THE WOODWORKING INDUSTRY’S PLAN B
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5 Ways the Pandemic is Changing Wood Products Manufacturing BY BILL ESLER
The Pandemic is changing how business gets done, including the business of closet and cabinet making. A number of the shifts were already pretty far along, but the situation led companies to delve deeper into the world of technology to get their heads above water. An ongoing industry shift accelerated by the pandemic is in the manufacturing process itself. Prior to COVID-19, the industry saw many cabinet shops adopting more automated production processes: paperless job tickets, lean manufacturing. This continues, but the pace and urgency of such changes has accelerated. Considering the current situation, finding new ways of doing business, from sales through design and production, is now mandatory. Businesses not moving with the market forces driving these changes run a high risk of being left in the dust. Here are five ways the pandemic is changing the industry.
1. Remote communications have transformed the sales process. In sales, client visits are now history right now. Now pitches are developed through e-mail and online marketing, follow-up calls, and 3D presentations of kitchen and room design renderings. Increasingly, presentations use precise 3D renderings, some using photorealistic designs or even immersive reality, letting clients “walk through” the proposal virtually. The more real, the better the chance of closing the sale. And another upside: cutting travel means more time for more proposals, a formula that ultimately leads to more sales. 2. Plant managers should be seen, and not heard. To keep colleagues safe, the manufacturing workplace has also been changed, with the new social distancing reality. On the noisy plant floor, work cells are spaced out to minimize peer to peer exposure. And face-to-face, and “face-to-ear” shouting, is now considered very unsafe. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 ›
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