Kronospan has set out to revolutionise the way it does business with both its distributors and end users by putting design centre stage in all it does.
The company’s new Kolorband range is a carefully selected portfolio of products incorporating melamine faced chipboard and melamine faced MDF, all co-ordinated with melamine edging tape, matching high pressure laminates, worktops and laminate flooring, the combination of which has made Kronospan a one-stop shop.
Kolorband, which is aimed mainly at architects and specifiers, exhibition organisers and the trade, has replaced the com-pany’s eXpressII. It was launched with great fanfare at Chirk where guests heard it was a natural progression to maintain Kronospan’s position as market innovators with a proactive approach toward product development and customer service.
Kronospan’s deputy managing director Joe Martoccia explained: ‘It has been something I have really been trying to champion for years in the industry. I think there was a real gap. We work very hard to launch new designs on a regular basis but have then left the sourcing of edgings and laminates and other items to the buyers. That was all well and good for the very large furniture manufacturers because they have first class connections with suppliers of ancillary products. But for some of the smaller producers – the shop fitters and the bespoke kitchen manufacturers – they really are reliant on distributors to provide a service and there was a real gap in the market. I am delighted we have now been able to provide a package for this particular sector.’
Revitalising the way Kronospan does business has not come cheap. The launch of the Kolorband range was complemented by an accompanying brochure, CD Rom, two dedicated websites and two Kolorband liveried lorries which make daily deliveries.
The two websites aim to revolutionise the way the company does business with its distributors and provide a better service to the public. The sites – www.kolorband.com and www.newhousenewhome.com – make on-line ordering of products possible. The first serves distributors who each have passwords and can order goods in single amounts instead of bulk if they wish.
The second is aimed at the public who can view ‘virtual’ rooms, change products or colours to suit their taste and order on-line from the nearest distributor.
Mr Martoccia said: ‘We have invested in some special racking and a mezzanine storage area which cost around £100,000 – and also contract hired two Kolorband vehicles. We are extremely pleased with the livery which is very striking and hopefully Stobie [Eddie Stobart] spotters will convert to Kolorband spotters very soon!’
Mr Martoccia said the fleet would be expanded. ‘It is small beginnings but eventually we will see a fairly large fleet able to supply just-in-time deliveries to our key distributors.’
Another £150,000 has been spent on a website and marketing and the initial one-off investment of about £250,000 into Kolorband will be ongoing.
At first the initiative was greeted with a little trepidation from some of the com-pany’s key distributors. Mr Martoccia explained: ‘I think initially they felt we were trying to cut them out of the equation, but that is not our aim. Our aim is to provide a back-up service, and in our industry we have to get more into the thinking that we work with our distributors to manage the supply chain from us right the way through to their customers and we have to do it in the most efficient and effective way.’
Kronospan’s venture into the production of edgings required investment in expertise. ‘It has been fast-track learning for all of us here but we do have the manufacturing capability within the Kronospan group,’ said Mr Martoccia. ‘The laminates, for example, are manufactured in our plant in Germany and again it heralds a new position for Kronospan group where we are working together with our sister companies in Europe rather than at times appearing to work against each other.
‘Kolorband has been developed from a successful formula from Kronospan’s Salzburg Austrian business that has had this type of package for some years. We have adopted and adapted it for the UK market and now we are beginning to gather momentum.’
Distributor support
The Kolorband range is supported by distributors throughout the UK, Scotland and Ireland who receive weekly deliveries from the Kolorband fleet.
Among them is S Silverman & Son Ltd whose sales and marketing director Alf Lawrence says Kronospan has delivered on a commitment it made some time ago.
‘All its distributors have said the company needed to go further than providing melamine- faced board and it has taken this concept of matching things the extra mile,’ he said.
‘It is very exciting. It isn’t the first time the concept has been used, but it is the first time we have seen this sort of initiative in the industry.’
Market co-ordination
Mr Lawrence said generally there was a co-ordination between the people who make, for instance, kitchen doors and edging manufacturers, but added: ‘When we sell a board the problem is what does it match with and is that available in high pressure laminate as well as melamine?
‘Kronospan produces a range of products but one thing that has always been missing is edgings. Now they have brought them all together in a co-ordinated way. They have worked very closely with people who produce kitchen doors and so on, so a guy who is building a bespoke kitchen can now show his client a range of items.’
Mr Lawrence said a benefit for companies such as Silvermans was that it could extend the range of products and quantities that customers want.
‘The profile of our average customer is small to medium businesses and we have to stock a huge range, but Kronospan is allowing us to supplement that. This complements our service because we can concentrate on stocking off the shelf major items, and if people want small orders we can access them quickly.
‘Some of our customers just want a single pack or board and this new concept adds another warehouse to our own facility that we can call on.’
Mr Lawrence says Kronospan’s initiative is the first for many years – adding: ‘The flexibility is very good and it is exciting. Kronospan has done a fantastic job.
‘This is the first time a manufacturer has committed himself to stocking in the distributor chain as some will only allow you to have a pack as a minimum quantity.’
Mr Lawrence said the introduction of Kolorband had led to dramatic alterations in his company’s plans for rescheduling warehouse space. ‘We are expanding our range of melamine boards and can give a better service to customers.’
