Designers talk procurement, processes and more at High Point Market

Andrea Lillo //Executive Editor//April 21, 2024

A finished design project may look effortless, but the behind-the-scenes logistics to pull it all together requires skill, procedures and communication. Four design veterans talked about how they address procurement and processes during a High Point panel at Fairfield Chair Company.

“Procurement is the wheel in our business that always has to be moving and always has to be greased to be working properly,” said moderator John McClain of John McClain Design.

When sourcing product, designers should find vendors that align with their style and brand, as well as ones that have a lot of categories for one-stop-shop ease, said Glenna Stone of Philadelphia’s Glenna Stone Interior Design. It’s also “important to offer product not readily available online,” said Pasadena, Calif.-based Jeanne Chung. Designers need to offer a variety of price points, as well as have those staple lines as well as one-of-a-kind items, said Chung. “We can’t just be order takers.”

But beyond product, customer service from a vendor is essential – as is communication, said Mike Yates of Dallas-based Yates Desygn. His firm of three people handles about 25 projects a year and he needs to have his vendors look out for him, he said. “You want to work with people who are going to have your back” and help you when a problem arises, added Stone.

Chung recalled one project where the product was ordered in August 2021, but wasn’t delivered and installed until June 2023. “The vendor was just stringing us along,” she said. “If you don’t know when something will come, just tell us that.”

McClain asked the panel about how many vendors do they work with within each category, and Chung said she tried not to overlap with vendors too much. “I want to give our vendors as much business as we can without splitting those dollars … You want to be important to them.” She also only opens a trade account with a vendor if she can give them volume.

The designers said they tried to be as transparent with their clients when it comes to pricing, but it depends on the situation. When Yates Desygn was based in New York, Yates’ clients wanted to see invoices with everything broken out – taxes, markup, shipping, everything. But that didn’t work when he relocated to Dallas, where clients questioned every item. He encounters no resistance when he just gives them an invoice for $100K, for example, instead. “You have to know your clients.”

In her contracts, Stone requires that all the products for a project are purchased through her firm. “We want to control the process so we can deliver the best result.” If not, things will get messed up and the client won’t be happy. “We’re managing large projects.”

Chung offers clients products in terms of good/better/best or a high/low to give clients a range. Yates rarely shows clients more than one option, though he has others in mind if he needs them.

Being shopped by clients is also a big issue, and if that issue arises, Stone reminds clients about their contract. She also tries to have her pricing come up just under retail pricing so it makes that conversation easier, she said.

If Chung’s clients buy their own products, “I don’t touch it … Inevitably things do go wrong, and then they come back” to me. “They’re always going to come back to us regardless,” said McClain.

The designers’ advice for vendors – besides having good customer service – concerned visuals. Having good, updated photography helps “sell our story” to the client, said Stone. “I’m very visual and our clients are, too,” added Chung, so having software which allows one to see how fabric will drape over upholstery, for example, leads to quicker sales.