How to Verify a Furniture Sourcing Agent Before You Send a Project Schedule: Three Things You Can Check and the Documents to Ask For
Three things an FF&E contractor can check on a furniture sourcing agent before sending a schedule, and the documents to ask for under each one.
A project schedule carries item codes, quantities, drawings, finish selections and the project location. Before you send it to a furniture sourcing agent, three things can be checked without sending any of it: whose name is on the quotation, the proforma invoice and the shipping documents; how the agent turns a schedule into a quotation; and which records exist between sign-off and delivery. For each check, this article names the documents to ask for.
It is written for FF&E contractors and project teams assembling a furniture package from China, especially for North American and Australian projects. The checks apply to any furniture sourcing agent, so they are phrased as questions and documents to request. Where we describe how FBM Furniture answers them, the description comes from our FBM Furniture Sourcing Guide and from our published pages on How We Work, the FAQ and our page for FF&E contractors. No agent or factory is named or scored here, and the article gives no product prices, production or delivery durations or payment ratios. Where this article and the proforma invoice (PI) for your order differ, the PI applies.
The three checks at a glance
- Check 1, the paper: what the agent says it is, who issues the quotation, the PI and the shipping documents, and how the agent states that it is paid.
- Check 2, the quotation: whether each quoted line answers a line of your schedule, shows what it contains and flags any substitution.
- Check 3, the records: what you receive between sign-off and delivery: the signed-off drawings, the inspection report and the loading report.
Each check ends in a document you can ask for before you commit a schedule. Put the requests in one message and keep the answers with the schedule, so that a later question about what was agreed can be answered from the same file. Treat a missing answer the way you would treat a missing dimension: mark it “pending”, note who answers it and by when, and leave it open until it is closed.
Check 1: Whose name is on the paper, and how the agent says it is paid
Start with the simplest question, the one our FAQ puts in its own words: is the company a factory, a trading company or a sourcing agent, and whose side is it on? Ask the agent to answer in writing. FBM Furniture’s answer is that it is a sourcing agent, working on your side, and that it does not manufacture, run a showroom or sell a range. The FAQ adds that there is no catalogue or price list, because we quote against the specification you send. FBM Furniture is the furniture sourcing line of FBM Sourcing Limited. For the wider question of who you are buying from, see our FBM Sourcing guide to who you are actually buying from in China.
Then read the paper. The agent’s name should be the same on each document you will be asked to rely on, so ask for the quotation layout, the PI and the list of shipping documents, and read the issuing company on each. Ours reads: All quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing — you deal with us, and we carry the responsibility.
Documents to ask for under Check 1
- The PI, or its list of fields. Our Guide says that once your selection is finalized we issue a proforma invoice with full product details, prices, deposit, warranty period, Incoterm and estimated dates. Check that the PI of the agent you are assessing states the same kinds of field, and that the deposit, the warranty period and the Incoterm are written on it, not left to a separate message.
- The payee on the PI. Our published sentence is: “Payments go only to the company account named on your PI — never to an individual, never to a factory.” Check that the company named on the PI is the company that issued the quotation, and ask what the agent’s rule is if a change of bank details is ever requested.
- The terms at a glance. Ask for price terms, the minimum order and the transit-damage notice period on one page. Ours are on the How We Work page: EXW as standard, C&F on request, DDP for certain markets such as the United States, and a full container as the minimum order, with no loose cargo. Where that page and the PI differ, the PI applies.
- The contract behind the order. Ask which company signs the contract with the factory and in whose name. Our Guide says we contract with the factory in our own name, and that this contract is what protects you, including how non-conforming goods are handled and the warranty terms.
Next, ask the agent to state how it is paid, and to cover all of its arrangements in the same statement. Ours is: For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. A single schedule can contain lines of both kinds, so ask the agent to mark, line by line, which arrangement applies. Our article on how FBM Furniture is paid on a commercial furniture order sets the two side by side.
The two arrangements differ on after-sales, which is why it belongs in this check. For products we source for you, the warranty period is stated on the PI, and within the warranty we replace (supplied ex-works China, with freight at your cost) or compensate. For suppliers you nominate, after-sales is not included: claims fall under the supplier’s own warranty, and we can help you coordinate. If you nominate a supplier, get that supplier’s warranty terms in writing before you order.
