B+L Customized Studies

In our customised studies, the specified products, countries and target groups are the focus of our research. A key area of focus is the investigation of market and sales opportunities. These are based on extensive primary research in the target countries. B+L’s many years of working together with the industry ensures that the results are presented in a practical way which is relevant for your decision-making.

 

Together with a client, B+L has developed a model which functions as a planning instrument for all three levels of sales development – that is, it connects together the yearly, quarterly and regional sales development of a product. The short-term forecast amounts to a period of 3 quarters, and is produced four times a year. The data are then directly incorporated into the production and inventory planning. The medium-term forecasts are for a period of 3 years, and are newly calculated four times a year. The forecast model is based on indicators which have been identified with the help of a factor analysis: e.g. construction permits on a local level, as well as secondary indicators which are relevant to sales (subsidies, utilization rates, weather, etc.). The quarterly and yearly forecasts are thus based on a combination of construction permit development and secondary indicators. Due to regional requirements, the forecasts are also prepared for sales regions and areas.

 

By means of a competition analysis, the product-specific market position of a leading building materials manufacturer was determined in relation to its competitors. The product-specific market size and development were investigated, and other suppliers were identified – also, the respective market shares and distribution channels were also assessed. In addition, significant product-specific technical characteristics were compared for each supplier.
The resulting data thus enabled an assessment of the individual suppliers, as well as the market opportunities based on the technical characteristics, the distribution depth, and the market performance.

 

A client commissioned B+L to conduct a study on the construction of external walls in multi-storey buildings in over 10 countries. The goal of the study was to forecast the market potentials of an innovative external wall system. More than 1,000 interviews were conducted and then analysed for the study – this was done in order to gain basic data on the preferences, specifications and requirements of architects and other decision-makers. The focus was on the question: how open are decision-makers to a new external wall system? On the basis of country-specific specifications, product trends, and other drivers, using B+L’s ‘Product strength model’ the achievable market potentials were calculated for a period of ten years.

 

In the context of a study on sawn timber products, B+L calculated the sales figures according to application (garden/outdoors, functional construction garden, terraces/balconies, garden fences/screening, indoors, wall/ceiling indoors, indoor flooring, furniture). The applications were ascertained via face-to-face interviews in DIY stores and specialist building/timber stores. For each distribution channel (selected DIY stores and specialist timber stores), around 100 surveys were carried out for each region: north, south, east and west. In total there were 807 interviews to be analysed (approx. 400 per distribution channel, and approx. 200 per region). Data from the B+L datapool and the results of the face-to-face interviews thus enabled the presentation of the market situation, market developments, and the applications of sawn timber products and sawn timber derived products. Thus, future market opportunities were able to be deduced and appropriate marketing strategies developed.