Broker VS Manufacturer – who to work with?
Every business owner, including you, wants to improve profitability. One good way to do this is to import windows from Poland, where you will find more than 3,000 manufacturers. So the question is: when to choose yourself, and when to bet on a broker?
What will you know after reading this?
- Who is a joinery broker?
- What is the difference between a broker and a distributor?
- When to cooperate with a manufacturer?
- When to cooperate with a broker?
- Comparison of a broker and a typical manufacturer
Who’s the broker?
Let’s start with a brief explanation. A broker in this industry is an intermediary between you and many joinery manufacturers. Brokers work so that you don’t waste your time looking for the best deal but instead focus on executing contracts and making money.
“Will a broker always be the best solution?”
– Nope.
It all depends on your situation because there are some when it is simply more advantageous to work directly with the manufacturer. So let’s start with them.
It is better to cooperate with the manufacturer if:
You are looking for the lowest price on the market
If you specialize in window distribution, build relationships with manufacturers yourself, and aim to earn margins on windows yourself – the lowest price is your main and only goal, the better choice would be to work with a manufacturer.
When it comes to aluminum and wood, prices with a broker are lower than the market average. This does not mean that you get the cheapest product. You get a product that is cheaper than the average price on the market, plus you don’t have to worry that by going by price, you’ve ended up with an unreliable supplier who will either have massive delays or won’t send you the goods.
Your orders are standard and repeatable
The manufacturer wins 90% of the time, but it’s always a good idea to ensure you’ve hit that 10%. The easiest way to check this is with a PVC window calculator showing prices.
We will not persuade you to cooperate with us because, in this situation, it is just unprofitable for you. A team of experienced people, whose work, of course, costs money, works on the optimization and implementation of our partners’ orders. The composition of such people is:
You have an experience and knowledge in the Polish market
Suppose you have the knowledge, experience, proven manufacturers, a network of contacts in Poland, and people for logistics and claim recovery. In that case, you don’t need the help of a broker, so it’s better to contact the manufacturer.
On the other hand, if you have doubts, you are doing it for the first time, or you hit a big complicated project with which you need help, then remember that such tasks are our speciality.
Choose a broker if:
You don’t have time
Without a doubt, if you have a lot of things on your mind, it is worth betting on a broker. We have over 200 systems in our database, access to almost all manufacturers, and trading relationships with the best of them. We look for the perfect solution ourselves and choose the best option for you.
The most valuable currency is time, especially in your case when you have many things on your mind. Looking for a reliable manufacturer is not a job for 5 minutes, and additionally you can lose a lot of money by picking the wrong one.
You have unusual orders
Most of us prefer one winter jacket for many years rather than replacements twice a season. Following this analogy, debesto is more like an insurance broker than a single insurance company. The point is that you can find practically anything without worrying about product quality.
For a manufacturer, changing and additionally unusual orders can be problematic. Usually, he won’t have what you need, so you’ll waste time looking for another manufacturer with a reasonable offer.
You need the expertise of specialists
So we will deliver it to you simply and understandably. At your disposal is a team of experts in virtually every field of joinery, including transportation, construction and technology. Another advantage is our blog and a quick video consultation with a debesto expert, which is mandatory (to shorten the quote) right after prequalification.
Most of the time, the manufacturer does not offer free knowledge or assistance in choosing the right product for you, and searching on your own is time-consuming and often ineffective.
You’re hiring employees to find deals
As the owner of a large company, you may employ a separate employee you pay to find the best deals on the market. The truth is that you typically overpay a lot for this. It’s worth considering whether it’s better to work with a broker.
If you are interested in what such cooperation looks like, please contact us.
You’re betting on safe shopping
Buying woodwork from an established broker is often safer and more straightforward than straight from the manufacturer. Debesto offers a 30-month worldwide warranty, and the only requirement you have to meet is correct installation. It’s also always a good idea to look at the reviews of a particular manufacturer or broker. In this case, we recommend checking debesto reviews.
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A great comparison – broker VS standard manufacturer
Price guarantee
The final cost of the order will not surprise you. Debesto guarantees that it will fulfil the order on the terms you accepted at the proforma invoice stage. The amount accepted by you at the proforma stage and you pay on time, the price will not change, no matter what.
As for the manufacturer’s price guarantee, you also get one. On the other hand, it is usually a verbal contract, which, let’s be honest – doesn’t mean too much.
Prices
Regarding PVC windows, prices are on par with the market average, while you’ll buy wood in debesto 10% to 20% cheaper, and aluminum 15% to 30% cheaper. How is this possible? The answer is simple. These are not the lowest prices on the market, but lower than the average of the entire woodwork market. If you don’t know such a market, you could pay 35,000 USD for the same windows 100,000 USD.
debesto places huge orders with many manufacturers every month, for which it gets numerous discounts and builds a reputation in the industry.
