9 Hidden Costs of Choosing the Wrong Trade Kitchen Supplier (& How to Avoid)
If you are a builder, architect or interior designer creating high-quality homes, you already know the importance of finding the right suppliers. An unreliable trade kitchen supplier has the potential to derail your projects and damage your company’s reputation.
Making the wrong decision could cost you time, money and credibility. How can you ensure you choose the right trade kitchen supplier?
Here are 9 hidden costs of choosing the wrong kitchen company and what to look for.
1. No Specialist Trade Kitchen Expertise
When builders and interior designers are looking for a new kitchen supplier, the most important decision they can make is to choose a specialist trade kitchen company.
Kitchen design for trades requires different knowledge and logistics. Kitchens for speculative developments are different from designing directly for end clients. Without a client, design decisions should consider local property insights, trends, and the target market. Having a supplier who understands this is vital.
2. Project Delays
Builders often handle various projects, from bespoke homes for individual clients to large multi-plot developments. Working with a kitchen and furniture supplier that can adapt to both is important. How many projects can the supplier handle at once? A small kitchen showroom could struggle to support you as your business grows or handle multiple projects and plots at once.
Look for kitchen companies with proven experience in delivering multi-plot contracts and private client projects. This gives you the benefits of a contract kitchen supplier and a kitchen retailer under one roof.
3. Restricted Design
Builders and interior designers work on projects varying in size, style, and location. These factors influence the kitchen style that best suits the project. However, if your kitchen company only offers one furniture brand, your designs could be restricted.
To combat this, look for a supplier that can offer design flexibility regarding style and price points. This flexibility allows you to deliver customised solutions that meet your needs without restriction. KCA combines the leading manufacturers to provide the widest choice, from modular European kitchens to handmade British bespoke kitchens.
4. Over Specification
In today’s contract market, margins are tight, especially with speculative new builds. In trade kitchen design, it’s essential not to over-design. A private client may decide to upgrade their design and spend more, but trade kitchen designers must stay mindful of budgets while creating kitchens that appeal to potential buyers.
The design approach for a £1m+ bespoke home differs from contract kitchen design for a large development of apartments. Look for a company that understands the balance between cost-effectiveness and appeal.
5. Unnecessary Extra Client Communication
Offering personalisation can add an extra competitive edge and help sell homes faster. However, offering buyers the option to customise their kitchen takes time and resources. Clients need someone to advise and guide them, which takes time and resources away from construction.
However, trades can choose a contract kitchen company that understands private clients. This homebuyer knowledge is beneficial when offering customisations after selling a home off-plan or for bespoke client builds. Designers liaise with end clients directly, offering expert advice and professional service that complements yours. You can focus on construction while your kitchen supplier looks after your clients and design details.
6. Wasted Time Chasing Your Supplier
Constantly chasing suppliers for updates can be frustrating and cost you time and resources.
Will your kitchen supplier handle everything proactively and efficiently? From design service to installation, your supplier should ensure everything runs smoothly. This saves you the hassle of following up so you can focus on other priorities.
Meet the KCA Trade Kitchen Experts
KCA is an independent kitchen company designing and installing kitchens for the trades since 1993.
Why consider KCA?
- Serving Berkshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, London
- Proven tracked record with 6,000+ successful projects
- High-level, award-winning design to boost desirability
- Personal, guided end-client service for bespoke home builds
- Choice of leading European furniture brands and English handcrafted bespoke
- Efficient, scalable logistics for one-off homes or multi-plot contracts
- Easily expand your project as needed with furniture for the whole home, including bedrooms, home offices, laundry and media
- Stable company trading since 1993
Want to learn more? Call the KCA showroom 01344883777
7. Damaged Reputation
Unfortunately, a supplier’s poor service can negatively affect your company’s reputation. Important points to look for are:
- Specifying cheap products that won’t stand the test of time
- Lack of regard for ethical or sustainable practices, not setting your homes up to meet modern buyer expectations
- Company instability that could result in sudden liquidation, leaving you with unfinished projects and unhappy clients
- Poor on-site practices that don’t comply with health and safety standards
- Disappointing client service
When tendering kitchens, make sure not to overlook the value of customer service. It’s easy to focus on the bottom line price, but understanding the cost of bad service is vital. We interviewed KCA Founder Adrian Wing on the topic, read it here.
Want to learn about KCA’s approach to sustainability? Read the sustainability mission.
8. Duplicated Work
Coordinating suppliers is a key part of any construction project. From landscape companies to kitchen designers, the list of suppliers to manage can spiral quickly.
To avoid doubling up on work, partner with a company that offers other services beyond kitchen design. You can choose one trusted supplier for your kitchens, bedrooms and fitted furniture. This efficiency reduces the need to communicate with several suppliers, saving time and resources while streamlining the process. With less time spent on communication, you have more time for construction.
9. Kitchen Supplier Doesn’t Support Your Long-Term Success
When working with a new supplier, there is a learning curve on both sides as you learn each other’s processes. So, it’s crucial to remember the bigger picture when choosing a kitchen supplier.
A successful trade kitchen supplier focuses on building a lasting partnership and helping you create homes that stand out in the market. Ensure that your new kitchen supplier shares like-minded values and will be able to support your company’s growth. If you’re not the right fit for the long term, you may have to find a new supplier sooner than you would like.
