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Case Study

Elite Contract Furniture + University of Strathclyde

To develop, implement and operationalise a novel business model for Elite, the Product Service System (PSS). 

Awards and Achievements

KTP Final Grade: B ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The project was awarded the grade of "Very Good" by the KTP Grading Panel for its achievement in meeting KTP's objectives.

Innovator of the Future 🏆

KTP Associate Juliette Farrell won the Innovator of the Future award at the 2022 Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.

Elite Contract Furniture

Founded in 1954, Elite are an established, third generation manufacturer of mattresses, divan bases, headboards and soft
furnishings and are one of only a handful of bed manufacturers remaining in Scotland.
Elite predominately sell Business to Business (B2B) concentrating on Hotels, Care Homes, Restaurants, Interior Designers
and Specifiers and offer a full turnkey package of furniture, beds, soft furnishings, curtains and blinds, floor and accessories.
We supply anything from one item through to a complete refurbishment of an existing premises or interior design of a new
build. Elite take a real pride in quality and craftsmanship of their products and are continuously creating new products for the
mid-high end market.

What was the need?

The Challenge

The original aim of the KTP project was to develop knowledge and capability in Business Process Engineering and product design re-engineering to design and embed a Business Process Excellence Framework, increasing operational productivity; and a novel subscription-based Product Service System (PSS) furnishing business model within Elite. The PSS furnishing business model was originally aimed at Elite's core business which is the hotels and care home industry. It was a response to customer feedback, coupled with societal trends in 2019 which highlighted an increasing demand for both, a shift from furniture ownership to usership, and sustainable furnishing solutions.

What did we do?

The Solution

This project commenced in January 2020. However, two months into the original project, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the Associate was furloughed for three months. The pandemic devastated the hotel and care home industry which was Elite’s core business and so we had to quickly pivot the project from a PSS solution to a New Product Development (NPD)and digitalization project. Therefore, a key challenge was to find an industry where Elite's in-house skills and manufacturing expertise can be leveraged for NPD. After extensive market research, where ideas for a ‘furniture restoration service’, ‘re-manufactured furniture from reclaimed whiskey barrels’, ‘kids’ furniture’ and ‘home office furnishing solutions’ were explored in detail, we discovered an opportunity within the pet furniture industry. Developing hand-crafted dog beds, an eco-friendly mattress and accessories was deemed to hold enormous potential. It would also diversify Elite's current product portfolio. This resulted in the design, introduction and subsequent sales of the Poco range of dog beds (5 beds) and accessories. A new ecommerce website and sales channel was also developed as part of the KTP project.

What changed?

The Impacts and Benefits

Benefits for the Company 

The KTP has established:

  • a new graduate level position, “Product Engineering Project Officer”;
  • a formalised process of diverse new product development;
  • a new range of products with over 150 product variations utilising our production capability;
  • a new robust “Poco” brand identity for the range;
  • re-brand of the existing Elite Contract Furnishing business;
  • online shop fronts on Etsy and Amazon platforms;
  • a range of products in a physical store https://www.scottishdesignexchange.com/;
  • our own online sales channel for the new product lines and the original business - https://pocodogbeds.com/
  • A revamped Elite website and sales platform https://www.elitecontractfurniture.co.uk/ (in development, launch Q3 2022)

We were primarily a contract furnishing business manufacturing mattresses, divan bases and a variety of other pieces. We use slack in production to develop new products responsive to needs and trends. Manufactured products supplement a large catalogue of procured items and a fabric tailoring service, offering full-room packages to clients. Prior to starting the KTP we worked with the KBP through their IGP scheme to develop new mattress designs to enable subscription business model, particularly a serviced mattress over a longer period. The original KTP proposal aimed to implement subscription and address our comparatively low margins. In response to the change in the market due to COVID pandemic, we made a more distinct separation between our contract furnishing operations and our manufacturing. To proceed with KTP we needed to refocus the KTP on development of new products less sensitive our traditional client sector trends.

