YPIE Blog Day Four: Blum

Ben Brook from CDUK discusses the Young Professional Industry Experience group’s trip to Blum.

Today we spent the day with Blum at their UK headquarters in Milton Keynes. Blum are manufacturers of hinge systems, runner systems and lift systems, primarily aimed at the kitchen industry.

They were founded in 1952 and their first product was a horse shoe stud, which was created with the aim of increasing longevity and function to the traditional horse shoe. This was a response to the lack of raw material in Europe following World War II. This design philosophy remains at the core of Blum culture today.

I was amazed to see the amount of investment Blum make in R & D. Shortly into our visit it became clear to me that the range and variety of Blum’s core products and dedication to improvement made this scale of investment a necessity. With a drive to improve and innovate, this strategy is paying off for Blum as they continue to see healthy growth.

A theme we’re continuing to see so far on the programme is the importance of creating a story or narrative, whether it’s around a brand, a company, a product or any aspect of a business.

This was especially apparent with Blum. Blum understand that the end consumer isn’t likely to feel any emotional attachment to a hinge as a standalone item. This means in order to inspire consumers, they have to focus on their story, rather than the product itself.

The heart of all Blum products is motion. During the introduction to the Customer Experience Centre, we had a presentation which focused on the theme of motion inspired by nature and technology, which I thought set a clear tone and direction to the rest of our visit. I also felt like I immediately understood the fundamental design philosophy of their products.

How do we ensure our product has value?

• R&D (2600 Patents, 360 pending), Customer Research, Innovation, Dialogue with consumer, Focus on Trends
• Sustainability – Training, Reducing Energy, Innovation, Investment, Natural Resources,
• Focus on core products (Lift System, Hinge, Pull out system)
• Keeping the service simple and user friendly,
• Relationships more important than profits (Profits should be a result of good relationship)
• Conduct studies and understand the consumers (age explorer suit?)
• New designs will be trialled locally to learn from any mistakes
• Big approach to train through Apps & Videos
• Products becoming more complex, must help train the whole supply chain

If product is less successful or coming to end of lifecycle, they relocate this product to countries that are behind in development. This keeps the key skills in the company and in the event of issue in the future they can still utilise old practises.