Furniture Project Management Benefits

Considerations for Independent Furniture Project Management vs. Dealer Sales

A Furniture Dealer is a localized sales and distribution channel for selected Manufacturers. As such, the Dealer is limited to the furniture lines that they represent and they have pecuniary responsibilities to these specific Manufacturers, which must be met on an annual basis. This dictates that the interests of the Manufacturer be in the forefront of the Dealers’ actions. In order to fulfill their Client’s requirements, a Dealer can promote the best products from the lines they represent, but they can’t offer the full gamut of products in the marketplace. For a Client to satisfy their requirements with the best products in the market, they need to look beyond a single Dealer.

A facilities project is not business as usual. A project needs to be and should be managed differently than everyday business. There is a burst of activity that generally requires additional staffing for the duration of the project. It calls for expertise in a broad range of areas and typically is implemented by an outsourced team of experts in their specific fields. For furniture related requirements, a Furniture Project Manager fills that role.

The Furniture Project Manager supplements the project team with experienced individuals who are trained to meet the demanding schedules dictated by project deadlines and who know the market conditions and discount patterns of the industry. The Furniture Project Manager serves a roll in providing an independent interface between the Owner and the Product Manufacturers and labor forces for the overall project requirements. The Furniture Project Manager creates the budget and schedule for furniture related tasks for the entire project, from the selection of products, the evaluation of options, the procurement process including interfacing with the activities of related consultants for construction, IT and move activities.

The Furniture Project Manager is the established advocate of the Client. The project represents large-scale purchases, generally well beyond the scope of any existing buying agreements. It is an opportunity to test new products and the competitive nature of the marketplace for both goods and services. The Furniture Project Manager has the opportunity to maximize the scale in buying out the products and services in a competitive bid environment across the entire project. The Furniture Project Manager crosses the borders of the various distribution models adopted by Manufacturers. The Furniture Project Manager approaches the market at the Manufacturer’s level allowing Manufacturers the control of setting an aggressive discount structure for the project which they either dictate to their Dealer or pass along directly to their Client, depending on their distribution model.

Subcontracted distribution and installation services are routinely part of a Dealer package. The Furniture Project Manager issues comprehensive bids directly to distribution and installation companies for appropriate field labor requirements at competitive pricing. These are companies that are staffed and experienced in the efficient management of project installation work. Since the direct cost of distribution and installation of furniture is a healthy percentage of the cost of the furniture, bidding those services separately across the entire scope of the project can yield substantial savings.

The Furniture project Manager interfaces on the project team level working with the Owner, Owner’s Representative, Architect and the Construction Team along with other consultants. The Furniture Project Manager coordinates the requirements of other team members into the requirements of the furniture installation. The Furniture Project Manager provides the central responsibility for orchestrating the responsibilities of multiple furniture Manufacturers and a consolidated field labor force, maximizing the efficient use of manpower and building services such as loading dock and elevator usage.

The fee for the Furniture Project Manager is established based on an agreed scope of services covering project requirements, unrelated to the cost of the furniture. The fee does not represent an additional cost to the project. It is paid from within the furniture budget by savings generated in the procurement of products and services and efficient management of project activities.