Becky Forrest, Business Integration Manager at Häfele UK, explores how tailored services can help large-scale manufacturers improve efficiency, stay agile, and position themselves for growth.
For large-scale furniture and joinery manufacturers, whether working in kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, supplying large residential developments or manufacturing flat-pack furniture for volume retail, the past few years have been anything but straightforward. Demand has shifted, costs have climbed, and global supply chains have kept everyone on their toes. Yet the long-term outlook for the UK market remains positive, making now the right time to focus on building efficiency and resilience so businesses are ready to move fast when growth returns.
Recent Office for National Statistics data for the UK furniture production industry shows a drop in volume but a rise in output, which, in addition to highlighting a focus on higher-value products, suggests that every unit produced must work harder to deliver a profit. This puts efficiency, cost control, and smart supplier partnerships firmly in the spotlight.
How suppliers can make a difference
Too often, conversations with suppliers focus solely on a component. However, the services surrounding those components also play a crucial role in maintaining production and protecting margins.
One of the clearest examples is packing. Simple solutions, such as supplying cabinet components pre-packed into ready-to-go sets – and as a single SKU rather than multiple parts, can significantly reduce production time, purchasing administration, the risk of delays and free up skilled employees for higher-value tasks.
Project-driven packing takes this further. Here, the distributor can supply precisely what’s needed for a specific project, whether that be kitchen lighting sets provided as one kit, full wardrobe sets, or complete door furniture packs. Everything is included, eliminating the risk of missing parts on site,saving installation time, and can be provided with no minimum order quantity. This helps the manufacturer to be more agile for their customers, as well as reduce cost commitments and stocking requirements.
Increasing efficiencies
Assembly and pre-configuration services deliver similar benefits. Pre-assembled drawers, cut-to-size profiles, and bundled component packs save time, reduce handling, and help smooth production peaks, all without adding headcount or investing in extra tooling. This is increasingly valuable as rising National Insurance costs add further financial pressure to businesses.
Leading distributors can also support with value engineering, finding more innovative ways to achieve the same performance at a lower cost. By reviewing specifications for aspects such as lighting design or sliding door systems, manufacturers and suppliers can, together, identify alternative materials, components, or formats that reduce expenditure, improve efficiency, and maintain product competitiveness without compromising quality or functionality.
By working closely with suppliers, focusing on the services they can offer as well as the components they provide, large-scale manufacturers will be better positioned to respond quickly to changing conditions today and gear up for growth as the market evolves.
For more information, visit www.hafele.co.uk/service
