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Patience Needed For Delivery
September 17, 2007
I read late last week in FURNITURE Today that Klaussner Home signed a delivery agreement with Salem Logistics to upgrade shipping from whole truckloads to less than a truckload and a remarkable improvement in delivery time. It will allow “licensed stores to operate with a minimal inventory while guaranteeing customers delivery of certain items in seven days or less. Custom orders are guaranteed in 30 days or less.”
“With greater freedom to maintain lower inventory levels, dealers also will face a lower risk of products becoming obsolete,” said Chuck Miller, Klaussner’s vice president of supply chain management.”
I checked the Klaussner web site to see who in the Portland area might be competing with Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery. It appears that Broadway Furniture, Shleiffer Furniture, Michaels Fine Furniture and Levitz and others, carry some or all of Klaussner’s lines. The inclusion of Levitz may mean the furniture is a lower price point than we carry. Many companies are working hard to achieve rapid delivery times, however customization can slow deliveries in higher end products, because there are more choices
Most of our case good orders are special orders, because we don’t carry a large inventory yet we can get fairly fast delivery. We recently added Stanley Furniture to our lineup. Stanley is medium to high end and offers delivery in 14 days if the product is in stock. We have been very pleased with the short delivery time and the packaging of Stanley. Sometimes delivery is slower based on the complexity of the order. Nichols and Stone allows the designer to pick from a whole array of finishes and distressing. It’s an American company and the furniture is finished to the designer’s order. Sherrill Furniture offers rapid delivery, but frames or fabrics can be back ordered. That can slow down delivery. Duralee Furniture delivery is slower because everything can be specified and the upholstered furniture is made to the designer’s specifications.
If I had a wish, I would wish for freight damage elimination. Friday, I received two special delivery Tuscan chairs in carved wood and COM fabric. The designer had been calling, “Have you received the chairs yet?” We told her they would be delivered Friday the 14th. The chairs were double wrapped in a box with all sorts of padding for the body of the chairs, yet when I opened one box, a leg had been cracked. We called Steve, our wonderful repairman. If it can be repaired to be as good as new, delivery to the client will take another week. Failing that, we will have to go through the delivery process again. It’s frustrating for the designer, her client and us.
Email me a landfair3554@comcast.net and tell me about the good and bad of your deliveries. Also, check out my other blog, Landfair Furniture (Blog).
Posted by Mike Landfair on September 17, 2007 | Comments (0)
