand advocates of a product.
At Omega, our operational focus is ‘right first time’ and the workforce are incentivised accordingly to achieve this aim; to get the furniture order delivered in full, without shortages and on the date required. Of the installers we surveyed who work with our independent retail partners and merchants, our kitchens being ‘truly rigid’ was the biggest single time-saving factor that influenced their opinion on deciding which preferred kitchen brands to install.
Explain what you mean by truly rigid kitchens ?
Our truly rigid kitchens, have all the preparatory construction work completed, helping maximise the efficiency of installation. The units arrive via a 2-person delivery on the designated date, all fully constructed. Pull-out storage mechanisms are factory fitted along with the doors and drawers being pre-fixed in place. Furthermore, the units are pre-dressed with all the leg bosses, fixing plates, shelves, buffers and also handles if desired, saving significant time on the unit installation element of any project. The time saved on installation compared to ‘part rigid units’ where just the back, base and sides are fitted is a big appeal to the Installer.
Supply chain challenges have recently been a hindrance on kitchen projects, how have you combatted this at Omega?
Back in 2018 we took the decision to significantly invest in our manufacturing capability to double our capacity. This £20m+ project involved overhauling our plant, creation of a new assembly hall for our rigid glued and doweled range and building an 84,000sq ft 12-metre-high raw materials warehouse. Conscious of potential extended raw material supply lead times with Brexit looming and many of our components sourced from across Europe, our financial stability enabled us to move from a just in time delivery of raw materials, to stocking product in bulk on-site. Stock used to be a dirty word but not now; with the global Covid impacts pressuring supply chains and increasing demand for home improvements, the investment we made has been of huge importance to the service we continue to deliver to our customers ; allowing us to control the challenges of the volatile supply chain at this time.
How is the Installer skill shortage impacting your business?
We have invested to grow as a business and looking to the future, supporting the BIKBBI with an emphasis on helping develop the next generation of Installers. This is vital not just for our own ambitions, but to support to the growth of the whole KBB industry. We will be fully supportive of the Institute by assisting with its exciting apprenticeship programme over the coming years.
