Business Furniture & Equipment Archives

Limited Supply of Materials and Services Impacting Contract Furniture Market

Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-1

From trade wars to a global pandemic, multiple factors are at play when examining raw material shortages. Furniture manufacturers, vendors, and dealerships alike are in a bind, and many of these increasing costs are passed on to the consumer.
Although acquiring office furniture was once as simple as picking up a phone or clicking “buy” online, many types of furniture are now either hard to find or are only available at prices that far exceed what they were pre-COVID. Massive supply chain disruptions are affecting the cost and availability of foam seating, shipping, wood, and steel, all of which are essential in the furniture market. Limited availability and higher prices are likely to be with us for some time, but there is hope on the horizon as economies worldwide open back up in the wake of successful vaccinations for COVID-19.

Seat Foam Prices and Availability

Lumber and steel shortages dominate headlines, but for anyone attempting to purchase office furniture, seat foam is having an outsized impact on product availability and prices. Order delays for furniture have stretched as long as nine months, but the reason for the seat foam shortage is not what you may expect.

In February 2021, many states across the Southern U.S. experienced a nearly unprecedented cold snap. Temperatures dropped below freezing, putting massive stress on energy infrastructure and causing widespread power outages.

Nowhere was this felt worse than in Texas, where arctic temperatures led to power outages that lasted longer than a week and that ultimately resulting in over 30 cold-related deaths.

Thanks to its vast oil resources, Texas is also one of the largest sources of plastics. The event caused most petroleum-based chemicals production to halt for nearly two weeks. For foam seating manufacturers, this meant short supplies for two key foam materials: polyol and toluene diisocyanate (TDI).

These materials are primarily produced in the Gulf Coast states of Texas and Louisiana, where the freezing temperatures caused power outages for millions of people and businesses. Of the two chemicals, toluene diisocyanate production had its production more deeply cut off as it’s only manufactured in two factories, both of which are located on the Gulf Coast. Some furniture manufacturers report prices for plastic foam increased as much as 25%.

Future outlook for seat foam materials

Mesh Back Task Chair
The @nce Task Chair
There is some hope for furniture manufacturers that rely on the chemicals produced in Texas and Louisiana. The power outages did not extend beyond two weeks in most locations, reducing the potential damage to the industry. Production capacity has since returned. Still, a two-week outage does not mean a two-week delay. Shortages, high prices, and waiting times for goods that require seat foam will persist for at least another year, if not more.

Additionally, plastic-derived seat foam is used widely across many industries. Supplies are tied up, increasing prices for the materials, where even car manufacturers are also feeling the pinch. This is a temporary issue, but we may not see a full reversal until 2022, assuming no further disruptions to production.

As these delays will be with us for some time, we recommend putting in furniture orders with Mammoth Office Furniture as soon as your business formalizes its plans. Getting in line with your orders will reduce some of the strain associated with the shipping delays that everyone is currently experiencing.

Shipping Delays and Price Increases

There were two external factors negatively impacting the cost and timeliness of shipping and importation of goods.

Prior to the pandemic, an ongoing trade war with China and subsequent tariffs on certain goods had dramatically increased prices. In 2018, President Donald Trump passed a sweeping increase in tariffs on China that included, among other things, steel and aluminum. Import prices for these items rose as high as 25%.

As a result, the cost to import these goods also increased, causing an uptick in prices for goods produced from metals, including office furniture. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, where a global crisis caused a short-lived reduction in demand that has since reversed. Rates for shipping goods from China to the U.S. West Coast are up as much as 66% but had risen over 300% at one point due to a shipping container shortage. The fast bounce back in demand has stretched ocean and air freight capacity and increased costs for both. Major delays in shipping times are also a downwind consequence of the pandemic.

Future outlook for imports and shipping
The entire shipping industry is facing capacity issues. From ocean freight to LTL shippers, almost every company that handles the movement of goods is struggling to find enough workers and enough machinery to handle orders.

Stabilization of the market will come eventually, but few industry observers are willing to make a guess as to when that will be. To help reduce some of the pain, the U.S. government eased the hourly driving limits on truck drivers. But the shipping container shortage is expected to last until at least 2022, so space will continue to be at a premium for international imports. Shipping delays and higher costs will persist for the time being for any furniture coming from overseas, especially China.

Wood and Steel Prices and Availability

Because of how many industries rely on wood, the lumber shortage and the resulting price increases have been a top headline for much of 2021. As multiple reports will note, prices for lumber quintupled through the end of 2020 and into the beginning of 2021. Yet again, this was an issue that was pandemic-borne.

