Simplifying The Process Of Procuring Office Furniture

If you have ever had to purchase office furniture for your company, you know the process can be time consuming and overwhelming. In most larger companies – and even small companies, there are many players in the process. From the CEO who wants a special desk chair to the receptionist who has her own design ideas – it’s like herding cats to complete the task of getting office furniture for everyone in the office. And then you add in the office furniture dealer and manufacturers who may seem to not have evolved from the 90’s with their paper catalogs and complicated pricing. You probably at this point reach for the Jack Daniels and click on Amazon to see if they will just ship you everything on Prime and hope for the best!

So how do you simplify the process of buying office furniture and take out the stress? Simple. Make a plan, work the plan! Outlined below, I’ve put together what I’ve learned from buying office furniture and give you a road map on how to make this process stress free.

Make A Plan, Work The Plan: The Process Of What To Order!

The process starts in house. When the time comes to buy office furniture gather all the decision makers and have a meeting to kick off the process. Including your office furniture dealer. You want to get the office furniture dealer in from the beginning so that they understand your company and employee needs from the start. The dealer can help you organize your process as well.

You need to decide from the start if you will be doing a complete re-design of your office or if you will simply be updating key pieces such as files, chairs and desks. 

If you are doing a complete re-design of your office space, you will need your office furniture dealer provide you with a space design so that you can properly lay out your new office furniture. This will help you know exactly where your new office furniture will fit in your space.

If you are just refreshing key pieces – such as chairs and desks, you will still want a space plan to ensure the new pieces will fit in the existing design as well.

Once you have determined which way you are going with your office space, now you can get down to brass tax. The list of office furniture.

Have each decision maker who is part of the office furniture purchasing process in house come up with list of their office furniture and break it down by a “ need to have” and “nice to have “ lists.  

Separating out what is necessity and nice to have – you can determine your budget. “Nice to have” items can be put aside if there is room in the budget after you decide what are the critical items you must buy. Consider that desks, chairs and file cabinets are to the critical day to day items your employees need to have to function in their work space. Yes, having the latest and greatest standing desk might be a nice thing to have – but do they really need it?

Once you have your final list of office furniture, now you can decide on color schemes, design options and this is where the fun begins! Your office furniture dealer can work with you to educate you on each option and simplify the list with pricing and delivery options. 

Your office furniture dealer will work with the manufacturers for you – they can breakdown the complicated pricing structures and product codes so that you don’t have to worry about ordering the wrong "whatitmacallit" products and get a blue desk for your beige conference room – that’s why office furniture dealers are essential in the process. You can’t get this type of support at WayFair – you need an actual human being you can see in person at your office so they understand the office furniture and office products so you and your staff get the right color, products from the start. 

Make A Plan, Work The Plan: Preparing For The Delivery and Installation

Now that the lists and ordering are out of the way. You get to the next step, getting ready for your office furniture to be delivered.

Once you have decided on what you are ordering and placing your order. And again, you need all the decision makers on board to ensure that you are properly ready for the big delivery!

Your office furniture dealer should give you your estimated delivery and installation window so that you can prepare your staff to know when they need to bug out of their old office furniture and prepare for their new furniture. You may want to give your staff plenty of time up so that they can clean out their desks and cubicles to ensure everyone is ready to get their new office furniture.

Now what do you do with the old office furniture? Most office furniture dealers will remove it and dispose of the office furniture, but you may want to keep a few pieces, or you may decide to donate them to a good cause – if that is the case, have a plan in place to ensure you have given your office furniture dealer detailed instructions on each piece you will donate or keep – put a sticker on these pieces so that they don’t get removed. You will also need to make sure you have a place to store these items once your new office furniture arrives to your office.

Make A Plan, Work The Plan: The Delivery

The BIG day is here! Your office furniture is being delivered and installed. And the panic sets in – did the right chair come? – will my CEO get his special chair? Did the receptionist desk come with all the parts? Before you reach again for the Jack Daniels – remember, this is why you have the office furniture dealer in the beginning of the process. Any reputable office furniture dealer will be on site to ensure everything goes as smooth as silk. Most dealers have their own in house professional installers – who know how to put together the reception desk! Your office furniture dealer will make sure that every single piece and part is on site and delivered – and they don’t leave you with a huge mess after they are done! The delivery day should be easy if you have executed a proper plan – and you have ensured that your list of office furniture is properly completed with a space plan completed as well. All that is left is installing the new office furniture and getting your staff settled into place.

The Bottom-Line

Once you make a plan and work the plan, the process of procuring office furniture is a snap. The key is proper planning to prevent a poor outcome. When you have a plan in place, it ensures that you have all the bases covered and that your staff will have the right office furniture for their space and their job functions. And you will have less stress in the process as well.

To learn more about stress free procurement of office furniture, feel free to reach out to me here on LinkedIn – I’m happy to give you tips on office furniture and space planning.  You can reach me on my profile or email as well.