G22 Preview

QUICKSLIDE REACHES FINALS OF G AWARDS IN TWO KEY CATEGORIES

Leading window and door fabricator and VS specialist Quickslide has become a finalist in this year’s G Awards in the two key categories that it entered, Customer Care Initiative of the Year and Fabricator of the Year.

For the Customer Care Initiative Quickslide submitted a scheme that has successfully reduced its engineer callouts by more than 60%, by identifying that many installers assumed handling and fitting VS windows was the same as other frame types, whereas the reality is quite different. Quickslide therefore set out to train its installer customers, which in turn allowed greater resource to be applied to quality control in the Quickslide factory, further reducing remedial site visits. For the Fabricator of the Year entry Quickslide submitted details of the company’s extensive system development programme, within which its in-house R&D team developed integrated CRM, Scanning and Despatch applications designed to provide solutions way ahead of standard industry products. These have resulted in significant increases in lead conversion rates, average order values, reductions in after-sales callouts, together with on time and in full (OTIF) improvements at the highest levels since pre-COVID. “The investment that we have made in our internal systems is producing significant benefits to our customers, which is the whole point,” explained Quickslide Chairman Adrian Barraclough. “The G Awards is the industry’s leading event of its type and previous wins for Quickslide have been terrific for showing appreciation for our people and the effort that they put in to create excellence within our company. Even being recognised as a finalist is a huge boost for us all at Quickslide.”

DOUBLE FINALIST STATUS CONFIRMED FOR EPWIN WINDOW SYSTEMS

Epwin Window Systems has been confirmed as a finalist in two G22 Award categories. The Telford-based business has been shortlisted in both the New Product of the Year and the Promotional Campaign of the Year categories.

Clare Bailey, Managing Director at Epwin Window Systems, said: “The G Awards celebrate excellence in the window industry so we are delighted to have received these nominations. They reflect the hard work of our talented in-house teams as we continue to set new standards for the industry.” The systems house has been nominated in the New Product of the Year category for its newly-designed Stellar aluminium window and door system (Part L). The new Stellar aluminium system was developed to prepare it for Part L of the Building Regulations, as well as the more stringent protocols that will come into force over the coming years. The newly designed system demonstrates a level of ingenuity and innovation with a refusal to compromise in search of product excellence. There is also a nomination in the Promotional Campaign of the Year for the Epwin Window Systems’ ‘We’re Ready’ campaign. The attention-grabbing campaign was designed to showcase how the systems house could help fabricators secure a competitive advantage even in the face of turbulent economic conditions. The multichannel campaign ran across print, social and digital platforms and had three distinct pillars, each of which focused on a core advantage of working with the business. The G Awards are the premier event for the glass and glazing industry. The winners will be announced at the G22 Awards Presentation & Gala Dinner on Friday 25th November at the prestigious Intercontinental London Hotel on Park Lane.

Clare concludes: “The G Awards are always an opportunity to celebrate excellence. Not only have we been confirmed finalists, but it’s good to see some of our customers and installing partners achieving finalist status in their respective categories. Good luck to all the finalists.”

Tel: 0845 340 3968 www.epwinwindowsystems.co.uk

DIGITAL FOCUS SCORES WINDOW WARE CUSTOMER CARE G-AWARD NOMINATION

Window Ware has made the shortlist for Customer Care Initiative of the Year at the G22 Awards – thanks to a focus on helping its customers with new digital ways of working.

Last July, the leading hardware distributor launched a new website and online platform that set out to support customers better and save them time, with everything from self-serve product information and resources, personalised product displays and nowait, best-price quotations to instant stock check, self-build Tilt & Turn hardware kits and an online marketing support portal. Sarah Binns, Window Ware’s Head of Internal Sales & Marketing, said: “We saw a shift in buyer behaviour due to the pandemic, whereby interactions with customers had become increasingly web based, while fabricator and installer expectations had risen too.” “Our customers needed quick answers, a timelier service and greater self-sufficiency wherever possible so we transformed our website to provide a better online experience and put facilities in place that enabled them to make better, faster, more informed purchasing decisions.” “As a result, our customer satisfaction rate has stayed consistently high – on average 91.33% for the last 17 months - despite challenging market factors and increased order volumes. We also managed to not only retain most of our existing customers but gain new ones too, to ultimately grow the business by +30% compared to 2019. What’s more, our web sales rose by 34%, our average monthly web order value grew by 16% and now 1/3 of all customers buy online.” Window Ware’s Credit Control Manager, Sharon Fowler won the G21 Unsung Hero Award last year, so the Bedford-based company is hoping to make the winners’ roll call once again. Sarah added: “We couldn’t have been prouder when Sharon took the title of Unsung Hero last year – it was thoroughly deserved – and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that Window Ware can repeat her success in the Customer Care Initiative of the Year Award this year.” G22 organiser Tony Higgin said: “This year the short-list was chosen from a record field of entries, up 40% on 2021, making judging closer than ever before and creating a really tough challenge for the judges to select the finalists.” The prestigious Gala Dinner and Awards evening takes place at the Intercontinental London Park Lane on Friday, November 25 when the winners will be announced.

Window Ware has been successfully serving the window and door industry with leading brand hardware, tools, and consumables since 1987. For more information, call 01234 242 724, email sales@windowware.co.uk, or visit www.windowware.co.uk.

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