Partnering with other fabricators to offer new product ranges can be a double-edged sword. You may feel that you lose some of your control to a potential competitor but it does open doors (excuse the pun) to new markets whilst reducing disruption to your existing factory workflow.
I recently had a conversation with a large commercial fabricator who was initially hesitant about adding new items to their portfolio; but after partnering with us, has seen it benefit their business in ways they hadn’t expected to be so simple.
Here are some reflections from that chat:
Understanding Pain Points: Every fabricator has unique challenges. Before risking their reputation on our service and products, it’s crucial that we listened to, understood and could meet their needs, without question. A commercial fabricator wants to offer a full fenestration package but knows that certain products will bottleneck their factory and stop them from reaching their OTIF.
Balancing Innovation and Efficiency: New products shouldn’t increase workload or complicate processes for our commercial customers. Ensuring the systems we use meet or exceed regulations and are fitter friendly.
Communication: Finding that sweet spot is key to mutual success; be it working together to arrange site delivery schedules, agreeing phased manufacture, and making the paperwork simple.
Trust: A difficult ask of anyone in business, but our partners had to trust we would do what we said we would; and having now worked on several commercial projects together, they have built faith in us. They know their customer base is protected, we don’t advertise on our vans when we site-drop and we’re here for any queries they, or their customers, may have.
I believe that our greatest opportunities lie in partnerships built on mutual understanding. It’s not just about selling; it’s about collaborating for success.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you faced challenges in partnering with fabricators? Could offering any 23 DOORS Ltd. products aside your own range help you win full fenestration packages? Let me know if you’d like to talk more….
