Dan Powell, Head of Brand at VBH, has issued an update on how the year is developing for the hardware manufacturer.
What Powell says
“2022 was always going to be a tough act to follow. Having had such a successful year, our bar was set high for 2023.
We are very happy to advise that at the time of writing in June, everything is going according to plan.
In terms of the top line, sales, we are meeting our increased targets. Business is tougher than it was for all of us a couple of years ago, but we have been very successful in seeking out additional sales to new and existing customers. From our perspective, the section of the market that we deal with remains in good health, despite the specter of a downturn hanging over us all.
We have made changes to our processes and made new appointments to help secure this new business and to ensure that we continue to offer our customers the top-level customer service that they all expect.
We have reduced the responsibilities of the customer service team to give them more time to process their customers’ orders and deal with incoming queries quickly and efficiently. We have done this by strengthening our internal sales department with the addition of Gareth Dix, who moved internally from a field sales role. This takes away the ‘sales’ function’ from Customer Services. We also encourage customers to use our VBH24 online shop. Orders received through VBH24 need minimal handling by our team, so hit the warehouse almost immediately.
We have further strengthened both our technical and marketing teams with the additions of Callum Norris and Ben Shephard. These new appointments allow us to provide even better pre and after-sale support to our customers. In April, we bolstered our external sales team with the recruitment of Nick Taylor in the role of Regional Manager for the midlands. Nick is vastly experienced, and is very customer focused.
We have added a number of new products in the first half of 2023 to keep our customers at the forefront of hardware development. Our new greenteQ Velocity door hinge is super-quick to fit and is tested to PAS24. This is the perfect hinge to fit on the opposite side of the door to our new greenteQ Q-Bolt door lock, which is also PAS24 tested and boasts the biggest hooks on the market.
The enthusiasm with which the market has greeted the greenteQ iQ range of window and door locks has surprised even us! These locks can be linked to a smart home network via a Kubu home hub. The user can then set up various alerts including checks on the open/closed/locked/vent status of their windows and doors, or even create weather and pollen level alerts. They can link to other items in the network, too. So for example, they could set the heating so that it switches off if a window is opened. There are many more benefits and our customers have been quick to see them.
Perhaps this open-minded approach to new product innovation and services is one of the reasons why VBH customers continue to prosper in an uncertain market.
Our purchasing team continues to work hard to ensure that stock is available for our customers when they want it. We have just recorded our highest On Time In Full delivery figure of 98.89% for May.
To sum up 2023 so far, a combination of gaining new business with the right customers, continued product innovation, getting the right people into the right positions, excellent stock availability and a continued focus on industry-leading customer service, are making it another great year for VBH.
Thank you to all our customers and partners, and long may it continue.”
