The worktop arrived, the hinges didn't
A homeowner spent weeks with your showroom designer choosing a kitchen. The design software produced a plan and a list. The order went to the cabinet supplier, the worktop fabricator, the appliance distributor, the sink and tap supplier and the tile supplier. On delivery day the fitter unpacks and finds a corner unit missing, the wrong handles and no plinth.
The fitter goes to another job. The customer's kitchen is out of action for another week. The designer spends two days on the phone to suppliers, none of whom have the whole picture.
Why showroom orders are harder than trade orders
A trade order is a list of stock items. A showroom order is a project: a design, dozens of components from several suppliers, a fixed fitting date and a customer who has never done this before.
- The design software's parts list is retyped into purchase orders by hand.
- Each supplier confirms separately, with different lead times and part numbers.
- Goods in receives boxes without knowing which project they belong to.
- Nobody checks the whole order is complete before it is delivered.
- The fitter's date is agreed without knowing when the last item arrives.
The cost of a kitchen that arrives in pieces
Delayed fits, extra deliveries, fitter downtime and customers who tell their friends. Showroom margins are good, but a single badly handled order can eat the profit, and the reputation damage lasts longer. Designers become order chasers instead of selling the next kitchen.
There is a hidden cost in fitters, too. Whether they work for you or for the customer, a fitter who turns up to missing parts loses a day, and good fitters stop recommending a showroom that wastes their time. Many customers choose where to buy a kitchen on their fitter's advice, so that recommendation matters.
A project record from design to fit
- The parts list is exported from your kitchen design software and imported as a project, so nothing is retyped. Each line is mapped to the supplier and their part code.
- Purchase orders are raised in your merchant system per supplier from the project, with the project reference on each.
- Supplier acknowledgements are read from email and matched to lines, and the latest confirmed date for the whole project is shown.
- Goods in scans or ticks each box against the project, and items are stored together in a marked area.
- Before the delivery date, a completeness check lists anything not yet received, early enough to move the date or chase.
- The customer and fitter get updates at the points you choose: all ordered, all in, delivery confirmed.
| Question | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Is everything ordered? | Check each PO by hand | Project shows every line ordered |
| When is it all in? | Ring each supplier | Latest confirmed date shown |
| Which boxes are whose? | Written on the box | Scanned to the project |
| Is it complete for delivery? | Found out by the fitter | Checked before delivery |
| Where is the customer's order? | Ask the designer | Shown to anyone at the branch |
What the showroom team gets back
Designers design and sell, rather than chase. The fitting date is set from real confirmed dates. The fitter arrives to a complete kitchen, or the date moves in good time. When the customer rings, anyone in the branch can answer.
Is your showroom like this?
- Parts lists from the design software are retyped into orders.
- Fitters regularly find missing items on delivery day.
- Designers spend much of their week chasing suppliers.
- Boxes for different projects get mixed up in goods in.
- Fitting dates are agreed before all supplier dates are confirmed.