Start with a specification a factory can quote
Most international furniture problems begin with a specification that reads well to a designer and ambiguously to a production engineer. A factory quoting an ambiguous item will price its own interpretation, and the difference appears as a variation once production has started.
Before anything goes out for pricing, each item needs a drawing or a clear reference, a finish, a material, a quantity and a delivery expectation. Where a detail is not resolved, mark it as unresolved rather than let the factory decide.
Choose the manufacturing route for the product
Vietnam, India, China, Europe and the Gulf all produce contract furniture well, and each is stronger on different products. Solid timber, upholstery, lacquer, metal frames and stone tops do not all come from the same strength.
Pick the route on capability and finish rather than on habit. Splitting a package across two factories is often better than forcing one factory to do work it is not set up for.
Prove the piece before the run
A prototype or first article is the cheapest control available. It settles arguments about proportion, joint quality and finish while the cost of change is small.
Sign the prototype, photograph it, and keep it as the reference against which every production unit is inspected.
Inspect before it ships
Once a container leaves, every problem becomes expensive. Pre-shipment inspection against the signed sample is the last cheap intervention in the whole process.
Agree the inspection plan at award, not when production is finished, so the factory builds knowing what will be checked.
Plan the delivery against the site, not the factory
A furniture package that arrives complete but early can be as damaging as one that arrives late, because storage and double handling create damage.
Sequence shipments by floor or room type against the installation programme, and hold the balance until the site can receive it.