With all four nations in the UK progressively coming out of lockdown, we reflect on what has been a challenging and unpredictable 14 months for window and door businesses in the UK.
Unlike many industries, the window and door industry has barely stopped since the initial lockdown in March 2020. The demand for home improvements, such as windows and doors has increased drastically, with many joinery businesses finding themselves busier than ever and struggling to keep up with demand.
The increased demand for windows and doors has required businesses to ensure that their work is streamlined and as efficient as possible, in order to retain high quality customer satisfaction.
To take advantage of the growth opportunities, every part of the business needs to operate quickly and easily, from creating quotes in minutes to reducing mistakes in the manufacturing process. Thankfully, joinery software like EndtoEnd’s integrate can help you with all of this.
Since the initial lockdown, we have been very busy at EndtoEnd, enabling our own employees to work from home while also welcoming several new clients onboard, as they are attracted by our flexible software which is designed to facilitate remote working.
By hosting all our clients’ databases and other information on servers in the cloud, they are able to access their data anywhere with internet. All they need is the web address and their personal login details.
We have also continued to roll out new features, supporting our clients as they continue to grow and adapt their business to new working conditions. Some of the features that we have released and improved since the initial lockdown include:
- providing users with the ability to mark a quote as a budget quotation, meaning that these can easily be distinguished from accurate quotations (integrateCORE module)
- enabling companies to create timber cutting lists, to quickly and accurately identify and export details of all the timber that needs to be cut for a specific order (integrateCORE module)
- updating the production schedule so that users can “pencil in” jobs based on sales data (integratePRO module)
- allowing management to specify up to 3 breaks per shift for clock card and terminal users in the workshop (integratePRO module)
- updating the installer interface to provide administrators with full control over an installer’s access to calendar and job information (integrateFIT module)
Looking to the next 12 months of home improvements
As we look to the future, the demand for home improvement appears to be continuing. While some of the changes that have occurred as a result of the pandemic, such as social distancing, will eventually be a thing of the past, other changes to our way of thinking are likely to remain.
One thing that is unlikely to “return to normal” is the number of people working remotely. With people spending more time in their homes, the lockdowns have provided the perfect opportunity for homeowners to reassess their living space. This is highlighted in a recent report from the British Woodworking Federation, where over a quarter of homeowners asked said that they definitely plan to renovate their home in the next 12 months, with a further 30% considering renovation work.
When looking at the type of work that homeowners are planning on carrying out, the British Woodworking Federation found that 22% would require new windows and 15% would require new doors.
This all points to continual increased demand on the window and door industry, meaning that it is as important as ever to have a flexible all-in-one software that can help you keep in control of your growing business.
To find out more about integrate, and how we can help you keep in control of the growing demand for your window and door business, book an online demo with us today or give Gareth O’Brien a call on: 01422 762 098.
