Malcolm Scott | COMMENT AND OPINION


MALCOLM SCOTT OPINION


The corporate chair of the KBSA highlights the excellent free training provided by many manufacturers and looks at the problems of the ‘new normal’ for the appliance supply chain in the Covid-19 aftermath


It’s all available for free! T


I have personally attended many exceptional venues that provide regular, free training to sales and design staff and fitters


raining for our industry is about more than high-level courses. It is about activities that make the whole industry more responsive to consumer needs. While Covid has disrupted this, many leading manufacturers offer substantial programmes providing high-quality training. As corporate chairperson for the KBSA, I have personally attended many exceptional training venues that provide regular, free training to sales and design staff and fitters in our industry.


The Miele Experience Cenrte in Oxfordshire is


extremely well-equipped and provides first-class training. Blum also has an excellent training facility at its HQ in Milton Keynes. The Bosch Academy and the Neff Training Centre in Milton Keynes have also provided training to kitchen retailers for many years. From its


facilities in Peterborough,


provided many hours of quality product training to large numbers of retailers. Many other leading brands, such as Beko, Rangemaster, Franke, Omega, Mereway and Smeg, also offer substantial training programmes. Staff at my employer, Swift Electrical, regularly attend customised


online training


courses hosted by leading brands, such as Bosch, Franke, Whirlpool, Smeg and Insinkerator.


Supply issues – the new normal?


There is a lot of talk about it – but what exactly is the ‘new normal’? High consumer demand, low consumer expectations, perpetual supply chain issues, a massive increase in regulations and a lack of available fitters!


Looking first at the supply of appliances to


showrooms, the traditional ‘just-in-time ordering’ routines adopted by many retailers are no longer working. Big manufacturers like Electrolux, Whirlpool, BSH and Smeg have overcome issues of social distancing and component shortages to considerably increase factory output. Consumer demand has, however, raced ahead of these output increases, with significant anecdotal evidence that consumer spending destined for overseas holidays and the like has been diverted to


December 2020 · home improvements. Over the past 12 weeks, most leading brands


have reported sales considerably higher than the same period last year. Delivery lead times from the factory to the retailer have also increased as international road freight companies have reduced capacity due to Covid-related issues, forcing some brands to send goods by slower rail transport. Attempts by appliance manufacturers to


increase capacity more quickly have been hampered by the need to delete existing models and introduce new ones to meet a raft of new energy regulations.


Stock shortages As appliance manufacturers do not have sufficient stock to meet current orders, most are ignoring


forward orders until seven days before the requested delivery date – orders don’t even enter the queue until a week before they are needed. Getting a full set of appliances from any brand in a single delivery has become very rare. Most brands now dispatch whatever is available straight away, with balances trickling in over the next month. Those retailers without storage space


currently only have one option – to source from a distributor who will store and accumulate the set ready for supply as a full set.


On a positive note, most KBSA members are


reporting strong order books, while house building seems to be back on track. The message in these troubled times must


surely be that there are opportunities, but that supply chain management and early ordering are more important than ever.


21 Whirlpool has


The Miele Experience Centre in Oxfordshire


Symphony Kitchens works with Wilsonart to provide online training packages for fitters as well as maintaining a large, well-equipped training facility for sales staff and designers at its head office in Barnsley. Kitchen retailer Renée Mascari continues to provide design courses, while Simon Acres Training offers training in all aspects of the industry. The UK’s leading training centre for construction training, YTA in Bradford, The Central Building Academy in Coventry and the Construction Skills College in Stoke on Trent, along with many such local colleges, run a number of specialised courses for fitters. Clearly, there is an ongoing requirement to expand our knoweldge, across the entire industry. But, as I have pointed out, there is already lot of good-quality training options already available for those who choose to seek it out.


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