There are three stories worth paying attention to in the window and glass industry this week and, interestingly enough, they are all really about the same thing: information.
Information about what customers actually want, information about how individual windows perform and information proving that the products leaving factories actually comply with the rules.
Let’s start with the consumer, because there is one number which rather jumps off the page.
New research from Keystone Market Research suggests only 7 per cent of homeowners believe window salespeople dealt very well with the things that mattered most to them during their last purchase.
Now put that alongside another figure: 53 per cent say they would spend more with a company that demonstrated it genuinely understood their needs. That is quite an extraordinary disconnect.
The industry has invested heavily in products, from triple glazing and smart security to heritage finishes and ever-lower U-values. Yet the research suggests there may be considerable economic value in something rather more basic: listening to the customer.
And that becomes particularly relevant because homeowners are not one homogeneous market. Priorities differ according to region, budget and product preference. Someone considering timber, for instance, may care considerably more about craftsmanship, security and appearance than simply finding the cheapest window.
Meanwhile, another change is happening further up the supply chain. The Future Homes Standard is making window performance considerably more precise. Under previous arrangements, manufacturers could sometimes demonstrate thermal performance using a standard reference window. That route is disappearing.
Increasingly, what matters is the actual window: its dimensions, glass, frame and configuration. Change one element and you potentially change its U-value.
This sounds like a small regulatory detail, but economically it is significant. It means data, modelling software and technical expertise become increasingly valuable parts of the fenestration manufacturing process.
And finally, there is compliance.
Insulated glass manufacturers are being encouraged to look closely at testing and documentation following increased regulatory scrutiny of construction products.
A new service called GlassCheck UK is proposing regular testing of IGUs, including measurements of argon concentration, backed by documented results.
The wider lesson comes from recent enforcement involving heat-soaked toughened glass, where regulators identified weaknesses around documentation and traceability and issued prohibition notices to several manufacturers.
Put these three developments together and you can see something changing.
Fenestration has traditionally been an industry concerned principally with physical products: glass, profiles, hardware and machinery.
Increasingly, however, competitive advantage is also coming from knowledge.
Knowing precisely what the customer wants. Knowing precisely how each window performs.
And knowing precisely where the evidence is that proves it. The window may still be manufactured from glass and frame.
But an increasingly valuable component is becoming data.
