Quality: the essence of Holbox

Displays come in all shapes and sizes. Their quality also differs greatly from one product and manufacturer to the next. For Holbox, quality is the top priority. Jan Hol explains how Holbox operates and the value of quality assurance, as well as the sustainability aspect.

The world of displays, too, is suffering supply issues and shortages due to the war. It has driven up prices across the entire production chain. Prices of raw materials, shipping, energy, and staff have all gone up, and they all affect the cost of a display. Raw materials only make up a small part of this, approximately 20%. In Poland, too, where Holbox has its second production plant, costs have soared across the entire supply chain, especially energy and staffing costs.

The trend of shortages and inflation set in immediately after the start of the war. Due to the impact this has on the market, prices are under pressure even more. Many companies cut their marketing spending when times get tough, shifting their focus to price even more, as they look to get the same number of display placements at lower cost. This represents a major risk, because how much can you compromise on the quality of a display?

Quality versus price

These developments may prompt display manufacturers to think: how do I make displays as cheaply as possible and still to our customers’ requirements?

Jan Hol: ‘This is, in itself, an understandable reaction, but it must never go at the expense of quality.’ A display is an important extension of product presentation in shops and is used for product introduction purposes, or for campaign-related or consumer communication purposes.

Shop staff struggling to put up a display reflects badly on userfriendliness. A display not being straight after it has been set up in a shop will reflect badly on quality. This can, in turn, reflect badly on the shop itself, which is something that Holbox wants to prevent both for its customers, i.e. the shops, and for itself.

Therefore, quality is essential. Holbox guarantees quality in several steps in the design and production process by subjecting displays to various tests. Jan Hol: ‘We conduct multiple quality tests to be sure that the display will not collapse during shipping; after all, we are responsible.’

He continues: ‘Holbox does, of course, explore ways to do something about the price. Are there materials we could use that we are currently not using? But we have also set up our production process in a way that gives us the option to manufacture either in the Netherlands or in Poland. That said, we cannot accommodate everything in Poland. In other words, while we do have a considerable number of fallback options that allow us to do something about the price level, we will not turn it into a race to the bottom, because that would go at the expense of quality.’

Complex process

Holbox is an organisation with a focus on the customer/ordering process, where customer requirements are as diverse as the colours in a colour palette. Every order is unique in terms of layout, design, and materials. Our account managers play a key role

HOLBOX’S SPEARHEADS:

Quality

Supply reliability

Design creativity

Price at the front end: to help customers navigate the many choices they have to make.

‘Whenever (potential) customers come here for a behind-the-scenes look at our process and further explanation, the standard response we get is always, “I never knew it was this complex,”’ says Jan Hol, ‘and so they gain an understanding of how we cannot just make any changes when we’re already halfway into the production process.’

Quality assurance and process control are pursued on all fronts at Holbox: in sales, in the design, during the production process, in filling the displays, and in logistics. The team’s many years of experience and Holbox’s long-term vision translate to the best service and the best product for customers.

That long-term vision is essential for Holbox. No panicking and stopgap measures in challenging times, but organising processes smarter, always in a way that is innovative and creative. In short: getting even better, which will ultimately always benefit our customers. n