Working with a Supplier You Nominate: How the Managed-Order Model Fits a Contract Furniture Project
You keep the supplier. We run the order: specification and PI check, drawings, production follow-up, quality control, consolidation, loading and export documents.
Some contract furniture packages do not need a factory found for them. The FF&E contractor already has the supplier — a factory it has used before, a manufacturer the client specified, or products selected and priced in person at a showroom or market. What is missing is someone on the China side to check the specification against the proforma invoice, coordinate the drawings, follow production, inspect the goods before they ship, consolidate them into full containers and get the export documents right.
That is the second of the two ways an order runs with FBM Furniture: you nominate the supplier, and we manage the order. This article sets out how that managed-order model works across the dimensions that decide responsibility on a project — who finds the supplier, who sets the specification, who contracts and pays, who inspects, who consolidates and loads, and what happens after arrival — and is written for FF&E contractors and project teams. For the full sequence an order follows, see from FF&E schedule to container; for the scope of the sourcing role itself, see what a commercial furniture sourcing partner does for an FF&E contractor.
Two ways an order runs, and where this one sits
Every order runs one of two ways.
- Products we source. We find the factory that runs the production line for your product, and we quote a direct price, with sea freight quoted before shipment. Sourcing, drawings, quality control, consolidation, loading and after-sales all sit inside that price.
- Suppliers you nominate. You find the supplier, and we manage the order: specification and PI check, drawing coordination, production follow-up, quality control, consolidation into full containers, loading and export documents.
The two models are set out side by side on our How We Work page. One line applies either way: all quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing.
Who finds the supplier, and who keeps the relationship
In this model you do. That includes suppliers you have bought from before and suppliers your client or specifier has named.
The relationship stays yours. Suppliers you nominated yourself are your relationships, and during the order communication runs through us so that one party is tracking drawings, dates, inspection and loading. This is the opposite of how the first model works: for products we source, all communication runs through us and factory names, contacts and quotations stay with us.
Who sets the specification, and what gets checked before the order is placed
You hold the specification, because you chose the product. What we add at the front of the order is a specification and PI check: what the proforma invoice says is read against the specification line your schedule sets out — item, materials, fabric and finish, dimensions, quantities and packing — before the order is placed.
Compliance is the part most worth raising early. Contract furniture in our main markets, North America and Australia, is specified against local standards, and a test report or certificate has to be for the specific model — not for a similar product and not for the factory in general. Our compliance page lists what to ask any furniture supplier for: the report or certificate for the specific model, the name of the testing laboratory and the date, the standard and edition the product was tested to, the fabric and foam specification an upholstery test was run on, and the TSCA Title VI label for composite wood going to the United States. Those are the questions to put to a nominated supplier before the order is placed; tell us where the project is and what your specification calls for.
Who contracts, and who pays whom
Both ways, all quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing. Payment goes only to the company account named on the PI — never to an individual, never to a factory. We do not change bank details by e-mail; if you receive a message that says we have, video-call us before sending anything.
What you pay us in this model is a 5% commission rather than a price per item, and the supplier’s charge for delivering the goods from its premises to the loading point is added to your order at cost. The rate that applies is set out on our How We Work page, alongside the rest of the commercial terms. Where this page and the PI for your order differ, the PI applies.
Who inspects the goods
Our own QC team, and this does not change because you chose the supplier. Quality control is inside the managed-order model. When bulk production is finished, before shipment, our team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification. You receive a report with photos and video. Any item that does not meet the agreed standards is recorded in the inspection report, and your own project team is welcome to attend the inspection with us.
Drawings sit immediately before this. For custom products the factory prepares shop drawings and a detailed material list, these go back and forth with you until you sign off drawings, fabrics and finishes, and what is signed off is what the goods are inspected against. Coordinating those rounds is part of what we manage.
Already have the supplier?
Send the specification and the quantities, tell us where the project is and which product groups you already have suppliers for, and we will tell you what managing those orders involves.
Who consolidates, loads and prepares the export documents
We do, and for a schedule that spans several product groups this is the part that has to happen in China. The minimum order is a full container; product groups of the same project can share containers, and we do not ship loose cargo. We arrange container loading and send a detailed container loading report so that unloading on site is easy. Shipping is normally booked with our own forwarder, and if you nominate a forwarder we book with it.
