January 2024

Article PVC-U Windows & Doors
A CHANGING MARKETPLACE
Crystal Direct says it is modernising window fabrication and delivery. Here, Kevin Morgan,
Commercial Director, explains the ‘dropship vending’ approach and reveals why aluplast is
the ideal partner to help the fabricator achieve its goals for 2024 and beyond...
Established in 1990 by Martin Randall,
Crystal Direct has always prided itself on
leading the way when it comes to industry
trends and innovation.
The trade fabricator was one of the first to
recognise the market potential for coloured
fenestration products and now, the company is
building on its success supplying high street DIY
firms with made-to-measure windows and doors
that are delivered directly to site – known as
‘dropship vending’.
“We have very big plans for the future, mostly
in terms of dropship vending, and e-commerce
while retaining all of our core business trade,”
Crystal Direct’s Commercial Director Kevin
Morgan says.
“The market became really challenging in the
years since Covid, which led to a shift in how
people accessed windows and doors.
“We have been dropshipping for big brands such
as B&Q and Screwfix since around 2012, but
since the pandemic we’ve been getting enquiries
from many other well-known brands.”
Kevin explains that Crystal Direct fills a vital
role in the expansion of home improvement
e-commerce, where homeowners turn to trusted
high street names for their windows and doors,
who in turn want to pass on the responsibility for
manufacture and delivery to a third party.
“Those big companies don’t want to hold the
stock,” he says. “They want to have it delivered
direct, and they don’t want to play a big part in
the touchpoints.
“So, through our own fleet, we offer dropshipping
directly from a web platform or in a traditional way,
where the end-user gets the product directly from us.”
Kevin Morgan
“Covid led to a shift in
the way people access
windows and doors”
Crystal Direct has invested in all the touchpoints
that make the buying journey as smooth as
possible for the end-user. For example, they are
notified when they place the order, they get a
delivery date, and they are reminded right up to
the point of delivery.
Crystal Direct has invested heavily in its fleet
so that it can confidently meet its promises of a
quick nationwide delivery service.
The company has also built relationships with
supply partners so that product features, quality
and supply security match customers’ demands.
“We recently began working with aluplast, based
on the fact that their product is really quite
superb both in terms of its performance, its
robustness, but also its sustainability credentials,
which is really important to Crystal and our
customers,” Kevin says.
“From a sustainability and energy saving
perspective, aluplast’s ecotech profile – which
offers both performance and a unique extrusion
process ensuring the external walls are pristine
and the internal walls isolate recycled material
– coupled with a triple glazed option, means that
we can offer an industry-leading product.
“We want to be a unique fabricator, at the
forefront of sustainability movement, and
our partnership with aluplast underpins the
relationship we have with our customers, such as
Screwfix, Toolstation and Travis Perkins, as well
as our core trade business.”
aluplast’s investment in product development
continues with a new 76mm platform window.
The Ideal neo is an exciting new sustainable
window suite which satisfies current commercial
needs for both performance and design.
“Some of the big brands we deal with are developing
their own sustainability brands, and our relationship
with aluplast helps us to meet the criteria to be a
part of that premium offering,” Kevin says.
aluplast also helps Crystal Direct stay true to its
‘No.1 for choice, No. 1 for colour’ logo tagline,
as the majority of aluplast’s flush orders include
colour – now in many hundreds of combinations
with a range of 40 different finishes, including the
premium range woodec and aludec foils.
The systems supplier continues to invest heavily
in its foiling plants with new CNC foiling machines,
which allows it to maintain a strong supply.
“We have very big plans for 2024 and beyond, and it
is important we have like-minded supply partners to
accompany us on that journey,” Kevin concludes.
Hear more from Kevin at: glaze-tube.co.uk/thedropship-vending-route/
Contact Crystal Direct:
01462 489 900
crystal-direct.co.uk
58 T I JANUARY 2024 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST