For the designer
The designer keeps the markup.
DAF works behind the design studio. The designer’s client never sees the procurement firm, never sees the supplier invoice, never sees the 20% fee. The plan ships with the designer’s name on it. The markup is the designer’s to set.
The position, in writing
“David Andrew Furniture is a Canadian procurement firm that represents owners exclusively in the sourcing, quality-control, and logistics management of FF&E. Unlike manufacturer representatives or trade distributors, we hold no commission relationships with manufacturers and earn revenue only from our disclosed procurement fee. Every dollar saved through DAF Global Connect sourcing flows to you, less our fee. We sit on your side of the table on every PO.”
Source · DAF fiduciary script · library-sales-negotiation
60–100
hours reclaimed per project
DIY procurement — the designer or a junior DM’ing workshops, chasing quotes, reconciling freight invoices — eats 60 to 100 hours per project before a single piece lands. DAF collapses that to one brief, one plan, one PO.
A studio that hands the procurement layer to DAF reclaims roughly 1,500 hours a year that were going to procurement labour. At $300/hour billable design rate, that’s up to $450K of billable design hours back on the table.
Source · library-designer-profession
The objection — and the answer
Seven objections show up at the signing table. Three have a script.
“Why 20% when others charge 5%?”
Two different products. The 5% is the manufacturer-rep model — commission embedded in MSRP, the rep is paid by the manufacturer. The 18–25% is full-service procurement — buyer-paid, supplier disclosed, no incentive to push one workshop over another. Benjamin West, CCS Hospitality, and Mathisen — the canonical 40-year hospitality FF&E firms — charge in that band. DAF sits at 20% flat.
“If you want to manage trades yourself, the rep model is right for you, and we shouldn’t work together. If you want to hand it off and bill your time to the design side instead, we’re a fit. What feels right for this project?”
“What if we don’t like it when it arrives?”
The solution is workflow, not rhetoric. The engagement letter details the sample-approval gates and the reject-on-spec workflow before deposit clears — what is sampled, when it is signed off, and what triggers a remake. The mechanics are documented per project and walked through on your discovery call.
“Can you do it without the markup if I pay cash?”
Refuse. Document. Both scenarios — the off-books discount and the padded supplier invoice — are tax evasion or fraud against the end client when undisclosed, and both are reputation-ending for everyone in the chain. DAF will not run that play. The fee is the fee, on the paper, on the line.
The other four
The remaining four objections — references, insurance posture, intellectual property in the spec, what happens when a workshop fails — are walked through on the discovery call. The answers are specific to your studio, your client, and your project. They are not generic enough to publish.
Payment terms
50% to start. 50% on delivery.
Buyer side — what your client signs
50% deposit due upon signing the plan. POs do not go to suppliers until the deposit clears. 50% balance due upon delivery and client sign-off. Late balance accrues a 1.5% monthly finance charge if unpaid 14 days after delivery.
Supplier side — what protects the buyer
DAF runs 30/70 or 30/40/30 deposit structures with suppliers. Never 100% upfront. The workshop carries production risk until the goods clear inspection.
Source · LEGAL_DRAFT, suppliers-mechanics
One Specialist. Brief to delivery.Same name on every email.
Send the spec
Go back to designing. We take the rest.
Send the spec list. Send a screenshot. Send the floor plan mid-revision. The Specialist comes back inside one business day with the workshop name, the supplier price, the freight estimate, and the landed total — itemized on every line. The designer keeps the markup.
20% flat on workshop cost · supplier named on every line · 50/50 payment · one Specialist from brief to delivery · designer keeps the markup