Electricians want products sent directly to the construction site

Of course, this pandemic is accelerating the whole transformation process. Somewhere, they have begun to turn business units into amusement and leisure parks to give families more reasons to come. Elsewhere, they have begun to adapt to the most fundamental trend of recent times. So online shopping is associated with delivery directly to the address.

But while we are no longer surprised by the food, consumer electronics or clothing, today this trend is also massively changing traditional specialized wholesalers for craftsmen. For example, as Pavel Marval, head of the K & V ELEKTRO a.s purchasing team, describes: “We need to change the way we distribute. Electricians often no longer want to come to the store and buy products from us, they want to have them ready on the construction site in the morning. We have to adapt to that and be able to deliver all the components on time. ”

This is one of the reasons why the company, which has been engaged in the wholesale sale of electrical installation materials since 1991 and currently employs around 400 employees at 16 branches in the Czech Republic, must increasingly deal with the overall logistics and warehousing of the product.

Extreme pressure on delivery times

“Starting an e-shop today is – with all due respect to labor pains – a relatively banal thing. A lot of pressure from customers is on delivery times. No one is willing to wait a week or longer for products. He expects the selected products to arrive at the construction site on the second or third day at the latest. That is why it is good to have good stocks and at the same time rely on suppliers who are able to deliver things faster and more flexibly, “adds Pavel Marval.

This is also one of the reasons why he praises the cooperation with the Czech company ELKO EP, which has long been the leader in the production of relays in the Czech Republic and today its products cover about 85% of the domestic market.

“It simply came to our notice. Their multifunctional time relays from the CRM series have long been one of the most sought-after items; we sell thousands of pieces a year. CRM-4 stair automats also work for us. There is a traditional bond. In addition, it is a strong and stable manufacturing company, where we are sure that whatever we order, we will also get, “describes the head of the purchasing team.

UV lamps are a hit

This year’s corona crisis has acted as a catalyst for all things. “Those who are not flexible and online today are counting large losses. Fortunately, it didn’t affect us that much. It’s just that there’s even more pressure on well-thought-out logistics. Of course, the epidemic shuffled a bit with traditional top sellers. UV lamps have started to be sold a lot, and wireless sets and other lighting equipment are also very popular. Conversely, home users are more hesitant about investing in automation. It turns out to be above a certain standard. We are receiving a lot of inquiries, but few of them will be realized as an order, “Pavel Marval explains the change in customer behavior this year.

Looking towards the future, he sees trends especially in the further expansion of electromobility and wireless chargers. Also in products specializing in the Internet of Things and intelligent wiring. And this is where the cooperation with the traditional Czech relay manufacturer ELKO EP takes on a new dimension. “The iNELS or iNELS Air series are constantly growing year-on-year, but their big boom is yet to come,” concludes Pavel Marval.