Composite door success
Probably the biggest growth area for Business Micros in recent years has been the composite door market, where there are now a large number of manufacturers in the UK using its door designer or composite door software, the company has reported.
This includes companies such as Distinction, Solidor, Panels Direct, Doorstop, Vista, WB Group and, most recently, Endurance.
For manufacturers, there is an attraction of a door designer tool with dedicated links to Business Micros’ manufacturing and management software. Installers and homeowners can create their ideal door on their phone or on their tablet at any time of the day or night, submitting a request for a quote or even placing an order without any additional input required from their sales team.
For those companies with an ordering function, it’s not unusual now for them to receive up to 60% of their orders that way.
There is an off-the-shelf door designer that can be branded to suit any manufacturer, or there is the option of a bespoke tool for companies that want a more tailored solution.
For a company like Endurance Doors, the bespoke door designer works across all types of devices and operates in the browser window. It also allows installers or homeowners to upload a photo of the property into the system to see exactly what their chosen design would look like, and is sophisticated enough to make sure that it generates a realistic depiction of that door.
If it is being used by a homeowner, it allows them to make a direct enquiry to a member of the Endurance Preferred Installer Scheme once they reach the end of the design process or even ask for a quote.
Graeme Bailey, Business Micros’ managing director, said: “It’s our understanding of the market and our vast experience of how users interact with online door designers which helps us to add value to projects for customers like Endurance.
“We can tell them about the routes which users generally take when they are navigating the systems and advise on creating a user-friendly interface which looks impressive but is still fast enough to satisfy online users’ demand for an instant response.”
For most manufacturers, the door designers sit on an existing Business Micros software platform, and this is what makes them a valuable business tool.
They can be integrated into the EvoNet business management and Evolution manufacturing software, so that orders placed online are automatically processed and acknowledged, scheduled into production, tracked throughout the manufacturing process, and then invoiced once complete.
There will be lots of Business Micros door portals on display at FIT – not just on the Business Micros stand but on lots of their customers’ stands as well.