Executive Office Desks and Credenzas for Corporate Office Projects: Five Sourcing Routes for FF&E Contractors
Five sourcing routes for executive desks, credenzas and matching storage, and what to put in the schedule so quotations can be compared line by line.
Executive offices are small in number and large in specification. A single room can need a desk with a return, a credenza, a bookcase and a meeting table, all in one finish, with cable access and locks that match. They are bought as sets and judged by finish and edge detail, so the schedule has to name each piece and each finish before factories can quote the same thing.
This guide sorts the supply side into five sourcing routes so a project team can send one brief to the right makers and compare the answers fairly. It is not a ranking. No factory is named or scored here, and no claim is made about the performance of any product. For the wider office range see our office furniture page and our guide to office workstations and desks.
What should an executive desk and credenza brief state?
A brief that says only “executive desks and credenzas, walnut, 40 sets” produces quotations that cannot be compared. State at least the following, copied from the plans and the item list.
- Item code and quantity: one code per desk, return, credenza, bookcase and table, with the quantity per office or floor.
- Dimensions: overall size, height and the position of returns and modesty panels, as drawn.
- Carcass and top: carcass board, top material and thickness, and edge treatment, written for the model quoted.
- Finish: veneer or laminate or timber, the finish system and the finish code, with an approved sample against each item code.
- Pedestals and drawers: drawer construction and runners, locks and keying, and whether pedestals are fixed or mobile.
- Cable access: grommets, cable trays and power points, and who supplies the electrical parts.
- Credenza doors and shelves: door type, hinges, shelves and adjustability as drawn.
- Matching: how pieces in one room are matched to each other, and which sample is the reference.
- Packing: how pieces are protected and marked by room, and which parts ship separately.
Five sourcing routes for executive desks and credenzas
1. Veneered casegoods makers
Veneered executive furniture is made by casegoods factories with veneering and finishing lines. Ask for the veneer and finish description, the edge and corner detail, the matching method for panels and a finished sample, and ask how colour is kept consistent between pieces.
2. Laminate and melamine office furniture makers
Laminate and melamine pieces are made in volume on panel processing lines. Ask for the board and surface description, the edge banding method, the hardware description and a finished sample. This route suits a large number of similar offices.
3. Solid timber and joinery workshops
Joinery workshops make timber desks and credenzas to drawings. Ask for the species description, the joint method, the finish system and a finished sample, and agree in writing how movement of timber is allowed for in the design.
4. Metal-framed and mixed-material makers
Some makers combine a metal frame with a timber, glass or stone top. Ask for the frame section and finish, how the top is fixed and a finished sample, and compare the frame and the top as separate lines.
5. Full executive suite suppliers
Some suppliers quote the whole office from desk to bookcase. This gives one party to coordinate and one finish, but ask the supplier to quote each piece on its own line and to say which pieces it makes and which it buys in.
Finish, edge and matching across a room
Executive furniture is judged on how pieces look side by side. Ask each maker to describe in writing how veneer or surface is matched across panels, how finish is controlled between pieces made on different days, and what the edge and corner detail is. Approve one finished sample of each finish and keep it as the reference for the bulk order.
- Matching: how panels and pieces in one room are matched, and by whom.
- Edges and corners: the edge and corner detail drawn for each piece, shown in the sample.
- Finish control: how colour is kept consistent between production days.
- Hardware: handle, lock and runner description for each piece, with a sample.
- Repair: whether touch-up materials are supplied with the order and who holds them.
Send your executive office schedule
Send the plans, item list and quantities, and we will tell you which furniture details are missing before factories quote.
How to compare executive furniture quotations
- What is included: desks, returns, credenzas and bookcases as separate lines with the unit of measure stated.
- Item match: each line tied to an item code, so missing pieces show up before the order.
- Construction detail: carcass, top, edge, drawer and finish described on every line.
- Samples: whether a finished sample is included and who pays for revisions.
- Locks and keying: whether locks, key sets and master keying are included.
- Packing: how pieces are protected and marked by room.
- Exclusions and substitutions: any change of veneer, board or hardware the maker proposes.
A quotation that is cheaper on one line may be thinner on another. Read the descriptions side by side before reading the totals.
Locks, keys and security
Executive offices usually hold documents, so locks and key control matter more here than in any other office room. A brief that says “with locks” leaves each maker to supply a different lock and a different keying system. Write down which drawers and doors lock, whether locks are keyed alike across a room or master keyed across a floor, how many keys are supplied, and who holds the key records.
Ask each maker to describe the lock for the exact model and to say how a lost key is replaced. Ask whether replacement locks and keys can be supplied later in the same keying, and how they are identified. These answers cost nothing on paper and are expensive to find out on site, so put them in the quotation file beside the sample reference.
- What locks: which drawers, pedestals and doors carry locks on each item code.
- Keying: alike, differ or master keyed, and how the system is defined in the brief.
- Keys: the number supplied with each lock and how spare keys are ordered.
- Replacement: how replacement locks are matched and who keeps the key record.
Delivery to upper floors and installation
Executive pieces are large, heavy and finished, and they usually go to upper floors by a lift that was sized for people. Ask the designer for the lift and corridor dimensions and write them into the brief, so that each maker can say how large pieces are split, how they are joined on site and who does it. A desk that cannot be carried to the room is a design problem found too late.
Ask also how finished surfaces are protected in transit and in the building, and who is responsible for touch-up after installation. Agree these points before production and keep the answers with the approved sample.
Samples, approval and acceptance on delivery
Approve a finished sample desk corner and drawer front, not a photograph, before bulk production, and record the approval in writing against the item code. Place it beside the other pieces of the room set so finish, height and edge are seen together. Keep the approved sample as the reference for the bulk order. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the approval sequence.
On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order: item code, size, finish, hardware and quantity of each part. Note any difference in writing on the day with photographs, so the maker can respond while the evidence is fresh. Before shipment our own team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video.
Name the rules in the specification
The rules that apply to office furniture depend on the destination, the building and the materials. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Our United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.
Specification gaps to close before quotation
A quotation cannot answer the questions below for itself. Check that the brief answers these questions before it goes out.
- Which pieces make up each office, and which plan shows them?
- Is the finish veneer, laminate or timber, and which sample is the reference?
- Who supplies electrical parts for cable access?
- Which locks and keying does the drawing assume?
- How are pieces in one room matched to each other?
- How are cartons marked by room, and which parts ship separately?
Next steps for an executive office package
Send each maker the same brief: the plans, item codes, finish codes and quantities. Ask for answers in writing, line by line, and request samples before bulk production. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Frequently asked questions
Should desks and credenzas be quoted as one set?
You can ask one maker to quote both so finishes match, but keep each piece on its own line with its own item code so that the cost of each is visible.
How is finish matched between pieces?
Ask each maker to describe in writing how panels and pieces are matched and how colour is controlled between production days, and approve a finished sample as the reference.
Who supplies cable access parts?
Settle this in the brief. Ask each maker whether grommets, trays and power points are included, and who supplies electrical parts.
Do we need touch-up materials with the order?
Decide this in the brief. Ask each maker whether touch-up materials for the finish are supplied and how they are identified.
How does FBM Furniture charge for office furniture?
For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Send your executive office schedule
Send the plans, item list and quantities, and we will tell you which furniture details are missing before factories quote.