It’s always good to know who you’re buying from. In recent years we have seen a multitude of overseas companies setting up offices in the UK and being labelled as British manufacturing companies. These companies provide products often built and sourced from overseas. There is, of course, no problem with this.
EDS products are built and sourced from facilities in the UK. We appreciate the value of sourcing high-quality materials and putting money back into the UK economy by trading with our valued partners. Buying from EDS is buying from the UK.
There are several reasons why we encourage buyers to use UK manufacturers.
Service and maintenance times
With the services that support businesses entrances and security, quick maintenance times are an absolute must.
Ordering goods from overseas also takes a considerable amount of time, especially the intricate materials required to maintain services like automatic gates and turntables. Goods made in the UK will have shorter waiting and buying times than ordering goods from overseas. You’ll get your products quicker and lower your overall carbon footprint.
This also helps our team at EDS to continually provide a great service. If repairs or maintenance needs to be carried out, we’ll generally already have the parts we need in the UK already. This means that we can better support our customers when they need it most.
Carbon footprint and environmental impact
When buying goods from an overseas supplier, they will need to be shipped over to the UK. This generates a large carbon footprint. However, buying from a UK supplier would serve to reduce your environmental impact and lower your company’s carbon footprint. When purchasing high value products like entry solutions for a new business location, this has to be a consideration.
It’s a widely discussed topic these days for companies to be having an awareness of their overall environmental impact. This is often referred to as ‘corporate social responsibility’. Customers will genuinely check out your green credentials. It’s great to be able to show them off front and centre.
Product quality and service standards
Most UK manufacturers have a minimum ISO 9001 accreditation, a standard which regulates the way in which products are produced and sold. It is a standard that is recognised internationally. This quality management system ensures that products are traceable and built to an outlined set of standards. This means that buying British means buying with the assurance of good quality manufacturing standards, with a formalised approach to sign off prior to manufacturing.
Buying from a partner that you can trust is also immeasurable when it comes to satisfaction with the service standards. We work closely with our partners to ensure that our bespoke packages are right for every individual client. We do this on a case-by-case basis because we want your business to feel looked after. EDS do partnerships rather than transactions.
Costs of goods and services
We understand that a new entrance or security solution for your home or company is serious business. It’s a big purchasing decision, and often requires a long lead time. Buying a bespoke solution from the UK isn’t always going to be cheaper. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though.
Cheaper won’t necessarily get you the other benefits that we discuss in this article, such as quality, service, communication and assurance about where your products have been sourced from.
Despite these sometimes-higher costs, you do skip some of the high VAT and shipping costs that come with products that are shipped over from other countries. It’s also worth re-iterating that service and maintenance is far more efficient when they can be resolved by a local team.
More effective communication with the vendor
Entry solutions are generally made bespoke for your business. Buying from the UK means there’s less margin for error and less back and forth.
We understand some of the communication problems that come with buying from a vendor from overseas. The countries may have time differences and hence different office hours. There may also be a language barrier on the telephone, which contributes to the fact that it can be difficult to attain good communication and potential issue resolution. All-in-all, buying British goods and services from a reputable manufacturer very often means that you will get good quality products in a timely manner. You’ll also be sourcing your products from a place that is environmentally sound, whilst also putting money back into the UK economy.
EDS Group are situated in Birmingham, the heart of the West Midlands. We are a multi-service, precision automation engineering company, offering a unique and impressive portfolio of products and services. We work closely with our partners to provide bespoke solutions to our partner’s needs. Get in touch with us by heading to our contact page or giving us a call on 01212 130 130.