Auctionet was founded in 2011 by a team of auctioneers, valuers and tech-wizards who, while all working within a renowned Swedish auction house, came to realise that the auction industry was totally failing in its attempts to co-exist with the rapidly changing, tech-fuelled demands of the 21st century.
While many within the industry would see the traditional auction model – someone on a rostrum shouting and banging a hammer – as a romantic nod to centuries past, the fact of the matter is that auctions are, for the most part, wholly unsuited as profit-making entities in the modern world. Storage costs, staff costs, building costs and every other type of cost that goes into running a traditional auction setup have all increased in the last twenty years.
So, Auctionet did a full ‘180’ and turned the model on its head by adopting the Concept of Lean and adapting it for the auction world. No more stockpiling items for specific sales on specific dates – instead, we pursue a course of Continuous Online selling which involves the auction houses processing, uploading and selling items on a daily basis as opposed to weekly, monthly or even quarterly.
We then began adapting premises and internal processes to suit this dynamic, and built a transport and logistics system from scratch to ensure a smooth and constant flow of goods out of the building, leaving the auction houses free to focus on getting more stuff in to the building.
As a result, our partner auction houses are able to sell more items at a faster rate and in a more efficient manner – which in turn leads to happy sellers and happy buyers, and a more profitable auction house!
Lawrences Fine Art Auctioneers
Auctionet partnered with one of the best-known and well-regarded provincial auction rooms, Lawrences Fine Art in Somerset. Since taking the helm, we have converted their weekly sales into Continuous Online sales and have increased the quality of the quarterly sales, ensuring that all items are being sold in the most appropriate sales and are being marketed to a much larger, Pan-European and global, audience.
So, if you are looking to transform your organisation through lean management, creating a more effective way of working whilst maintaining a strong output, why not come on this forward thinking, tech-savvy way of working with Auctionet.
Contact:
Andy Sagar
Managing Director
Auctionet UK
E. andy.sagar@auctionet.com
auctionet.com