Finally, read what the agent has published. Our case studies page lists cases by market and product group, mainly for clients in North America and Australia and also for clients in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Middle East and the Bahamas. Our videos page describes its videos as filmed in real factories and loading yards. Read both as the agent’s own published account of its work: check whether a case states the market, the product group, the container count and the inspection step, and compare what it says with the documents above. A video call can be booked from our How We Work page, and it is a good place to put these questions.
Check 2: How a schedule becomes a quotation
A quotation is the first working output of an agent, and it shows how the agent reads a schedule. Three features can be checked on the page before you send anything.
- One answer per schedule line. Our Guide says the quotation shows, per line, the item, specification, materials, fabric and finish, dimensions, unit price, quantity, packing and lead time, like-for-like against your specification, with any substitution flagged. Ask for a quotation layout and check that it has a place for each of those fields.
- Item code and revision repeated. Our FF&E schedule checklist says that before you compare quotations you check that each one repeats the item code, revision, product description, unit and quantity, because an apparently lower price may reflect a changed material, omitted hardware or different packing.
- Substitutions in plain words. The same checklist says the supplier should identify any substitution by item code and resubmit the changed reference for approval. Ask the agent to show where a substitution would appear on its quotation.
The agent’s questions are part of the evidence. Our Guide asks for an FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities, plus drawings for any custom pieces; a specification or a reference photo or link for each item; your fabric and finish selections, or a request that we propose them, and whether you supply the fabric (COM); and where your project is, so that we check the standards your market requires. An incomplete schedule is workable if the gaps are marked “pending”. A photograph explains design intent but cannot settle the frame, upholstery build-up, leg fixing or exact size, so ask what a price returned against a photograph alone has assumed.
Ask which kind of maker will produce each product group. Our Guide says furniture manufacturing is highly specialised: seating, casegoods, upholstery, metal frames and fixed joinery come from different factories, and each factory is used only for what its line makes. We buy from the factory that runs the production line for your product. Our checklist says we first sort the schedule by product family, and it is clear that this is a procurement workflow, not a claim that one factory makes all of the items. For how a package divides, see our article on splitting an FF&E schedule by factory type.
Ask also what evidence exists for the exact model. Our Guide says that in our main markets, North America and Australia, contract furniture is specified against local standards, so the first step in choosing a factory is checking that it holds the test reports or certifications for that specific product, confirmed before we quote. The Guide gives examples: office seating, ANSI/BIFMA X5.1 in North America and AS/NZS 4438 with AFRDI certification in Australia and New Zealand; upholstered furniture for California, flammability to TB 117-2013 with the required label; and composite wood in casegoods for the United States, TSCA Title VI compliant and labelled. These are examples, not a complete list. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project. Ask the agent for the report or certificate for the specific model, and see our compliance pages for the United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand.
Finally, test the process on a small package. Where your project fits our service, the Guide says we can price one product group first as a reference, and if quality and price fit, we continue with the rest. If you already hold a quotation for a few items, the Guide says to send it, and the same specification is priced line by line. Ask any agent what it charges for that step, and in what form, before you send it, and compare the answer with your current quotation line by line rather than by total. For a worked example of the approach, see our article on starting with one product group.
Check 3: What records exist between sign-off and delivery
A sourcing agent’s service reaches you through documents: the drawings you sign off, the inspection report and the loading report. Ask what each one contains before the order, not after it.
Documents to ask for under Check 3
- The sign-off set for custom pieces. Our Guide says that for custom products such as cabinets and custom furniture, the factory makes 2D drawings (and 3D for millwork) and a detailed material list, going back and forth with you until you sign off before production. Our samples, finishes and approvals page lists what the shop drawings should show for each item code: the overall dimensions and the dimensions that must be held; materials and thicknesses, with the material list; joints, fixing and the interfaces with walls, floors and other trades; hardware references and finish codes; and the sample or swatch each finish and fabric is judged against.
- The record of comments and approval. In our approval sequence, comments are recorded against the same item code and revision so that the supplier can answer each point, and the approved drawing, material, fabric and finish become the reference for bulk production. Ask the agent how this record is kept and who holds it.
- The inspection report. Before shipment, our own QC team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video; our FAQ adds fabric and foam to the list. It is one inspection, after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your own project team is welcome to attend it with us. Any item below standard is recorded in the inspection report. Ask any agent which areas its report covers, whether it includes photographs and video, where items below standard are recorded and who may attend.
