Oliver Ginger, Supply Chain Director at Origin
First Job: The first job I ever had was with Gilbert and Pollard Sports in St Albans. I was 19 years old and my role was Accounts Manager.
When did you join your current company: I joined Origin in June 2006. It was a very easy decision for me, because I wanted to help out the family business.
Most useful/favourite gadget: I would have to say that my iPhone is my most useful gadget. It means that I can still stay in contact with the office, even if I am not there.
Favourite/most useful website: That is an easy one – Sky Sports. I like all sports, so it is important for me to stay as updated as possible.
Business person you admire: I admire Richard Branson as a business man. He seems able to stay very down to earth, even with all of his achievements.
Recommended hotel for business: I have always thought that The Grove in Hertfordshire is a fantastic hotel.
Favourite UK restaurant: The Hinds Head in Bray has absolutely phenomenal food. I can highly recommend it.
Best Business Decision: – Realising I can’t do everything myself, so hiring talented new people to fill those roles.
Other Interests: Golf and tennis are my particular favourites, but I also enjoy watching films, going out for dinner and skiing with the family whenever possible.
Working Day: On an average working day, I wake up at 6am, and will usually be in the office by 7.30am, ready to start the day. I tend to go through my emails, before being part of a daily meeting that takes place between 9am – 9.45am. In the meeting, we cover KPI’s for goods in, production and goods out, all for the previous day. Throughout the day, I might have further meetings to attend, whether that be on a management or board level – it would depend on that specific day. I always try to keep myself available as much as possible, because it allows people to talk to me and ask me questions, so I can help where I can.
Working Location: I work at Origin’s production site in High Wycombe, which is perfectly situated for access to London, as well as our showrooms dotted all over the UK. I sit with some members of my team in an open-plan office, where we are able to discuss what is happening and react very quickly to anything that needs to be dealt with.
Over the last twelve months, we have seen more competition than ever before within the bi-folding door market, but despite that, we have continued to grow as a business. Introducing our new window, which features an internal and external flush casement, has helped us to achieve this growth, but even without that, we had our best ever year on bi-folds sales. For the next twelve months, we are expecting the competition to continue to increase, but we are looking forward to this challenge and feel we have a great offering for our new and existing customers. We used the FIT Show, in Telford, to introduce our new revolutionary time-saving online quoting and ordering system, Sale Safe (OSS), which was a huge success. We had a fantastic new stand, showcasing all of our products, plus we launched a new blind system that we are very excited about.
Innovative Ranges
Innovation plays an important role in keeping Origin at the forefront of the industry. While open to new design, Origin is disciplined in steering away from gimmicks. As a British manufacturer, we always have unparalleled product quality as our key objective. As a result, Origin is the only company that can offer a 20-year guarantee on our doors and windows. The launch of the new OSS software further demonstrates this ethos within the company. As with everything ‘Origin’, OSS is completely bespoke. It has been designed, developed and built in house to improve the ease and speed of ordering to minimise any costly mistakes. This helps trade agents save time with admin, so orders and projects can be turned around in record time to increase overall efficiency, customer service levels and ultimately, profitability. With an easy to navigate, simple design and intuitive functionality, OSS streamlines the ordering process significantly, allowing costs to be retrieved instantly and ordered there and then if required. Additionally, the administrative side of OSS also boasts huge organisational benefits. Rather than quoting individual products, OSS allows customer projects to be built, incorporating doors and windows, so all information for one customer is in one place. From here, the project can have an unlimited amount of doors and windows within it, and any product could be added to, edited or removed at any time. Therefore, if a returning customer is undertaking another building project, their preferences would already be saved, removing the need to search and re-enter this information.
On top of the instantaneous and administrative benefits, OSS offers distinct advantages to our users. These include an intelligent cascade system, which allows an overall project preference, such as colour, to be changed and pushed through to all products in a project at the click of a button instead of manually changing individual ones.
Origin Window
In addition to launching our OSS, we are also focusing on our Origin Window, which features an industry-unique internal and external flush casement, meaning that the sash sits perfectly in line with the frame with no overlapping profile. It also offers an optional upgrade of space age technology, Aerogel, for out-of-this-world thermal efficiency, making it capable of achieving an energy rating of A++. We have exclusivity on this ground-breaking Aerogel, used for insulation in the likes of spacecraft and spacesuits. It is completely unique in its properties, not affected by age or moisture, and provides major energy savings for the life of a home. When combined with our window, it can boost the window’s thermal efficiency by up to 67 per cent to achieve a certified u-value of 0.9, so homeowners can benefit from drastically reduced energy bills. In 2016, Origin secured an exclusive partnership with Lutron to provide a new motor on all Origin electronic roller blinds, for a silent and smart operation. The advanced technology of the motor means that Origin’s popular blinds range can now be controlled and operated using a tablet, smartphone or connected to a home automated system. This can then be programmed to open and close at different times, for additional security and to reduce heat loss throughout the home. The motor also runs on a sophisticated electronic drive system for near silent operation.
Customer Feedback
We do an annual questionnaire to our customers asking for their honest feedback, and this year, we had a great response. We make sure that any negative comments are looked into, turning them into areas we strive to improve on. We are making great strides in this area, so watch this space.
Successful Campaign
Origin is unique in that we are a systems company, that not only designs, but also manufactures its products. We have full control from start to finish, so our customers can rest assured that they are receiving a product that has been designed, tested and manufactured to a very high standard. We pride ourselves on the fact that if a customer is not happy, then we will go above and beyond to restore the faith they showed in us by purchasing one of our products. One campaign that I am particularly proud of is our unique and industry-leading ‘Your Lead Time, Not Ours’ promise on the bi-fold door. It required a complete restructure of the business model, and under my guidance, has achieved an unrivalled customer service record, with a 100 per cent delivery success rate.
Sign Off
I love every minute of being a part of Origin and seeing it go from strength to strength. We have a great team of people, who all feel like part of ‘one family’, all striving to achieve excellence and unbeatable service wherever possible.
Tel: 0808 168 5816
E. enquiry@origin-global.com
