Is Installation the Easy Part?

The display has been designed.

The drawings have been approved.

The components have been manufactured, finished and assembled.

Surely getting it into the store is the easy bit?

Sometimes it is.

But when you’re installing retail displays across a live retail estate, there can be considerably more to think about than simply turning up with the right tools.

The store changes everything

A manufacturing facility is a relatively controlled environment. A retail store isn’t.

There are delivery restrictions, loading bays, shopping centres, security procedures, restricted access, other contractors, trading hours and customers to consider.

The installation might need to happen overnight. There could be a narrow window between the store closing and reopening.

A display may need to travel through corridors, goods lifts or doorways that place restrictions on the size of anything arriving on site.

And when a programme covers dozens or hundreds of stores, those conditions won’t necessarily be the same at every location.

Good installation planning has to take the real environment into account.

Installation starts before anything leaves the factory

How a display will eventually be installed can influence decisions much earlier in a project.

Can it be transported safely?

Will it fit through the available access?

Which elements should arrive pre-assembled?

Which are better assembled on site?

How will components be identified?

Are the correct fixings included?

In what order does everything need to arrive?

How long should installation realistically take?

These are practical questions, but answering them early can prevent much bigger problems later.

At Benchmark, our design, manufacturing, logistics and installation teams work as part of the same operation. That means installation requirements can feed back into how a display is designed, manufactured, assembled and packed.

Sometimes, we build it before we install it

For more complex projects, pre-assembly at our Letchworth facility can be extremely valuable.

Building a display in the factory gives us an opportunity to check how the components come together before they reach the store.

We can confirm fit and finish, identify any practical issues and understand the assembly sequence.

It also means the installation team can become familiar with what they will be working with before arriving on site.

Finding something unexpected during a pre-build in Letchworth is manageable.

Finding the same thing in a closed store at 2am, with reopening only a few hours away, is rather less convenient.

One store is one challenge. One hundred stores is another.

A single flagship installation can be complex.

A national rollout introduces a different kind of challenge.

Now the same standard needs to be achieved repeatedly across multiple locations, potentially with several installations happening within a relatively short period.

Displays need to arrive at the right stores.

Installers need the correct information.

Individual site requirements need to be understood.

Progress needs to be tracked.

Any problems need to be identified and resolved quickly.

And throughout all of that, the finished result needs to remain consistent from one location to the next.

The manufacturing programme and installation programme therefore need to work together.

There is little value in producing displays faster than they can be distributed and installed, just as an installation team can’t fit something that hasn’t arrived.

Packing and logistics matter too

Even the way a display is packed can influence what happens on site.

Components need to arrive protected, identifiable and in a logical order.

For larger programmes, stock may also need to be held and called off as stores become ready.

Replacement parts and spares might need to remain available after the main rollout has finished.

Timed deliveries can be necessary where stores have limited access windows.

None of these things are particularly visible when you walk past the finished display in store.

But they all contribute to getting it there successfully.

Then the doors open

Perhaps that’s the best test of a retail installation.

The following morning, the store opens as normal.

Customers walk in.

The display is finished, correctly positioned and ready to do the job it was designed for.

They don’t see the site surveys, delivery planning, pre-builds, overnight working, logistics or coordination that came before it.

And they shouldn’t need to.

A smooth installation can look deceptively simple.

Usually, that’s because somebody has spent a considerable amount of time making sure it will be.

Planning a retail rollout?

Benchmark can support your project from design and manufacture through to logistics and nationwide installation, with the teams responsible for each stage working together from our Letchworth operation.

Call 01462 633000 or email hello@bench-mark.co.uk to talk to the Benchmark team.