Titan Furniture restores interactivity using the Windows Collaboration Display
Titan Furniture, based in Auckland, is a manufacturer, importer, and restorer of commercial and custom furniture. They take the quality of their product seriously, and before COVID-19 changed travel conditions, their buying and manufacturing team flew to factories abroad regularly to view and discuss the furniture during production.
When the pandemic struck, the company’s Managing Director, Graham Lange, had to adapt to sudden travel restrictions, and began relying mostly on WeChat, a Chinese-based chat application, to continue conversations with their factory team.
But for a company that cares deeply about quality, WeChat was not a long-term solution—and the pandemic was a long-term problem. The team was used to seeing, touching, and feeling the furniture their factories were producing so they could provide feedback and import a product that met their high standards. While that was not possible, Lange needed to find a solution—something that could give him and his buying team the next best thing.
Rob Fisher, Sharp’s National Sales Manager for Visual Solutions, knew that the connectivity, screen quality and flexibility of the Window’s Collaboration display could be the solution Titan Furniture needed. “The team decided to purchase the WCD because using it served as the perfect innovative compromise—second best to being at the factory in person,” Fisher surmised.
Rob Fisher pictured here with Graham Lange, Managing Director of Titan Furniture
Because the WCD connects to a Windows PC, the Titan furniture team can use VOOV, a Chinese VC platform and part of WeChat, to have video conferences with his factory team in a much more interactive and engaging way.
“Graham and his team connect to the WCD seamlessly through HDMI, with USB A-B for touch control. He uses the Sharp Pen Software to import images, and make live illustrations of any changes required,” Fisher concluded.
When asked why he chose a Sharp display solution, Lange explained, “I have always liked Sharp products, but this unit is exceptional. In a nutshell it was like extending myself into China and my suppliers’ factories, the closest to being [at the factory].”
The team at Titan Furniture has been using the WCD for over six months and they’re enjoying the simplicity it’s brought to their buying process. “The ability to communicate is a lot easier and cheaper compared to flying there,” Lange continued. “It is a very nice unit—we’re very pleased.”