Door components, when you need them

Hot on the heels of DoorCo being named Component Supplier of the Year at the 2022 G-Awards, head of operations Mark Towers shares his insight into what makes DoorCo different when it comes to composite door distribution supply.

For DoorCo, staying true to our roots as the only independent composite door manufacturer is our mantra and it’s what drives us.

The distribution side of the business – the supply of composite door components for manufacturing – is fundamental, not only to our business, but to the entire supply chain: fabricators need the opportunity to own their share of the market, differentiate, add value, and deliver high quality and aesthetically pleasing doors across all markets, from retail installers and homeowners to the commercial new build and social housing sectors.

It is our position in the supply chain to support this and while some door suppliers are moving away from offering a distribution only service, it remains very much in focus at DoorCo.

Investing for choice

It’s well documented that DoorCo has been following a strategic growth and investment plan which has resulted in two large, well-stocked warehouses (65,000ft2) delivering a comprehensive range of composite door components to customers, when they need them.

Uniquely, DoorCo is the only composite door supplier to offer both a foam core door slab (Original) and a solid timber core slab (Gripcore) as well as our own cassette system (Flip). We also provide a range of DoorCo approved components that include bespoke glass and colour choices.

This offers complete control over the major components in the supply chain and gives customers the opportunity to create a multitude of different traditional, contemporary and door designs.

All this choice is effectively managed by empowered teams in procurement (managing our core products and stock levels) across warehousing, sales order processing, customer services, and transport and despatch.

These people are supported by technology, thanks to investment in end-to-end online ordering and customer barcoding to support our next day (when ordered by 1pm) ‘just in time’ delivery service, in either bulk volume or to suit order book requirements.

Stock is the key to keeping this fluid and investing in plentiful stock has been a priority for several years. Even against an adverse backdrop, we went ‘all-in’ to maintain the bolstered stock levels we promise and even went as far as mobilising an additional 35,000ft2 of warehouse space due to increased demand for DoorCo products.

This move took us from a single to multi-site business, potentially a logistical nightmare but a thoughtful and practical approach has made it all work and the huge investments worth the risk.

Business support

Having all this opportunity is great but integrating new products into a manufacturing process can be a huge and very daunting challenge.

When working with DoorCo, this is seamless thanks to our technology team and our ability to integrate with any external system, whether that’s industry standard manufacturing systems or bespoke in-house packages.

We’re even able to use integrated barcoding which means that on an order, we can assign a customer’s own barcode which is fully trackable and on arrival can simply be scanned in and moved on to the next point at the customers’ own facility.

This integration is extended to any new customers that join DoorCo who are fully supported by our onboarding support package.

Once you are onboard, a comprehensive suite of digital and physical marketing materials is available.

This is available to download or order through an online asset portal and supported by an in-house marketing team. One of the latest and most exciting innovations is our AR visualiser which, through a mobile phone camera, gives homeowners a visual representation of a door on their own home in real time.

Flexible choice

While many fabricators have the in-house facilities to fully manufacture doors, many DoorCo customers dip into some of our prepping services like painting and glazing to create or support their own capacity.

We’re also making the re-glazeable Flip glazing cassette more flexible too, which is now available for any door on the market. This means the revolutionary ‘Foam in Place’ technology that delivers a superior seal and exclusive flat profile designs in multiple textures will be available for 44mm, 48mm, 68mm & 70mm thick slabs.

Our distribution product and service offering are fully flexible and it’s this approach to supply that sets DoorCo apart, and why the G-Award judges deemed us to be an award-winning business.