Here to support you. Our UK team are on hand to deliver Ceasefire's unrivalled dealer support from our Birmingham base. If you're planning to diversify your supply chain after a turbulent 18 months, now is the time to meet with us. We caught up with
Sales Manager Chris Dixon to discuss what the future may hold for fire safety in 2021.
What makes Ceasefire such an attractive brand for dealers post-covid?
The ability to work directly with a manufacturer direct on a UK basis, I am sure you will agree is unique and carries endless opportunities for our Business Associates. In my experience of working for Ceasefire we are also more unique, as the owner is not only flexible in both the manufacture of products and new innovative ideas but also in be-spoking products for the market and client requests.
What type of issues has the sector been tackling in 2021?
The hardest challenge that the industry has faced this year has been the significant increase in logistical costs of our products, unfortunately resulting in higher prices to the trade. This naturally has a knock on effect all the way down to the end users. Ceasefire as a manufacturer have been able to absorb these costs to an extent meaning that our products maintain a cost effective position within the market. A secondary hurdle that we are facing is the difficulty of our customers gaining access to their own client base to install and service the products, with many of these locations being temporarily closed for Furlough. This has created a bottle neck in the demand for stock in many cases.
How does Ceasefire aim to make a difference?
Ceasefire are different to our main competition in the UK by one distinct difference, We are a manufacturer and not a distributor. By having a UK office allows our customers direct interaction with the same company that manufacturers their products. This allows us to react quickly to customer requirements and address any issues that they may encounter. It also allows them to discuss bespoke product requirements and specifications.
To address the logistical issues that the industry has been encountering over the last year, Ceasefire Industries UK have absorbed the price increases imposed by shipping and freight companies. We will set one price increase and stick with that for the remainder of the financial year. As a distributor we would not have the ability to do this as our prices would be set by our manufacturer. We also provide B2B training and full marketing support and material on all of our product ranges.
What products are you particularly excited about showing at the Fire Safety Event 2021 and why?
We have many exciting products that we will be exhibiting with this year with many more in the pipeline for the near future. Its difficult to chose a single product to stand out from the crowd as they all address gaps in the current market, My particular favourite is the Mini range as it is such a unique certified product with a huge application potential.
What would be your advice to anyone seeking a new supplier based on the issues from 2021?
Make plenty of enquiries to different suppliers to establish what makes them stand out from the crowd, don’t be afraid to approach manufacturers directly as you may be surprised as what services they can offer directly to the trade.
If you'd like to book a trade partner consultation with Chris, or any of the UK sales team, click below.