While furniture procurement is an integral part of our end-to-end process for a typical project, Freeform also provides FF&E procurement as a standalone service for customers and partners. After the design and product selection for a space is complete, the project moves into the procurement phase. Based on the size and scope of any given furniture project, this phase brings a significant amount of complexity that can be categorized into three main areas: ordering & tracking, scheduling & storage, and receiving & warranty.

Ordering & Tracking

Furniture procurement on a large project, such as a multifamily apartment complex, involves dozens of manufacturers with potentially hundreds of products and parts. Unlike ordering off of Amazon, where you’re able to receive a fully assembled item in less than two days, furniture procurement on commercial projects involves ordering through different systems with different processes based on each individual manufacturer.

The following outlines an example of a recent project we completed for a large multifamily developer in Boise, Idaho. For a single common areas, we ordered more than 25 different products, including art and accessories, from 12 different vendors.

While some of these vendors have standard online ordering systems, a handful are commercial-grade manufacturers that have non-traditional ordering platforms. Our team utilizes a customized enterprise resource planning software specific to the furniture world that helps us navigate these ordering platforms and keep track of every piece and part as it is built by the manufacturer and loaded onto a truck to be sent to our warehouse.

Scheduling & Storage

An important facet of the furniture procurement process is a proper scheduling plan based on the timeline of a project. For many large commercial projects, other trades, such as contractors and subcontractors, are involved in the project as it’s being built. Building and maintaining a proper schedule, and coordination with these trade partners, is essential for the success of a furniture project.

Because of the various vendors and manufacturers from whom products are ordered, there can be a range of product lead times for a single project. When we think about scheduling for a furniture project, we think not only about when the product will be installed on-site, but also when the product should arrive at our warehouse.

As referenced, storage is also an important part of the procurement process for an FFE project. With warehouses in Boise, Spokane, and Tri-Cities, we have the ability to receive and store product prior to installation.

If a lead time is particularly concerning in light of the overall project timeline, we can facilitate an earlier order date and then store the product at our warehouse to avoid any shortages or missed deadlines.

On the opposite of the spectrum, many of the commercial-grade manufacturers that we work with allow for delayed delivery and shipments, which gives us the opportunity to order early, but wait for delivery until the construction timeline aligns.

Receiving & Warranty

The final phase of procurement is receiving and warranty. Through our resource planning software, we are able to track and catalog each item as it arrive to our warehouse to ensure all product is accounted for. For specific procurement projects, we will unbox each item and check for any damage that may have occurred during shipping.

For many retail and hospitality vendors, the window to submit a claim for concealed damage and warranty is extremely short, sometimes less than a month. If products are only unboxed when they arrive on site to be installed, discovered damage can lead to re-ordering and prolonged lead time issues, putting the project at risk for on-time completion.

An organized and thoughtful receiving process, coupled with the white glove service of checking products for damage, allows us to ensure the furniture is acceptable and ready to be installed when the schedule allows.

With the complexity of these three phases of the furniture procurement process, projects need a strong furniture partner in order to be executed effectively. Freeform provides these FFE procurement services in all of our markets and the surrounding areas, including throughout Idaho and Eastern Washington.