- How are businesses changing the way they design their workspaces?
The pandemic and global economic situations have been the major drivers for a mammoth shift in office space design and preferences. Having clients in corporate, educational, and government institutions, the public sector, and more, we have experienced the change in requirements firsthand and we have played a pivotal role in bringing the change.
Businesses are drifting away from old cubicles and moving towards more modern and contemporary office styles. Sustainability and energy consumption have become the primary design objective as workplaces lean towards open spaces with a plethora of natural light. Clients are opting for functional spaces that include lightweight, manoeuvrable, and ergonomic furniture in sync with the current trend.
A modern workspace comprises all the right elements encapsulating the ethos of the brand (client organisation) and depicting the core values and philosophy that the brand follows. From choosing to work in an open layout to picking the most chic height adjustable/standing desk to implement IoT (Internet of things) in smart furniture, we have helped our clients to achieve it all.
- Flexibility in spaces is considered very critical in offices today. How is this requisite being catered to by the company?
Flexibility and agility play a pivotal role in the post-pandemic requirement shifts that we observed in our industry. Our existing clients have turned to us to ensure that all their furniture solutions are agile, mobile, and capable and robust enough to withstand the changing trends and needs of the employees.
Having built agility as one of the core focus areas in our design philosophy, we have managed to manufacture products that take into account the flexibility and manageability a workplace has to offer. We ensure flexibility in the workspace by following a consultative approach with our new/existing clients to ensure that their workplace has all the right furniture solutions.
- AFC recently acquired Wipro Enterprise. How has this helped the brand and its portfolio?
AFC has always been synonymous with timely deliveries and client satisfaction, and the acquisition of products from Wipro Enterprises has further strengthened the brand in terms of scale and reach. It is indeed a big milestone for a bootstrap organisation like ours with humble beginnings to start as a panel manufacturer in 2008 to shift gears and foray into manufacturing modular furniture solutions three years hence.
Acquisition of brands like Livo, Vibrant, and XBench by Wipro Enterprises will further diversify our portfolio while providing a new perspective to manage the existing client base of these products and brands by Wipro Enterprises.
How has AFC been catering to the ESG requirements and demands in the industry?
We have focussed on sustainability and considered environmental impacts as one of the major parameters driving core business decisions since our inception in 2008. All our products and solutions are manufactured sustainably in India, with a core focus on human posture and ergonomics. We have a continuous feedback mechanism with our existing/new clients to learn more about their experiences with our products and ensure that we act upon it to better our offerings continuously.
- What are some of the major future developments that AFC is working on?
We are currently progressing towards and targeting a circular economy model in line with our commitment to procure raw materials and manufacture furniture solutions sustainably in India. Some of our key focus areas include, but are not limited to:
• R&D: Increased focus on research to develop in-house furniture solutions
• Product & Design: We have developed a design philosophy model to ensure that all our upcoming offerings and solutions offer better agility, aesthetics, and ergonomics
• New office and location: We are coming up with a new HQ and expanding our presence in multiple locations across the country; stay tuned!
• Manufacturing: Procuring technologies and equipment’s globally to ensure the best quality in products manufactured in-house