Canford Audio
Pindar's ecommerce solution is a milestone for Canford AudioCanford Audio's operations have grown both organically and by acquisition, achieving around £15m turnover in 2004. Today more than 25% of total sales are manufactured in-house, and a large number of products are made by specialist manufacturers to Canford's original specifications.
A continuous programme for new product innovation and introduction supported by continued investment in design and drafting (CAD) systems and expertise ensures that Canford maintains its leading position in the audio and electronics industry.
Canford's challenge ... a site for its market-leading range
The product range is now 14,000 items. Recent additions include offerings to the broadcast video and education sectors. Typically each catalogue edition sees between 500 and 1,000 products retired, and the same number is introduced to reflect changes in the market place and new opportunities.
A 24-hour delivery from time of order is now very much the industry standard and Canford has invested heavily over the years to maintain and improve this service. The customer's ability to track their order from their own PC is just one example of the ways in which Canford try and help its customers get their goods as fast as possible.
Technologically too there have been massive changes. Differences between industry sectors have been eroded. For example, both the broadcast and education sector of its market place now use similar or in some cases identical equipment. Thirty years ago that was not the case. In addition the technology has become more available and cheaper. The difficulty for a company like Canford is that as the price comes down, so does the margin, so it has to work even harder to maintain its competitive edge.
Pindar's solution ... a fully enabled web trading site
The introduction of a fully enabled web trading site on time and on budget, in 2004, was an important milestone in the company's development. One year on it is generating around 7% of UK sales, and will be extended to encompass European markets in 2005."The web site will never do away with the catalogue, but it does enable us to respond to the needs of the market place much more quickly, and from customer feedback, it is something that is set to grow over the next few years." (Hugh Morgan Williams, Chairman, Canford Audio)
