Here at Direct365, we take pride in our products, which is why we can confidently vouch for the quality of every item on our Supplies pages. When it came to working on creating a new product, our e-Changer Plus, we decided to take things one step further, and get truly stuck in with the process of designing and manufacturing the flagship Baby Changer. Instead of leaving everything up to an external company, and hoping the products live up to our standards, we decided to take it on ourselves to play a bigger part in the creation of the e-Changer than a lot of other companies. We wanted to have our say in the shape, style, weight, logo build quality and more. In essence, we wanted to do our part in creating the next high-quality baby changers. By pooling all our internal knowledge and experience, we felt this was easily achievable.
The thought process
Close relationships with suppliers and customers are what makes a business run smoothly, and it was these close relationships that ultimately gave us the idea for a new Baby Changer – from customer feedback on products we already sold to information from suppliers, we quickly pieced together that people wanted more from their baby changers. We knew we could do more to make this a reality, and despite having never set out to create a brand new product for the market from idea to sale, we were excited to try!
The design
The design of the product, including the shape, style, weight and logo was down to a vision by a few members of staff, the thoughts and opinions of you, our customers, and the computer know-how of our marketing team to mock up the design. We took care in deciding what was needed on the baby changer, and what wasn’t – We had to decide between extra weight and extra features as well as other items like the desired load-bearing capacity and the size required to make it strong enough to tick this off.
We wanted a universal product that was highly practical, stylish, usable and affordable. Conscious that a lot of products on the quest for affordability often have to make cuts where style, practicality and sometimes safety is concerned, we make it our goal to ensure this didn’t happen. Looking back, we’re happy to say we ticked all of our boxes, and kept it affordable for the average consumer.
Manufacturing
From day 1, we were set on working alongside a local company to produce the new e-Changer, to ensure we were supporting British businesses, could overlook the manufacturing process and play our part in the creation of our design. After a little searching, Excelsior, who’s a local rotomoulding company based in Bury, was the perfect fit. They shared a similar passion, enthusiasm and drive for the product and our mission, that was refreshing to see and be partnered with.
“Working with another local business meant that we could really get hands on with our product and watch it come to life, all whilst supporting and promoting the UK economy and UK manufacturing as a whole.“ Sam Tinsley, General Manager at Direct365.
Earlier in the year, we headed to Excelsior’s premises, in Bury, to watch how they manufacture the e-Changer from just a bag of material to the finishing touches on applying the safety straps.
You can read more about the manufacturing process in our Visit to Excelsior blog, here!
Conclusion
When it comes to the sale of the product, taking the personal approach has ultimately made this aspect easier. Our staff know the product inside out, have a vested interest in it and are passionate about the product – we feel these qualities really shine through to our customers, and the assurance that we’re selling a product we all fully stand behind is comforting.
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