How Flooring Manufacturers Can Cut Costs and Increase Revenues – Without Spending a Fortune

With today’s competitive market and tight budgets, flooring manufacturers are constantly on the lookout for ways to cut costs in their businesses. There’s a lot of advice available on how to do this. However, most of the steps involve a large investment of either money, time, or both. For instance, you can save in the long term by making design changes, changing your manufacturing process, and switching to alternative energy sources. But what should you do if you need to cut costs now?

For most flooring manufacturers, the answer to cutting costs isn’t in any single, big solution. The key is going to be several smaller, low- or no-cost steps you can take.

Consider what’s driving your costs up right now. Most likely, you have inefficiencies in your sales process, a lack of sales automation in your business, and your sales staff isn’t processing enough transactions. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take right away to improve all of these situations. Some can be implemented in just an hour or so.

Cut Your Costs Quickly with Technology

Technology may not be the first thing you think of to save your business money, but it can have the biggest impact on your business for the smallest investment in time and money. That’s because programs today are easier to use and far cheaper than ever before, and have benefits beyond just getting rid of your typewriter and carbon paper.
Every manufacturing business today needs to use B2B sales automation to streamline the sales process. No matter what your current process, if you automate the steps, you’ll save time, have less paperwork, and make fewer errors. With integrated systems, you can use a single software program to do everything, streamlining your business and making it easy to keep track of customers, products, and orders online.

When you automate your sales process, the same staff you already have will be able to generate more orders in less time. This means higher profits, without the need to hire and train additional staff. An added bonus for your current staff is that they’ll spend less time on paperwork, and be able to spend more time with customers.
You can gain more visibility for your company by joining an online marketplace for flooring materials. This will increase your networking opportunities and put you in front of more customers. Choose one where membership includes architects and designers, who can recommend your products to their clients, as well as homeowners. Getting your product in front of the buyer can increase your direct sales. This type of organic networking complements your current marketing plan, and these sites are often free to join.

Upgrade Your Tech – With No Upfront Cost

It used to be a hassle to get the right software you needed for your business. You had to hire an IT contractor to custom design and install software designed specifically for your company. This was an expensive option, took a lot of time, and left you with a system that needed costly software and hardware upgrades to keep running. You might have even needed to hire an in-house IT staff member to maintain it.

Cloud-Based Options for B2B Sales Automation

Today, however, it’s much easier. You no longer need to build a custom computer program and there’s no need to worry about software and hardware updates. You can use a cloud-based system, called Software as a Service or SaaS, already designed and customized for the flooring industry, to perform all your eCommerce functions. These SaaS applications will save you time and money, and allow you to launch your eCommerce sales platform without needing any tech background.
Since SaaS is cloud based, you don’t have to install it on your hardware in your company, or worry about upgrades. Upgrades are performed automatically by your provider. Most providers will also train your team on how to use the software, so you’ll get the most out of the system.
SaaS applications usually have multiple components integrated so they work together. You won’t have to pick out different systems, make sure they work together, and learn each one. You’ll also save time, because you don’t have to switch from the accounting software to the ordering software to the inventory software – they’re integrated, allowing you to take care of everything in one spot.

Cloud-based systems are always more economical than the traditional software model. Some SaaS applications charge a monthly fee to use the software, while many now offer free access, and only charge transactions fees when using the software.

Additional Benefits to Flooring Manufacturers

Vogueboard offers an all-in-one solution for flooring manufacturers with a free-to-join cloud-based eCommerce and CRM platform. You can set up your account and be online and selling in as little as an hour. Not only will you start cutting costs right away, you’ll have these additional benefits:

• Push Your Products Quickly Through an Online Dealer. Vogueboard allows you to manage product catalogs and retail pricing remotely from your own interface, but use Vogueboard as an online dealer, letting you avoid the hassle of processing credit card payments and post-sale customer support
• Easy Private Label Products. This system makes it easy for you to create private label products. You can sell direct without creating channel conflicts, while increasing profits.
• Manage Catalogs and Collections. This online cloud-based system makes it easy to manage catalogs and keep collections up to date. As you make changes, they populate throughout the entire system, so all your product information remains current.
• Networking. The online marketplace gives you visibility to partners like architects and designers, as well as retailers and homeowners, so it’s easier for customers to find you. This helps you grow your sales while keeping your operation efficient.

You can get free access to the Vogueboard platform. The transaction-based pricing ensures you are only charged a fee when you get an order through the system. There’s no cost unless you are actually making sales.
Are you ready to cut your flooring manufacturing costs and increase your visibility in the flooring marketplace? Set up your free demo or join the Vogueboard online marketplace today.