The perfect balance

A fundamental part of being a good supplier, is having reliable products, but that’s only part of it.  Here, Dan Sullivan, managing director of DoorCo, talks to Glass Times about how products are only part of the picture when it comes to supply partnerships.

DoorCo is now the leading composite door supplier in the UK market. A large proportion of this success comes from listening to our customers, understanding their needs and view of the market, so we can ensure we keep delivering what they want.

We create services that flex to fit what they need, for example the Glazing and Paint No Prep options in our prepped door supply service were designed to meet specific demands and have become an integral part of our service offering.

All our investment and innovation is customer-centric – it may sound basic but understanding and delivering what your customers want and keeping them happy is how we measure success. We also have a responsibility to know what’s happening in the markets in which we operate, keep track of data and be ahead of the curve when it comes to trends. Performing at this level means our customers can perform well too, as they have all the tools they need to be successful.

We believe that relationships with our customers are more like partnerships, not just a transactional arrangement. Achieving this relies on transparency and open communication to benefit both. Take price increases as an example.

When our suppliers increase their prices, we have to pass this on to customers. Equally, when they reduce them, we pass this on too. We find our partnerships truly thrive when based on integrity and trust.

Don’t just take our word for it

Of course, it’s easy for us to say we do things. But the true measure of how good any business is, is what their customers say about them.

Many customers choose to work with suppliers because they like their products, but service must be a big consideration too. We like to think that the way we do business makes us an easy supplier to work with, but we don’t know for sure unless we ask. Obtaining regular feedback helps us to ensure we continue to deliver on what we promise.

Emma Frost, marketing manager at Listers, endorses this philosophy: “DoorCo is easy to work with, and their friendly team is approachable and are always happy to help us with our ideas. The key to strong relationships is customer support, and we can always approach them with questions and ideas. We moved over to DoorCo after purchasing GJB and Listers in 2017, because we could rely on their quality product, and we have always been impressed with their customer service.”

Everyone within our business is contactable, there’s no multi-layer customer service barriers protecting the management team. With a combined industry experience of over 300 years, whoever you do speak to will always be able to help.

We want to make sure our customers have everything they need in order to do their job as effectively and easily as they can, working together to help support future growth.

“DoorCo is a very forward-thinking supplier and they spend time with their customers to ensure the products and service is always on point and the marketing support and content they provide is great,” explains Mir Patel, production controller at Unique Window Systems. “DoorCo understands Unique’s future goals and is onboard in helping us achieve those, which is all that you can ask of your supply partners.”

A true partnership can provide both sides with opportunities to learn new strategies and open up new revenue streams that you didn’t think were possible before. The desire to move things forward, develop and grow is relevant for both sides. We never lose sight of the fact customers rely on us as a supplier, but they know it’s a positive partnership in which they can trust.

According to Kevin Wheatman, general manager at Hurst: “You can’t just make demands on your supplier and expect to have a good working relationship. The key is creating working partnerships where there is no perceived hierarchy, built on mutual respect, so you can proactively work together in order to satisfy both of your businesses needs, and this is the sort of relationship we are proud to say we have with DoorCo.”

Our compass

So, it seems fair to say that if you ask our customers about us, they will back up the fact we deliver on our promises.

But we don’t take that for granted and will never become complacent because of it. People talk about having a moral compass and at DoorCo we felt it was important to develop the equivalent of that for our business.

The ‘Co’ in DoorCo represents a long list of principles we work by to ensure we work to the best of our ability, so our customers get the best of us. We make conscientious and considered decisions from connecting, consulting and communicating with customers in order to show our total commitment to our complete collaboration.

We will continue to evaluate and evolve what we do to ensure our customers get the most effective service from DoorCo, tailored to suit their individual business needs as it really is the perfect balance.