Export documents are part of the same package. So is the inland movement inside China: the supplier’s charge for delivering the goods from its premises to the loading point is a real cost line, added to your order at cost rather than absorbed into a price.
What this model does not cover: after-sales
This is the dimension where the two models differ most, and it is worth reading before you choose.
- Products we source: the warranty period is stated on the PI. Within warranty we replace free of charge, supplied ex-works China with the freight at your cost, or compensate. You deal with FBM Sourcing, not the manufacturer.
- Suppliers you nominate: after-sales is not included. Claims fall under the supplier’s own warranty, and we can help you coordinate them.
Transit damage runs the same way either way: send us 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.
The two models side by side
Across the dimensions that matter on a contract furniture project:
- Who finds the supplier — we do, in the first model; you do, in this one.
- Who sets the specification — you do, either way; in this model we check it against the PI before the order is placed.
- Who issues the documents — FBM Sourcing, either way: all quotations, invoices and shipping documents.
- What you pay us — a direct price in the first model; a 5% commission in this one, with the supplier’s charge for moving the goods to the loading point at cost.
- Who inspects — our own QC team, either way, when bulk production is finished and before shipment, with a report containing photos and video.
- Who consolidates, loads and documents — we do, either way, into full containers with a loading report.
- Who carries after-sales — FBM Sourcing in the first model, under the warranty stated on the PI; your supplier in this one, with our help coordinating.
- Who talks to the supplier — only we do in the first model; in this one the relationship is yours and order communication runs through us.
When the managed-order model is the right fit
It fits when you already have suppliers in China and want the order run rather than the factory found. It fits when you have selected and priced products yourself at a showroom or market and need the rest of the work — drawings, production follow-up, inspection, consolidation, loading, documents — done on the ground.
It fits less well where you do not yet have a supplier for a product group, or where you want the factory that actually runs the production line for a product to be identified and held to a contract. That is the first model. One thing does not change with the model: the minimum order is a full container.
The FBM Furniture role in a nominated-supplier order
FBM Furniture is the furniture sourcing line of FBM Sourcing Limited. We manage the complete furniture package for overseas commercial projects — hotels, offices, aged-care and healthcare facilities, apartments and student accommodation — from sourcing to after-sales. We are a sourcing agent, working on your side. We do not manufacture, run a showroom or sell a range. You deal with us, and we carry the responsibility for the part of the order we are managing.
If your schedule mixes product groups you already have suppliers for with product groups you do not, tell us which is which when you send it, and we will tell you which model applies to each. FBM Sourcing has been sourcing since 2014, with 1,000+ containers shipped to 20+ countries. Our FAQ answers the questions clients ask before they order.
Frequently asked questions
Can FBM Furniture manage an order with a supplier we already use in China?
Yes. That is the second of our two models: you nominate the supplier and we manage the order for a 5% commission, which 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. For products we source for you, we quote a direct price instead.
Who inspects the goods when we nominate the supplier?
Our own QC team, exactly as for products we source. When bulk production is finished, before shipment, we check quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a report with photos and video. Any item that fails to meet the agreed standards is recorded in the inspection report, and your own project team is welcome to attend.
Can we keep dealing with our own supplier during the order?
Suppliers you nominated yourself are your relationships. During the order, communication runs through us so that drawings, dates, inspection and loading are tracked in one place. This is different from products we source, where all communication runs through us by design and factory names, contacts and quotations stay with us.
What is not included when we nominate the supplier?
After-sales. Claims fall under the supplier’s own warranty, and we can help you coordinate them. For products we source, the warranty period is stated on the PI and within warranty we replace free of charge, supplied ex-works China with the freight at your cost, or compensate.
Who issues the invoices and shipping documents in this model?
FBM Sourcing, the same as for products we source: all quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing. Payment goes only to the company account named on the PI, never to an individual and never to a factory, and we do not change bank details by e-mail.
Already have the supplier?
Send the specification and the quantities, tell us where the project is and which product groups you already have suppliers for, and we will tell you what managing those orders involves.