NEWH - September 2008 - (Page 16)

product know-how logistics The Club at Flying Horse Spa in Colorado Springs, Colorado by Carl Ross Design. Getting the Goods Rising prices and tight deadlines—how do interior design, logistical, and purchasing firms make it work? By Jana Schiowitz ALL HOSPITALITY SPACES require a whole slew of products—casegoods, upholstered items, art, lighting, and other pieces that fit the project puzzle. When it comes to selecting products, planning, and execution, purchasing firms, warehousemen, and installers are brought in to help with FF&E. But with the prices of oil going up, expansion occurring abroad, and timelines being questioned, the FF&E process could sometimes be challenging. Show me the Money Everything is going up—the price of oil, packaging, and shipping. “Labor costs are going up with the cost of living and fuel surcharges are being passed on to the customers,” explains Ben Jude, director of logistics, UniGroup Worldwide UTS Logistics, a single-source international transportation service provider. “Hotel chains are tightening their belts. Its all driven on the economy.” Despite rising costs, designers are finding that using a purchasing agent can save them both time and money 16 september 2008 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH as well as provide more product options. “Using a purchasing agent changes the odds in which a designer will be able to implement the design within the budget,” says Clodagh of her namesake New York Citybased firm. “Their contacts are endless and in many cases, they can acquire deals that could very well make or break the use of a particular vendor in the design.” Time After Time Dates are the phantom menace. “Either by intention or by accident, committed dates by manufacturers sometimes are missed,” says Carl Ross, founder of his namesake design firm in El Segundo, California. “The consequences can have significant impact on opening and revenue generation.” Delays could happen for numerous reasons—limited space availability on ocean and trucking carriers, choosing a poor choice of carrier, weather, strikes, scheduling mistakes, and permitting problems. “Purchasing professionals will still be affected in the future by unrealistic project schedules, construction delays, > http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - September 2008

NEWH - September 2008
Contents
News
Conference Update
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How
On the Scene
Sustainability: Point of View
Sustainability
Design 101: International Project
Cover Story: Happy Feet
Project: Blush
Project: Aura
New Members
Save the Date
Partner Profiles

NEWH - September 2008