Shipping prices
High transportation costs can be surprising and negatively affect the profitability of imports from Poland. By optimizing logistics processes, increasing the carrier base and combining the shipment of multiple orders, debesto has developed delivery prices 70% lower than the average market price.
In addition, for your use, debesto offers a transparent shipping price list, which you can find here.
Worldwide warranty
At debesto, we provide a 30-month unlimited warranty, worldwide.
On the other hand, the average manufacturer boasts of an extended warranty period, which in practice means nothing. Examples of the use of legal “crocks” that have negatively surprised our customers in manufacturers’ warranties include 7-year warranty for individual use, but after going into the warranties, it turns out that for commercial use, the warranty is two-year.
Another manufacturer, on the other hand, had such a provision in its warranty:
“The warranty covers Products installed (or transported) up to 600 m above sea level. Above this altitude, ESG glass and elements equalise pressure in the chambers – such as capillaries.”
Knowledge
During the free 45-minute video call, a business consultant and a technologist will answer all of your questions. With the presence of a person who knows how to make money on windows and a technologist who knows how to make them optimally, in one conversation, we settle issues that usually stretch over two weeks and about 20 emails.
In addition, the information is often given in a manner that is not very accessible, and even if it is, we usually won’t understand what is being discussed.
Guaranteed delivery time
Construction schedules are falling apart like a house of cards, mainly due to delivery delays. Our declared delivery dates are projected based on more than 7,000 completed orders and the monitoring of at least 100 orders in progress. We deliver 98.7% of windows on time and without problems. If we are late with delivery – we give you back a large part of our earnings (2% discount on your order).
With a manufacturer, you will practically never get such a guarantee. Unless we consider a verbal contract based on “I guarantee delivery on time”. Being on the market for a long time and working with many manufacturers, we have yet to encounter a genuine guarantee of on-time delivery.
Of course, there may be an exception, but you have to come across it and know how to negotiate, while debesto guarantee on-time delivery or a discount.
Reliable conformity of goods with the order
To make your goods conform to the order, we inspect them in 5 ways: during video consultation, video offers presentation, quality control of the sales contract, quality control of the production order and legal protection of the order with the manufacturer. The arrival of goods that do not conform to the charge involves wasting time, money and your good name.
So it is worth mentioning that working with debesto, you do not have time pressure from the courier to check the goods, and in addition, you can report any deficiencies up to 48h after receiving the goods.
The manufacturer controls the conformity of the goods with the order, but of course, each has its unique way of doing this, as can be seen from the frequent discrepancies and even shortages in the order.
Increased profitability
Debesto has no loyalty agreements with any manufacturer. Out of 3,000 manufacturers, we choose one that will bring you the highest profits. Objectivity is one of the broker’s most significant advantages. They will not push you with just anything.
On the other hand, if we compare cooperation with a manufacturer, we are doomed only to his offer. After all, like any business, it has to make money, but the manufacturer is focused on selling only his own products. After all, it will not send us to the competition.
Serving only companies
By choosing us, you can be sure that the customer will not screw you over, and even if he wants to, we will not allow it. We guarantee that we will not sell to your client at the expense of your earnings. You can always reserve a list of your contractors with us.
Unfortunately, in the case of a manufacturer (not all, of course, but most of them), there is always a risk that your customer will skip you to save money.
Know where in Europe to buy the best, cheapest and safest
Working with us, you are assured of getting a decent product. Thanks to debesto’s ongoing benchmarking of window prices and quality in 15 European countries, including Italy, Germany, and France, it is clear that windows from Poland are 33-54% cheaper than in the compared countries.
How is this possible? They retain German quality due to production carried out on German machinery and German technology (Schuco, Veka, Aluplast).
When working with a manufacturer, you are unlikely to hear that their products are of poor quality. You will be condemned to them. After all, he has to sell his own.
Complaints
All you have to do at debesto is fill out one form. We will take care of the rest, telling you how the situation is. Sometimes, in the case of minor complaints, debesto takes it upon itself and pays out of its pocket. Why? When dealing with possible complaints, the most important thing is the customer’s welfare and the partnership relationship.
If you work with a manufacturer, be patient because you will lose a lot of time and possibly nerves. In addition, you will expose yourself to costs.
Final brief comparison
Summary
The manufacturer has its products to make money on, so objectivity will be missing. By choosing debesto, you are betting on neutrality and, therefore, the best product tailored to your requirements.
On the other hand, if you have simple, repetitive and infrequent orders, it is better to choose to work with a manufacturer. However, if you are betting on saving time and unusual solutions, it will be better to cooperate with a broker.
Please contact us if you have any question.
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What is the difference between a broker and a distributor?
A distributor most often has a contract with some manufacturer or several and represents their interests (he cares about selling the windows in question, not about knowing the customer’s needs and choosing the right product for him).
On the other hand, a broker focuses on the customer’s interests. He doesn’t have a relationship with the manufacturers. He just verifies the manufacturers, looking for the best and safest solutions for the customer.
