Guides
A designer's guide to receiving and delivery.
Everything the trade researches before choosing a receiving partner: how receiving works, what white-glove really means, how projects are stored and priced, and how to keep your client relationships protected. Written for designers, builders, and retailers.
Receiving Basics
What receiving is, how it works, and when a designer should route through a warehouse instead of shipping direct.
- What Furniture Receiving Is (and Why Designers Use a Receiver)A receiver takes delivery of your vendor shipments, inspects and documents every piece, stores it safely, and delivers it white-glove when the project is ready.
- What a Sidemark Is and How to Use OneA sidemark is the label that ties a shipment to your project and client. Used consistently, it is what keeps a whole-home order organized from dock to install.
- How Furniture Inspection and Damage Documentation WorksEvery shipment is inspected for visible damage at receipt, photographed, and documented, so problems are caught in the warehouse while a claim is still possible.
- Ship Direct to the Client or Use a Receiver? How to DecideShipping direct can work for a single small item. For a real project, a receiver protects the client experience, catches damage, and lets you install in one day.
White-Glove Delivery
What white-glove really means, how it differs from other delivery tiers, and what happens on install day.
- What White-Glove Delivery Actually MeansWhite-glove delivery means the piece is wrapped, carried in with care, placed in the room of choice, detailed, and the packaging removed. It is a standard, not a tier.
- White-Glove vs. Threshold vs. Curbside DeliveryCurbside leaves it at the truck. Threshold gets it inside the door. White-glove places it in the room, detailed and set up. Knowing the difference protects the client.
- What Happens on a White-Glove Install DayA complete project is pulled, detailed, wrapped, and loaded, then delivered and placed room-of-choice to your plan in one coordinated day, with debris removed.
- Room-of-Choice Placement and Protective Wrapping, ExplainedRoom-of-choice means each piece is placed where it belongs, not inside the door. Protective wrapping is how it gets there unscathed. Together they define white-glove.
- How to Measure for Furniture DeliveryFit is arithmetic: the piece’s shipping size, including its diagonal depth, against the tightest point on the path from the truck to the room.
Storage for Projects
How project storage works, why consolidating a whole-home order matters, and how to keep a project moving through backorders.
- How Warehouse Storage Works for a Whole-Home ProjectPieces arrive over weeks or months, get wrapped and staged by project, and wait safely until the full order is ready to install in one coordinated day.
- Why Consolidating a Project Before Install MattersHolding a whole-home order until it is complete turns a dozen separate deliveries into one coordinated install day, protecting the client and the presentation.
- Managing Backordered Furniture Without Stalling the ProjectBackorders are inevitable. A receiver lets the rest of the project sit safely and installs on your schedule, so one late vendor does not hold the client hostage.
Cost, Claims & Risk
How receiving and delivery is priced, what to do when a piece arrives damaged, and how goods are insured in a receiver’s care.
- How Furniture Receiving and Delivery Is PricedReceiving and storage are priced per item by size category. Delivery is per item with hourly and mileage components where they apply. Published, so you can quote it.
- Furniture Arrived Damaged: What to Do (Freight and Vendor Claims)Document it immediately, photograph everything, and file the claim within the carrier or vendor window. A receiver catches and documents damage before it reaches the client.
- Insurance and Liability for Goods in a Receiver's CareEvery item in our care is insured, and we document condition at receipt. As a best practice, clients should also carry their own coverage for goods in storage and transit.
- Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Receiving PartnerThe right questions surface the difference between a professional receiver and a storage unit: inspection, documentation, pricing transparency, insurance, and the firewall.
Care and How To
How to care for fabric, leather and wood, and step-by-step fixes for everyday spills and marks, from a crew trained by the makers.
- Upholstery Cleaning Codes: What W, S, WS and X MeanThe letter on an upholstery tag says whether a fabric can take water, needs a solvent, or should only be vacuumed. Read it before any cleaner touches the cushion.
- How to Clean a Spill on a Fabric SofaSpeed matters more than scrubbing. Read the code, test a hidden spot, blot from the outside in, and let the fabric dry completely.
- Caring for Leather Furniture: Protected, Aniline and NubuckThe routine depends on the hide. Protected leather wipes clean, aniline needs dry methods, and nubuck wants a brush and no water at all.
- Caring for Wood Furniture: Finish, Room and RoutineThe room does more for a wood finish than any polish. Keep it out of direct sun and away from heat, hold humidity steady, and dust with the grain.
- How to Fix a Minor Scratch in a Wood FinishFor light surface scratches, a touch-up marker and a wax fill stick go a long way. Start lighter than the finish and build up in thin strokes.
- How to Remove a White Water Ring From a Wood TableA white ring means the moisture is trapped in the finish, not the wood. Start with patience, then gentle warmth. A dark ring is a job for a finisher.
Working With a Receiver
How to route purchase orders, how the designer firewall protects your client relationships, and what onboarding looks like.
- How to Route Purchase Orders to a ReceiverShip to the warehouse address, put your sidemark on every PO and carton, and include client details for delivery. The receiver handles the rest.
- The Designer Firewall: Protecting Your Client RelationshipsA receiver sits inside your client relationships. The firewall is the hard boundary that keeps them yours: no furniture sales, no marketing to your clients, full confidentiality.
- Local vs. National Receivers for Kansas City DesignersA national network offers reach; a local receiver offers a warehouse you can tour, a crew you know, and install days scheduled around your projects, not a call center.
- Onboarding: What to Expect in Your First ProjectOpen an account, confirm your ship-to and sidemark, route your POs, and the receiver takes it from there: inspection, storage, and a coordinated install day.
- The Designer’s Glossary of Receiving and Delivery TermsSidemark, white-glove, threshold, wrapping, room-of-choice, receiving, consolidation, and more, defined plainly for designers new to trade logistics.
Have a project to route?
Open an account, schedule a facility tour, or talk through a project with the warehouse.