- The loading report. Our Guide says we arrange container loading and shipment to your destination port and provide a detailed container loading report; our FAQ says it is sent so that unloading is easy. If you nominate a forwarder, we book with it.
- The shipping documents and their issuer. Ask early which documents your building team, your insurer and your forwarder need, and confirm the company that issues them.
- The damage-notice rule. Our Guide says to send photos or videos of any damage within 3 working days of arrival so that a claim can be raised with the carrier, insurer or factory. Check this against your own contract and your insurer’s terms, since they may set their own notice periods.
The same signed-off set is the reference for production and for the inspection: production follows it and the inspection is checked against it. If the references were not recorded when they were signed off, neither the inspection nor your own receiving check has anything to compare against. Our article on what arrives with a contract furniture shipment explains how to read the QC report, the loading report and the shipping documents line by line.
Send your FF&E schedule
Send your schedule, quantities and drawings for custom pieces. Our team will review them and get back to you.
Evidence to request: the short list
Copy this list into your first message to any furniture sourcing agent, ours included.
- Check 1: a written statement of what the agent is and whose side it works on.
- Check 1: the issuing company on the quotation, the PI and the shipping documents, and the company account named on the PI.
- Check 1: the PI fields: product details, prices, deposit, warranty period, Incoterm and estimated dates.
- Check 1: the terms at a glance: price terms, minimum order and the transit-damage notice period.
- Check 1: one statement of how the agent is paid, covering all of its arrangements, and a line-by-line marking of which arrangement applies.
- Check 1: the after-sales route for each arrangement.
- Check 2: a quotation layout showing item, specification, materials, fabric and finish, dimensions, unit price, quantity, packing, lead time and substitution flags.
- Check 2: the information the agent needs from you, and how it marks what is still pending.
- Check 2: the kind of maker proposed for each product group.
- Check 2: the test report or certificate for the specific model, for your destination.
- Check 3: the list of what the shop drawings show for each custom item code, and how comments and approvals are recorded.
- Check 3: the contents of the inspection report and the loading report, and who may attend the inspection.
What a document check cannot tell you
A sample document tells you what an agent issues. It does not show how your order will run, and it does not set your project’s own requirements. Your specifier or certifier decides which requirements apply to your project, and your contract decides who is responsible for what. Our How We Work page says that all dates are estimates, so read the estimated dates on the PI for your order; this article gives no durations.
Use the checks to decide what to ask, then judge the answers against your own programme. An answer you cannot write down against an item code is an open question, and it belongs in the schedule as one.
What to send us once the checks are done
Send your FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities, and drawings for any custom pieces. Add the specification or a reference photo or link for each item, your fabric and finish selections (or ask us to propose them, and tell us if you supply the fabric), and where your project is, so that we check the standards your market requires. Mark anything undecided as pending. See our FF&E schedule checklist for what a complete schedule contains. FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I verify a furniture sourcing agent before sending a schedule?
Run three checks: whose name is on the quotation, the proforma invoice and the shipping documents; how the agent turns your schedule into a line-by-line quotation; and which records exist between sign-off and delivery. Ask for the document behind each one before you send the full schedule.
Which documents should I ask a furniture sourcing agent for?
Ask for a written statement of what the agent is, a quotation layout, the fields of its proforma invoice, the terms at a glance, one statement of how it is paid, the test report or certificate for the specific model, what the shop drawings show for custom pieces, and the contents of the inspection report and the loading report.
Can I test an agent on a small package first?
Yes. Send one product group, or a few items for which you already hold a quotation, and compare the answer line by line against your current quotation rather than by total. Ask what the agent charges for that step before you send it.
What records come with a shipment?
A QC report with photos and video, a loading report and the shipping documents. All quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing. Send photos or videos of any damage within 3 working days of arrival, and check that notice period against your own contract and your insurer’s terms.
Is FBM Furniture a factory?
No. FBM Furniture is a sourcing agent, working on your side. We do not manufacture, run a showroom or sell a range, and we quote against the specification you send.
How is FBM Furniture paid, and who inspects?
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 FF&E schedule
Send your schedule, quantities and drawings for custom pieces. Our team will review them and get back to you.