The sudden work-from-home requirement caused a jump in demand for home office furniture. Many Americans, realizing they weren’t exceptionally prepared to work remotely, purchased home office furniture to create comfortable work environments. The average work-from-home individual did not have a home office prior to the pandemic and spent around $600 equipping their home as a result.

Meanwhile, many lumber companies anticipated a slow-down in demand. That slow-down in demand never came. Demand instead increased. Americans who had the means were buying, building, and renovating homes, all of which required lumber, a material that was soon in short supply.

In the case of steel, the aforementioned tariffs on imported material from China only served to complicate the issue. Many steel mills also shut down in the earlier part of the pandemic when demand waned. Now that economies worldwide are recovering, demand is back up, but material availability is limited.

The U.S. and China are also ramping up infrastructure spending, putting a strain on raw material costs, especially steel. The result is higher prices industry-wide for office furniture.

Thankfully, Mammoth Office Furniture works closely with manufacturing partners in the U.S. and Canada to keep prices as low as possible. Review our product page to see a selection of available furniture we offer at hard-to-beat prices.

Sustainable Furniture Demand Requires Manufacturers

0 Comments

Product sustainability has shifted well beyond a PR stunt. It’s an imperative, and one that most Americans are willing to pay a little bit extra to obtain. In its 2021 Business of Sustainability Index, GreenPrint found that 64% of Americans were willing to open their wallets a bit wider to purchase sustainable products. The problem lies in recognizing which products were created with sustainable methods. The survey also found that 74% of people don’t know how to identify when or if a product fell into the “green” category.

Buyers Want Green Furniture but Need Help Identifying It

Given the already high price of furniture, it’s easy to assume that consumers don’t care about whether their furniture is sustainable or not, nor are willing to pay extra for a product that’s already a considerable part of their budget. Yet the furniture market as a whole is experiencing incredible growth, buffered in large part by more home and business consumers purchasing eco-friendly products.

The need for both sustainable products and a way to identify which products fit that category is why sustainability certifications are important, especially for furniture manufacturing. As much as we’d like it to be true, not all manufacturers are honest about the provenance of their products. That being the case, buyers should be aware of the type of sustainability certifications that exist, the authorizing bodies for those certifications, and what logos or certification stamps to look for when shopping for furniture.

11 Sustainability Certifications Every Furniture Shopper Should Know

Companies with valid eco-friendly certifications typically advertise their certification status on their products. Some will carry multiple certs; others may have just one. Here’s a simplified understanding of the most commonly accepted sustainability certifications you should look for when shopping for eco-friendly furniture.

1. Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C)

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is an international organization that offers sustainability certifications to manufacturers through its Cradle to Cradle Certified® program. It assesses products based on how they’re manufactured across five areas:

Material Health: Ensuring materials are safe for humans and the environment.
Product Circularity: Enabling a circular economy through regenerative products and process design.
Clean Air and Climate Protection: Protecting clean air, promoting renewable energy, and reducing harmful emissions.
Water and Soil Stewardship: Safeguarding clean water and healthy soils
Social Fairness: Respecting human rights and contributing to a fair and equitable society

Certification requires a rigorous, six-step process. Companies must:

Determine if the product is appropriate for certification
Find an Accredited Assessment Body (which can be C2C, but others may qualify) that will test, analyze, and evaluate the product(s) against C2C assessment criteria
Work with an assessor to compile, evaluate and document the assessment data
Receive the C2C certification for the product
Market the products to display the certification status
Report on product progress to re-recertify every two years

Particularly given the last point, buyers who see a C2C certification should check the date. If it’s more than two years old, the product is no longer certified.

2. ECOLOGO

Infon

ECOLOGO® Certified products are those which are certified by the highly-recognized global certification company, UL. The ECOLOGO certification is available for companies intentionally attempting to reduce the environmental impact of their products. To note, UL has been in the product certification business since 1894, making it one of the most trusted certification organizations in the world.

The ECOLOGO certification is available for the following broad product categories:

Building and construction materials (such as heating and cooling systems, carpet, and surface coatings)
High tech and office products (such as office machines, digital cameras, and portable electronics)
Mineral exploration products
Paper and plastic products
Personal care products
Renewable energy products
Toys
Commercial Car Wash products

The certification process is robust. According to UL, “Products achieving UL ECOLOGO Certification follow the evaluation of multiple criteria throughout a product’s life, including energy use, waste disposal, and toxic reductions, among other areas.”

3. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The FSC is a non-profit organization focused on sustainable forest management practices. To that end, it offers certifications for product manufacturers that utilize wood products within their supply chain. Companies that are concerned about sustainable forestry and which emphasize this in the manufacturing process can apply for this certification. FSC will assess the entire supply chain to identify whether the products meet its standards.

