Online ordering has given Deceuninck a crucial edge, providing it with critical real time data on demand as a foundation for production planning – not to mention an industry leading OTIF.

“It’s a little bit like Amazon. Our customers order through Deceuninck Online and the second that order is generated, an order for replacement stock is triggered. It’s this cycle. The order comes in, it’s picked from the warehouse and an order for a replacement goes into the production schedule,” says Darren Woodcock, general manager, Deceuninck.

Although Deceuninck Online offers much more, 24/7 ordering and order tracking, access to brochures and specification guides, marketing material and support, it’s the core visibility of orders vis à vis stock in real time, which delivers the biggest benefits to its customers.

Deceuninck’s offer includes more than 30 different colourways in stock, with a further 20 available in only a few days.

It consistently holds more than 4,000 products, including profiles, trims and ancillaries, in stock in its 140,000ft2 warehousing facility, with orders digitally picked and scanned on and off lorries.

“In a sense it’s a traditional model – we hold stock,” continues Darren. “This is in stark contrast to the just-in-time models used by other systems companies.

“What we’ve done, however, is to bring that established and stable model of stock holding into a new and future era, by digitising stock holding so that we and our customers known in real time our exact stock holding levels.

“Just-in-time models work for other systems companies because it means you’re not tying up capital in increased stock holding but you need everything in your supply chain and in your own operation to line up.

“That doesn’t always work for their customers and we don’t intend to operate like that.”

Deceuninck’s On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) has consistently remained at 98% or above for the last 12-months, despite leading the industry on colour for more than a decade.

Deceuninck customers sell on average twice as much colour as their competitors, supported through shorter lead times and greater flexibility, largely attributable to its ex-stock colour range.

This is despite the increased complexity in its colour offer, with an uptick in creams, softer greys, including quartz grey and basalt grey and black ulti-matt, which was up 41% last year.

Agate grey and cream white accounted for 20% of sales. In comparison sales of anthracite grey dropped significantly, despite retaining 22% of volume overall.

“We’ve been tracking key trends for years, so we know which products will generate most demand and which we need to hold more of in stock, our product offer is focussed and as a consequence, we can also be more adaptable,” Darren adds.

The other element of this mix is Deceuninck’s foiling capability. It’s gone from a standing start in 2015 to one of the UK’s most advanced foiling facilities thanks to a series of six figure investments.

“We have capacity to foil more than one million linear metres of product a month – that’s a lot of profile,” says Darren. “For me it’s the quality that’s gone with it. The team have incredible expertise and take a genuine pride in what they do and that translates into the product that leaves the warehouse.”

Deceuninck has also invested in its operation more generally. This includes the addition of a new exelliq Manufacturing 4.0. DIGI.LINE automated digital extrusion line, added to its UK facility in April this year.

“It gives the UK a leading-edge solution, significantly increasing capacity while bringing even accuracy to manufacture,” Darren adds.

In addition to the investment it has made in its extrusion capability Deceuninck also installed 2,500 solar panels at its Calne facility, increasing its use of renewable energy.

Delivered as part of its commitment to lower its operational impact on the environment through the corporate carbon reduction scheme, Science Based Targets group-wide it has successfully lowered the carbon footprint of its operations by 21% compared to its 2021 baseline.

“Sustainability is a foundation of what we do,” says Darren. “Controlling stock better by understanding and predicting trends, minimises wastage, while still guaranteeing supply.

“It’s about three pillars, sustainable manufacture, sustainable and stable supply, as well as through life sustainability,” he concludes.