Picture this: You’re a busy designer with back-to-back client pitches and meetings.  You’ve created 7 mood boards, reviewed 4 CD sets, and replied to 36 emails about 8 different projects in the last hour - all while trying to finalize a furniture bid package that is due to go out at 5PM today. Oh, and you’re still expected to be the most creative problem solver ever!

Sound familiar?

Hello. We are a furniture dealer who can help take at least one of these tasks off your plate. How, you ask? Let’s take a moment to reflect on your current furniture bidding process and all the time and detail that goes into it.

The Typical Bid Process

While a trusted Project Management firm has likely been hired to oversee the complete project scope, that still leaves you with the undertaking of creating the entire furniture package - that is, if you are not solely asking for a percentage markup or fee (more on that later). Not that daunting, right? But what if the space is 30,000 SF, the furniture package is 50 pages, and product selection is mostly ancillary?

You know when the client must move in, but the specifics around the budget and aesthetic have not yet been solidified. Therefore, the specifications in the package are somewhat loose and generic. In addition, the dealer is to provide 1 alternate option per item, so this leaves a lot of room for deviation down the road.

So here you are with your 50-page package. It was just sent out to 3 dealers, all of whom can, for the most part, provide the same furniture solutions. After each dealer accepts the opportunity, they now must thoroughly read through the bid and respond with questions. We love asking questions and getting clarification. But where does this leave you, the busy designer? You now must read through 3 sets of questions, populate clear answers, and consolidate it all into a document.

Two weeks later you receive 3 RFP responses. Now it’s time to start leveling the bids. Did each Dealer interpret the RFI responses the same way? Is the pricing apples to apples? Are all the quantities/counts the same from each Dealer across each tag? There are many factors that could account for pricing differences from one Dealer to the next, making one dealer appear “more expensive” but this is not necessarily the case. Again, back to the topic of time and efficiency. This process is detailed, tedious and complicated. Does this really seem like the ideal way?

What if your 50-page furniture package wasn’t loose and generic? Let’s say every single item was almost completely specified - down to the fabric COM, veneer type, custom sizing and technology requirement.  How many meetings were involved in gathering this information? How much time did it take you to prepare this before a Dealer even set eyes on it? Weeks? Months? And then there’s the crushing thought that some of your selections may be way over the client's budget or actually not available in the time needed. Back to the drawing board. More of your time.

A Note on Specifying Ancillary

We know you do not want your project to look like a furniture showroom.  Part of the fun of designing is curating unique pieces from many different vendors to give the space an eclectic and interesting look. What makes a 50-page furniture package “daunting”, is not necessarily the number of pages, it’s the many different vendors involved, each with their own discount, warranty, lead-time, freight costs and COM availability. Pro tip: if you can stick with a select handful of vendors, a Dealer has more leverage to get better discounting from a high product volume standpoint. This also keeps the process a bit more seamless during quoting, ordering and delivery.

What About a Fee? 

Some designers may prefer to send out an RFP requesting a percentage fee only. Then once the project is awarded, they will work with one dealer to prepare the spec package and budget. This does tend to be a more efficient model, however, does the team you hire come down to who has the lowest percentage markup? The number doesn’t really mean much anyways on day 1 of the process, because as we know, many factors can change along the way.

So, What is the Most Efficient Process?

In a perfect world, the project is completed on time, on budget and everyone involved is happy. Think about this scenario: What if you brought on a Dealer early, engaged in the client discovery and design development process together, and worked collaboratively to get to a successful solution?

Here are some of the ways a Dealer could help save you time and resources:

• A Dealer will help curate the selection of product, fabrics and finishes based on the mood board you create all while aligning with your design intent, the client's budget, and project timeline.
• If the Dealer knows the overall cost per square foot, we can propose specific solutions early in the process that get you to that bottom line sooner.
• We understand what it means to keep people honest when it comes to pricing. That’s part of why you send out bids in the first place.  Let one Dealer bid manufacturer against manufacturer. The Dealer can then advocate on your behalf for the best discounts and pricing. Everyone wins.

Remember earlier in this article when we said that you’re expected to be the most creative problem solver, ever? We want to make the furniture bidding process more efficient for you so that you have the time to do what you do best - design. We are furniture experts; this is what we do all day long. Let us take this task off your plate, or at least collaborate with you early on.

Now, get back to those emails!

Image by John Sutton Photography from our Project Centerview.

Originally published on LinkedIn by our office furniture expert, Erica Jaffe Meyer.

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