Our production team now know how to make dog beds, collars and leads. We have further design capability, for example, we have been in consultation with a gourmet dog food provider who want us to develop a dog collar for their brand; we have been able to design a new bespoke offering for them and could do the same for others in the future. We now have a new position focussed on Product Service Systems management and maintenance. The Associate is continuing in the role beyond the scope of the KTP, and a lot of the successes of the project are attributable to personal effectiveness of the Associate we recruited. However, having seen what can be achieved through this role, we would aim to maintain the position even if Juliette were not to remain with us.

 

Benefits for the Academic Team 

This was the first KTP undertaken with significant learning at each stage of the process. Firstly, there was a fine balance in the application to conveying underpinning theory, novelty, and links to tangible economic impact for the business. Guiding the company through this process was also a new management experience and it was particularly challenging to quickly rescope the project to same depth. Secondly, the DMEM department teaches and researches well defined and systematic multidisciplinary approaches to product development and industrial innovation. It has been particularly insightful to move through the Associate recruitment process, and line management, observing first-hand how effectively Juliette, a DMEM graduate, represents the ‘DMEM way’, and how that was valued by the company.

Thirdly, the shift in the project scope moved the project towards a ‘start-up-like’ product development project. A familiar scenario but with significantly unique challenges:

  • Instilling formalised and rationalised methodology in a small busy company who are instinctively reactive in their operation.
  • Being unable to visit the company to fully understand the production issues or to see the new products physically.
  • The success of the product is heavily dependent on its communication in the market place. This aspect of the project required significant persistence – much more than the transfer of knowledge. So both staff have been active in enabling specific promotion streams (e.g. selling products through Etsy and the Scottish Design Exchange) and new business opportunities (introducing Bella and Duke) without being able to promise success.

This KTP has received significant press coverage. The KTP project was picked up by The Scotsman newspaper in November 2019. Their article featured Dr Nair, the PI on this KTP project and extolled the virtues of industry-academia collaborations. The social media output and press for the project has been high quality, and 2 award opportunities were well publicised and connected with the DMEM department and Strathclyde. The Associate won a Scottish KE Award as ‘Innovator of the Future’ which was not only recognition of Juliette’s individual excellence, but also a reflection of the team achievement. The Poco brand and products were also shortlisted for an Innovation and Technology ROCCO award, as recognised by Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. Another good example of staff and department publicity was where the product range was displayed at the Glasgow Dog Lovers Event at the Scottish Exhibition Centre. Yet another benefit that we gained was the extensive networking and business collaboration opportunities that came with the launch of the Poco product range. We were able to cultivate close ties with firms like Bella and Duke, William Grant and Sons and Chivas Brothers as part of this KTP journey with Elite.

 

Benefits for the KTP Associate 

Juuliette benefited greatly from taking part in the KTP. As an associate she was given excellent opportunities to develop her skill as a manager. Leading the team of academics and company supervisors through a great deal of change as they navigated the Covid lockdowns only two months after the project began. Juliette gained a great deal of confidence in leading conversations, holding weekly meetings, and working with others.

There is also a great deal of opportunity for KTP associates to develop practical skills. Juliette was able to study with the Digital Marketing Institute, the Chartered Management Institute and Harvard online. Each of these opportunities, as well as local classes and webinars, helped her learn the tools and technologies needed to effectively implement change.

Despite the lockdowns restricting networking opportunities with the support of the KTP structure Juliette was able to grow her professional network, meeting other associates and business owners. Supported by their expertly organised associate development programme, and conferences, Juliette made good friends with several associates who keep in regular contact post KTP.

The Impacts and Benefits

The People

Meet the Team

Juliette Farrell

Juliette Farrell

KTP Associate

Dr Anup Karath Nair

Dr Anup Karath Nair

Knowledge Base Supervisor

Greg Winston

Greg Winston

Company Supervisor