How to Start a Furniture Manufacturing Company
You can start a furniture manufacturing business using different approaches. For example, you could operate from home as a sole proprietor on a part-time basis or you could rent a warehouse and work full time. You might purchase materials from local suppliers as well as import items from international sources. Upon producing the furniture, you could sell your pieces to distributors or directly to customers through a retail showroom.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Purchase sufficient materials and equipment. You might need industrial sewing or stitching machines along with various woods and metals, such as oak, mahogany, copper and bronze. Also purchase basic packaging supplies, especially if you will ship your furniture outside of the local area.
-
2
Create designs and set production time frames. For instance, your spring 2011 designs might be needed by fall 2010 to provide sufficient manufacturing time. Be prepared for production delays. If you will work with outside designers, concentrate on maintaining efficient capacity levels, such as 10,000 small pieces and 7,000 large pieces daily with minimal defects.
-
-
3
Estimate basic expenses. You must consider prices related to raw materials (like steel, paints, foam, plywood for either office or household goods), equipment to create factory-finished or ready-to-assemble goods, inventory storage, insurance and employee costs. Your expenses also will fluctuate based on automation (instead of hand-crafted made-to-order furniture) and work schedules (if you have one, two or three shifts when you hire more staff).
-
4
Advertise using multiple avenues like placing your contact information on the furniture delivery vans. Evaluate strategies used by your competition, whether major companies like Herman Miller and Furniture Brands International or local furniture manufacturers. Create a website that highlights company concepts and objectives, such as specialty or premium furniture. Consider donating a few pieces to a local charity.
-
5
Review operations and logistics decisions regularly. According to Business Week, furniture manufacturing imports from China alone increased nearly 100 percent from 2000 to 2006. You might discover that it is more efficient to decrease suppliers from five to three to eliminate significant idle time. However, your business risk will increase since you will depend on fewer suppliers.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Attend furniture design shows to network and introduce your brand so that you gain wider exposure.
If you will create your own furniture designs, start with two collections a year and slowly increase to one every season (spring, summer, fall, winter).
References
Resources
- Photo Credit furniture image by Luisafer from Fotolia.com
