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Origin simplifies online ordering

Roger Bisby
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Origin simplifies online ordering

British manufacturer of bi-folding doors and windows, Origin, has launched an online quoting and ordering system to help trade partners to quote and order products from the company’s Origin Home range with ease, accuracy and efficiency.

Origin’s Sale Safe (OSS) system, which is said to be the first system of its kind, was built in house to improve the ease and speed of ordering, as well as minimising the risk of any costly mistakes. By simplifying the overall ordering process, Origin’s trade customers will be able to save time with admin, turning around orders in record time and increasing overall productivity and sales pipeline.

Simplifying the quotation process

OSS is different from existing systems as it allows users to build whole customer projects, rather than quoting on individual products. This means that all the information on each customer is kept in one place, removing the need to have multiple orders and quotes pertaining to one customer. An unlimited number of doors and windows can be added, edited or removed at any time. Therefore, if a returning customer is undertaking another building project, their preferences would already be saved, removing the need to search and re-enter this information.

As a time saving feature, OSS offers the option for users to work from a popular configuration, which is based on the user’s order history, or alternatively, to build a project from scratch. Working from popular orders means that in its most basic form, customers could retrieve quotes simply by choosing the size and configuration.

Another key feature of OSS is its intelligent cascade system. This means that should a customer want to change an overall project preference, such as colour, OSS can push through this change to all products. This removes the need go in and edit every single product to accommodate this change.

Once a quote has been generated, a bespoke quote template, branded for the user and built by Origin, can be downloaded and printed for the customer to keep.

The flexibility of Origin’s manufacturing schedule also enables customers who use Sale Safe to make changes right until the order has been made.

Ensuring accuracy and precision

When making changes to a quote, OSS has an intelligent amendment system that highlights the changes that have been made from the previous revision to the latest. This reduces the amount of checking required, limiting the opportunity for human error at the quotation stage. Once an order has been placed, the Origin team checks each and every order, to further eliminate room for error.

Quoting and ordering instantly

OSS streamlines the ordering process significantly, allowing costs to be retrieved instantly and orders to be placed on the spot, if required. OSS also gives users the option of ordering in batches to meet the customer’s deadline and budget requirements.

www.origin-global.com

Costs of solar PV could tumble by 59 percent.

Dylan Garton
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Costs of solar PV could tumble by 59 percent.

The average costs for electricity generated by solar and wind technologies could decrease by between 26 and 59 per cent by 2025, according to a report released today by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).  The Power to Change: Solar and Wind Cost Reduction Potential to 2025, suggests that with the right regulatory and policy frameworks in place, solar and wind technologies can continue to realise cost reductions to 2025 and beyond.

It estimates that by 2025, average electricity costs could decrease 59 per cent for solar photovoltaics (PV). Electricity prices for concentrated solar power could also decrease as much as 43 per cent, depending on the technology used. By 2025, the global average cost of electricity from solar PV and onshore wind will be roughly 5 to 6 US cents per kilowatt hour.

“We have already seen dramatic cost decreases in solar and wind in recent years and this report shows that prices will continue to drop, thanks to different technology and market drivers,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “Given that solar and wind are already the cheapest source of new generation capacity in many markets around the world, this further cost reduction will broaden that trend and strengthen the compelling business case to switch from fossil fuels to renewables.”

Since 2009, prices for solar PV modules have fallen roughly 80 per cent. With every doubling of cumulative installed capacity, solar PV module prices drop 20 per cent due to economies of scale and technology improvements. Importantly for policy makers, cost reductions to 2025 will depend increasingly on balance of system costs (e.g. inverters, racking and mounting systems, civil works, etc.), technology innovations, operations and maintenance costs and quality project management. The focus in many countries must therefore shift to adopting policies that can reduce costs in these areas.

“Historically, cost has been cited as one of the primary barriers to switching from fossil-based energy sources to renewable energy sources, but the narrative has now changed,” said Mr. Amin. “To continue driving the energy transition, we must now shift policy focus to support areas that will result in even greater cost declines and thus maximise the tremendous economic opportunity at hand.”

https://bit.ly/233POFQ

O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream review

Roger Bisby
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O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream review
Roger Bisby tries out O’Keeffes Working Hands Hand Cream.

They used to say, back in the day, that when the revolution comes everyone will have to hold out their hands and those with soft hands will be put up against the wall and shot. A tad extreme, I grant you, but I always knew I would be safe from the firing squad. Like many builders I spent far too many years handling cement without gloves and it has caused irreversible damage. These days my skin splits as soon as I look at cement and of course it is always far worse in the winter. The most likely products to damage my hands in are any cement based products and, strangely, pressure treated timber which seems to draw the moisture like blotting paper. Often when I have been handling those materials all day I am woken up in the night with the pain from those deep cuts in my thumbs. If you know that one feel free to sing along;- anything that can help heal the damage and gives me a good night’s sleep is worth a try.

O’Keeffes Working Hands hand cream is an American producte that is being distributed in the U.K by Gorilla Glue. It is a lot cheaper than some hand creams and if you put it on your merchant account it is eligible for tax relief. Even better I discovered that it is even better value because you don’t need to use much,so it last quite a while. One tub lasted me twelve working days. Just keep it in your pocket and dab a little on through the day. Once the splits heal keep using it to prevent a return of the dreaded dry skin. It is particularly effective if you put a little on at night just after you have had your cocoa and cleaned your teeth. Make it part of your daily routine.

Even after a couple of days I noticed a marked difference, I felt human again. I was so pleased that I grabbed another couple of tubs next time I was in the merchants so I now have one in the van, one in my tool bag and another one at home. It is a non-greasy cream so I can put it on and settle down to the computer keyboard or even put some on when I am sitting in traffic jams without it making the steering wheel slippery. To say I am delighted with this product is an understatement. I have no idea who O’Keeffe is but if I ever meet him or her I will shake them by the hand.