How FBM Furniture Is Paid on a Commercial Furniture Order: Products We Source for You and Suppliers You Nominate, Side by Side
The two ways an order runs with FBM Furniture, side by side, and how to tell which one a line of your schedule follows.
FBM Furniture runs every commercial furniture order one of two ways, and the way an order runs decides what you are quoted, who you deal with at the factory and what the charge covers. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. This article sets the two models side by side so that a project team can tell which one each line of its schedule follows.
FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Everything below is taken from what our How We Work page, our FAQ and the two guides linked below already state. Where this article and the proforma invoice (PI) for your order differ, the PI applies.
The two models in one table
The table sets out what our published pages say about each model. Read across a row to see the difference.
| Question | Products we source for you | Suppliers you nominate |
|---|---|---|
| Who finds the supplier | We do. We choose the factory for your project against your drawings. | You do. |
| What you are quoted | A direct price, with sea freight quoted before shipment. | A 5% commission for managing the order; the supplier’s charge for delivering the goods from its premises to the loading point is added to your order at cost. |
| What it covers | Sourcing, drawings, quality control, consolidation, loading and after-sales sit inside the price. | Specification and PI check, drawing coordination, production follow-up, quality control, consolidation into full containers, loading and export documents. |
| The factory relationship | We do, in our own name. | The relationship stays yours; communication runs through us during the order. |
| Contact with the factory | All communication runs through us, by design. | Yours to keep; the factory is your supplier. |
| After-sales | Inside the price; the warranty period is stated on the PI. | Not included; claims fall under the supplier’s own warranty and we can help you coordinate. |
| Who inspects | Our own team, once, after bulk production is complete and before shipment. | The same: our own team, once, after bulk production and before shipment. |
| Who issues documents | All quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing. | The same. |
Two sentences apply to both: payments go only to the company account named on your PI, never to an individual and never to a factory; and we do not change bank details by e-mail.
Products we source for you
In this model the schedule is the brief. You send the item list, the drawings for any custom pieces, your fabric and finish selections and the project location, and we price it line by line. We do not carry a catalogue or a price list, because we are not a supplier with a range; we quote against your specification. The factory is chosen for the production line your product needs, and the quotation you receive is a direct price.
Because we contract with the factory in our own name, the contract is what protects you, and all communication with the factory runs through us. When you visit, you meet the factory with us. After-sales sits inside the model: every product we source carries a warranty period stated on the PI, and within the warranty we replace free of charge, supplied ex-works China with the freight paid by you, or compensate. Our guide to the warranty on each model sets out the warranty route for each case.
Suppliers you nominate
In this model you keep the supplier. That includes a factory you have used before and a manufacturer your client or specifier has named. We manage the order: we check the specification against the PI, coordinate drawings, follow production, run quality control, consolidate into full containers, load and prepare the export documents. Our guide to working with a supplier you nominate walks through the model dimension by dimension.
The commission is for managing the order. The supplier’s charge for delivering the goods from its premises to the loading point is added to your order at cost, and after-sales is not included: the claim route is the supplier’s own warranty, so get its warranty terms in writing before you order.
Send your FF&E schedule
Tell us which suppliers you already have and which products you want us to source, and we will show how each line runs.
Which model does each line of your schedule follow?
A single schedule can contain both kinds of line. The question to ask of each line is a plain one: did you bring the supplier, or do you want us to choose the factory? The answers below show how that works in practice.
- The specifier named a manufacturer: the supplier is yours. The line runs as a nominated supplier and the commission applies.
- You have a drawing or a reference photo and no supplier: we source the product, and the line is quoted as a direct price.
- You have a supplier for seating and none for tables: mark each line in the schedule with who proposed the supplier, so that the quotation reads against the right model line by line.
Write the answer into the schedule next to the item code. It costs a column, and it removes the most common source of confusion about a quotation: a reader who sees one line as a direct price and the next as a commission and wonders why they differ.
Fields to settle at the schedule stage
Five fields in the schedule remove most of the questions that come up later. None of them is a requirement of ours; they are the points on which the two models differ, so they are worth writing down once.
- Who proposed the supplier: you or us, written next to each item code.
- Supplier details for nominated lines: the supplier’s name and the quotation or catalogue reference you have already agreed with it.
- Warranty terms for nominated lines: the supplier’s own warranty terms in writing, attached to the order, because claims fall under them.
- Drawings and finish selections: the drawings, fabrics and finishes for each line, so that what is signed off is what the goods are inspected against.
- Project location: the destination, so that we check the standards your market requires before we quote.
What the proforma invoice shows, and the price terms
Whichever model a line follows, the PI is the document that fixes the order. Our sourcing guide says that once a selection is final we issue a proforma invoice with full product details, prices, deposit, warranty period, Incoterm and estimated dates. The deposit is stated on the PI, and the balance, including sea freight, is paid before shipment. Where this article and the PI differ, the PI applies, so read the PI line by line against your schedule before you pay the deposit.
Our standard price term is EXW, with C&F on request and DDP for certain markets such as the United States. Sea freight is quoted before shipment. If you nominate a freight forwarder, we book with it; otherwise we arrange container loading, sea freight and documents, normally with our own forwarder, and send a loading report so that unloading is easy. All dates on the PI are estimates, and the warranty window and the claim window run from the day the goods arrive, not from the date quoted.
What both models share
The things that matter most to an FF&E contractor are the same in both models. The minimum order is a full container; product groups of the same project can share containers, and we do not ship loose cargo. Our own QC team inspects the goods once, after bulk production is complete and before shipment, checking quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a report with photos and video; your own project team is welcome to attend. For custom pieces the factory prepares shop drawings and a material list, and nothing goes into production until you have signed them off. Read more in our guide to what to send us, from FF&E schedule to quotation.
What to send us
An FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities; drawings for custom pieces; your fabric and finish selections; the project location; and, for each line, whether the supplier is yours. With that we can tell you which model each line follows and what is missing before factories quote.
Frequently asked questions
How is FBM Furniture paid?
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.
What does the 5% commission cover?
For suppliers you nominate, it covers specification and PI check, drawing coordination, production follow-up, quality control, consolidation into full containers, loading and export documents. The supplier’s charge for delivering the goods from its premises to the loading point is added to your order at cost, and after-sales is not included.
What is a direct price?
It is the price we quote for products we source for you. Sourcing, drawings, quality control, consolidation, loading and after-sales sit inside it, and sea freight is quoted before shipment.
Can a single order use both models?
A schedule can contain lines that follow each model. Mark each line with who proposed the supplier so that the quotation can be read against the right model.
Can we contact the factories directly?
For suppliers you nominated yourself, yes: they are your relationships and we manage the order. For factories we source for you, no: all communication runs through us, by design, and we contract with the factory in our own name.
Send your FF&E schedule
Tell us which suppliers you already have and which products you want us to source, and we will show how each line runs.