YPIE Blog- week two, day three – Silentnight

Now in its fifth year, the Young Professional Industry Experience is our unique three week intensive programme where a group of young people are given the opportunity to visit  20 industry leading companies and understand all areas of the furniture industry, including materials, designing, manufacturing, pricing, marketing, sales, and customer service.

Young Professional Industry Experience participant Jonny Garth writes about the group’s trip to Silentnight.

We were welcomed to bed manufacturer Silentnight by Julie Dix, the training and development manager, who provided an overview of what the day would entail.

Danny Blackmore, the new product development manager, gave us an overview of the company and the three pillars that make up the mission statement: market leading quality, first class customer service and continuous innovation. He then talked us through the process of designing a new product range, and the processes involved in bringing new ranges to market e.g. research & development, product costing and customer approval.

We were then taken on a factory tour, where we gained an insight into Silentnight’s lean manufacturing process, and focused in on every stage of the production of their products e.g. upholstery, borders, assembly and tape edging.

The commercial finance team provided an overview of their role within the businesses, and their responsibility of pricing new products, and offering contractual terms to customers depending on their channel e.g. national customers (Bensons, Dreams, Argos etc.) and independents/high street stores.

Silentnight prioritise personal and professional development by encouraging those who wish to progress through the business, with educational opportunities and tailored training.