Factory Direct. It’s a term that is used again and again, but what does it really mean, and why does it matter?
In simple terms, factory-direct means that the company selling and servicing your lift is a subsidiary of the company manufacturing the lift. This applies to lots of industries outside of lifts. For example, Tesla operates under a factory-direct business model: the Tesla shops are part of the Tesla group. Similarly, Apple has a hybrid model depending on the country: in some countries, it is factory direct (there are Apple Stores) and in others, they are not (use Apple Official Resellers).
1. Why Does Factory Direct Matter?
Well, let’s take the Apple example. Imagine if you wanted to buy an iPhone – would you buy it from an Apple Store, or from an Apple Official Reseller?
Most of us choose the Apple Store without hesitation. But when we think of the reasons why… well, those apply to lifts as well. Specifically:
– Peace of Mind if Something Goes Wrong: by buying straight from the Apple Store, I know that if my product has anything wrong, I can bring it back and they will fix it, no matter which Apple Store I am at!
This is similar for home lifts: by buying from a factory-direct lift company, if anything goes wrong, you have peace of mind that you have a giant organization ready to help, not just a small dealer.
– What if They Go Out of Business? Let’s face it, these Apple Official Resellers are usually much smaller businesses than Apple. As of such, stuff can go wrong, and maybe they go out of business, or decide to only sell Samsung. What happens if your lift has a problem then?
Meanwhile, an Apple Store will only ever sell Apple, and given what has been invested, will stay around for a very long time. Similarly, a factory-direct subsidiary is more likely to still be around 15-20 years down the line when you need help, and will never switch to a competitor brand for better margins.
– Better Service: An Authorized Apple Reseller might carry lots of different brands or a wider range of products (such as selling charging cables or even TVs). This means that their technicians need to be able to repair a wide range of things and products, and never get truly specialized.
Meanwhile, Apple’s Customer Care only ever deals with Apple products, on which they are absolute experts. This means that for the tough problems, it’s always better to go direct to the source: the factory-direct entities.
This is absolutely true for lifts as well, where engineers from factory-direct brands such as Cibes are only ever trained on how to install Cibes products. Talk about being experts!
2. How Do I Tell if a Firm is Factory Direct?
Just like with the Russian proverb… trust, but verify.
This means the first step is simply asking.
Sometimes however, you will receive vague or unclear responses, and it’s worth following up by asking for a Business Certificate or Certificate of Incorporation, which really shows who the shareholders are. If it is a local individual, usually that means the company is not factory direct at all!
3. Which Firms Are Factory Direct?
Most of the big traction companies tend to be factory direct, such as OTIS, KONE, Thyssen Krupp and Mitsubishi.
However, when it comes to home lifts, only Cibes Lift and Kalea Lifts have made a systematic effort to be Direct From Factory and offer better service to their customers.
What do you think about Factory Direct?
Make the first step and ask us for a free consultation and/or visit so we can help you design the perfect and most beautiful lift that matches your needs. You can contact us via Line @cibes
