Cube x Direct Een Kozijn: building together

A family business where everyone has their own role.

Direct Een Kozijn isn’t a company with departments and job titles. Dad started out in the window frame business over thirty years ago: taking measurements himself, installing the frames himself—handling everything on his own. Mom manages customer relations. Brother handles logistics and shipping, and has a deep understanding of the industry. My sister handles marketing. And Wessel manages the digital side: picking up on signals, translating feedback into improvements, and further developing the platform.

"My dad can't even pronounce the word 'configurator' properly, but he knows the most about window frames. And my brother provided the SVG renders for the visual display in the tool. That's when you realize that everyone's areas of expertise all come together."

The visualizations, which allow customers to see exactly what they’re putting together, are one of the most prominent features of the new platform. It’s not something Cube invented—it was already in the family. But these are precisely the kinds of insights you only gain when you truly build together: industry knowledge on one side, technical expertise on the other.

Why the next step was necessary.

Direct Een Kozijn initially built the digital foundation on its own. Wessel developed the first platform using WordPress, including an initial version of the configurator. For a family-owned business that has all the necessary expertise in-house, that was a logical choice. And it worked. But as the platform grew, its limitations became apparent. Not all window frame combinations could be created directly through the configurator. In some cases, the process still had to be handled via email or phone: exactly the steps you want to eliminate if you truly want to let customers work independently. Additionally, a number of backend steps were still done manually: functional, but not scalable. By then, the ambitions had outgrown what could be built on their own. That was the moment to look for a partner.

How it all began.

The partnership began in an unexpected place. During an FC Twente match, Wessel spotted a Cube advertisement on the LED screen along the sidelines. The website immediately gave him a good feeling. “I thought: I’ll just reach out and see what happens,” he says. The first conversation was with Jarno, Business Director at Cube. No run-through of a presentation, no list of services. Rather, it was a conversation where, after an hour, you realize you’re already discussing the approach, not whether you’re going to work together. “From the very first moment, it just felt right. Informal, yet professional. I really appreciate that combination. And that’s actually how the entire partnership has remained.”

Working together, not just side by side.

What makes this collaboration tangible is how it plays out on a day-to-day basis. A concise report after every session. Concrete action items. A solid schedule, and if it does shift, a phone call before you even realize it yourself. In the design sprints, the team mapped out the user journey. Where do customers get stuck in a configurator? What do they want to be able to do, and what do they specifically not want to have to do? Wessel brought his knowledge of the old situation to the table. Cube brought an outside perspective. Not assumptions, but insights built up in sessions where both sides were present. That is how the new platform came about: not delivered, but conceived together.

What we have built together.

The new platform consists of three interconnected components. The configurator guides customers step by step through the process of designing a window frame: from exterior dimensions and pane layout to glass type and finish. Every choice is immediately visualized using the SVG renders provided by Wessels’ brother. No descriptions, just immediate insight into the final result. Customers log in to a secure portal where they manage jobs within projects, save configurations, and generate quotes for the end customer. As soon as the end customer approves, the contractor converts the quote into an order with a single click. What used to be handled via email and phone is now done in a single step.

Behind it all runs a Data Management Platform that controls the entire order and delivery process: automatic communication with the supplier, status emails to the end customer, and processing all the way to the accounting software. No manual data entry in between. The result is that the team at Direct Een Kozijn spends significantly less time coordinating orders. Customers work more independently, contact via email and phone has largely disappeared, and there is now room to further develop the platform instead of focusing on ongoing processes.

Live when it's ready.

The platform is stable and ready for the next phase. Wessel deliberately took a low-key approach to the launch: first ensuring the foundation was solid, and only then reaching out to the general public. Not out of caution, but out of respect for the customers who use it every day. "Once the foundation is solid, you can really step on the gas. And that foundation is solid now."

Let’s keep building together.

Not every digital project feels this way. Not every collaboration leaves behind anything beyond the delivered platform. But sometimes everything just clicks: the timing, the people, the approach. The Cube team has now built up such a deep understanding of window frames that it has even surprised Wessel a bit. "Ask a developer anything about window frames and they know the answer. They look at doors differently now. I think that’s pretty cool to see."