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Things You Should Know When Ordering Office Furniture

August 21, 2017

New contracts for office furniture were established June 1, 2016, based on a competitive Request for Proposal process. Key stakeholders were on the evaluation committee. Three Preferred Vendor contracts were established:

A fourth contract was also established with Forward Space, for use only to supplement existing Steelcase installations on campus.

Below are important things to know when buying office furniture:

Project types and expectations

Project Type Description  Entities Involved
Individual furniture pieces Individual pieces of furniture, no design services End-user / Vendor
Small individual office layout Furniture needed for individual staff office, some design services
End-user / Vendor
Small individual office layout, executive Furniture needed for individual executive office, some design services, and project coordination End-user / Vendor / FM
Mid-size office layout Furniture needed for individual offices and workstations, design services, and project coordination End-user / Vendor / FM
Large project Furniture needed for new building or major renovation, significant design services, and project coordination End-user / Vendor / FM / Architect

Timeline Expectations

Project Size Project Phase Expected Timeframe
Individual furniture pieces Examples: chairs, tables, file cabinets, desks
  • Use preferred vendor catalogs in iBuyNU
  • Delivery expectations for all three preferred vendors are 2-3 weeks after receipt of order
Small individual office layout (quick ship)  Design
Production
Delivery/Install
Total
1 week
2-3 weeks
1 week
4-5 weeks

Small individual office layout (standard delivery) Design
Production
Delivery/Install
Total
1 week
4-6 weeks
1 week
6-8 weeks
Mid-size, multiple office layout (quick ship) Design
Production
Delivery/Install
Total
2-4 weeks
2-3 weeks
1-2 weeks
5-9 weeks
Mid-size, multiple office layout (standard lead time) Design
Production
Delivery/Install
Total
2-4 weeks
4-6 weeks
1-2 weeks
7-12 weeks
Large project  Furniture needed for new building or major renovation
  • Significant design services and project coordination needed
  • Project management: Facilities Management
  • Design: Architect and furniture vendors
  • Process expectations:
    • Bids are usually solicited from all three Preferred Vendors
    • Determine by when furniture needs to be delivered and installed in order to ensure the overall project schedule is met
    • Work backward to determine when design needs to be completed and when purchase order for furniture needs to be issued

Other things to consider

Service charges

Services Kayhan Henricksen Interior Investments
Regular delivery and installation $113/hr

Mon-Fri: 7am-3:30pm
$122.95/hr

Mon-Fri: 7am-3:30pm
16.8% of product cost (as part of the contract)

Delivery during regular hours on the standard NU delivery day (consolidated deliveries around campus)
 Overtime $165/hr

Saturday: 7am-3:30pm
$165.10/hr

Mon-Fri: before 7am & after 3:30pm

Sat: 7am-3:30pm
$160/hr (4-hr min)

Saturday the first eight hours worked between 7am-3:30pm, also the ninth & tenth hour worked Monday through Friday
Double Time $175/hr

All hours worked outside of regular & Saturday, plus all day Sunday
$186.10/hr

Sat: before 7am & after 3:30pm

All day Sunday
$196/hr (4-hr min)

All after-hour work Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday
 Other 1-2 Quantities:
  • Keyboards @ $113
  • Chairs @ $52
  • Storage (files, ped) @ $113

3+ Quantities:
  • Quoted project based
  • Dedicated delivery dates, Tues & Thurs

Other Items:
  • Quoted project based
Truck/delivery charge: $125/ea Premium Delivery:
  • 20% of product cost
  • Delivery within 24hrs of product receipt
  • Needing delivery on a day other than the standard NU delivery day
  • Int Inv will typically check with the dept to see if they can work with the standard NU delivery day to save on costs, and most agree

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