Furniture manufacturers, for example, will likely want to apply for the company’s Chain of Custody Certification, which verifies that the products separate sustainably-grown wood materials from non-sustainably grown wood materials, such that there is no mixing and matching in the construction process.

4. Greenguard & Greenguard GOLD

Another eco-friendly product certification from UL, Greenguard and Greenguard GOLD certifications are given to product manufacturers that produce products with low chemical emissions. The standard is set by UL, and products are assessed with a rigorous and scientific audit. For furniture manufacturers, this means furniture that produces low chemical emissions indoors, a critical product safety design.

Invest in Used Office Furniture – Save Money and Help Keep Durable Goods Out of Landfills

0 Comments

NARBUTAS-1-sit-stand-desks-EASY-task-chairs-DIVA-lockers-CHOICE-interiors_

Although the global pandemic increased the number of workers clocking in remotely, we’re now on the verge of a working environment where hybrid-remote models are the norm. Nearly 70% of workers want to work in physical office at least part-time. Businesses will still need office space for their employees and that necessitates buying or upgrading office furniture. Not all office furniture needs to be new, however.

Good-quality pre-owned office furniture can make the most sense for your budget, especially in light of rapidly rising inflation rates and a hybrid-remote working environment where furniture is used less frequently. There are certain benefits to purchasing used office furniture, but you will need to go into that purchase with the right expectations.

Pros of Used Office Furniture

Office furniture is not always a low-cost purchase. After examining furniture costs from startup companies’ budgets, ProjectionHub found that the average furniture expense in a given year for startups was $21,000. Given the average startup is operating with a staff of just four people, that comes out to about $4,520 per employee in furniture expenses. Of course, buying in bulk will lower that cost significantly, giving larger organizations a significant cost-saving advantage.

But ProjectionHub offers an interesting note in its study on startup furniture costs: The average salvage value of used furniture is about 14% of the original purchase cost. That’s not great for businesses that buy furniture brand new and then try to sell them to recoup some of the cost, but it’s great news for organizations that are buying used furniture.

With that in mind, here are some benefits to used office furniture.

1. Used Office Furniture Comes at a Fraction of the Cost

As highlighted just above, you can purchase used contract furniture for pennies on the dollar compared to the original purchase price. Assuming you pay 14% of the original cost, that $21,000 worth of furniture for a start-up would drop to just $2,940. For a business operating on a tight budget, those kinds of cost savings could be the difference between hiring much-needed contract work now or forgoing a needed project until additional funding comes in.

2. Pre-Owned Office Furniture Is Already in Stock

As most businesses know all too well, the lead time to purchasing and receiving new furniture can be weeks or months. Limited supply and materials disruptions are still impacting the furniture industry and are projected to have negative impacts on availability for years to come. Even once those issues resolve, the time to get new furniture from dealers can still be longer than is comfortable for a business that’s just getting started or scaling quickly.

Another thing to note is that pre-owned office furniture is easily accessible. You won’t have to wait for it to ship from manufacturers in other locations across the globe; it will be ready for pickup from a local furniture dealer or warehouse.

3. Buying Used Office Furniture Is Good for the Environment

Utilizing recycled furniture is an extremely positive way to help the environment. By reusing furniture, you’re effectively extending its life while simultaneously preventing it from ending up in landfills. Additionally, used furniture purchases will help reduce the demand for new furniture, which in turn reduces how much furniture is produced.

The “fast furniture” culture in the US had led to Americans throwing out 12 million tons of furniture each year. That culture has contributed to shipping emission increases, which rose nearly 5% in 2021 alone. Recycling reduces our impact on a large number of areas where furniture negatively impacts the environment.

4. Inflation Is Increasing the Cost of New Furniture

Between groceries, gas, and mortgages, inflation is impacting every aspect of life where dollars are exchanged for goods and services. That includes consumer goods and office furniture. Prices may come back down the next few years, but some inflation-related price increases typically remain. You should anticipate prices for new furniture to remain higher than what you would have paid prior to 2020.

The Best Office Accessories for a More Productive 2023

0 Comments

xr:d:DAFUSlGpaPY:11,j:44705367296,t:23010515

Often when the time comes to re-furnish the office, there is so much thought put into desks, chairs, tables, and larger furniture pieces that many businesses have little room to really think about what kind of workplace accessories, décor, and accents their employees may need. Details like ergonomics, flexible lighting, easily accessible device-charging stations, and even desktop organizers can make a huge difference in the productivity and output of the workforce.

In fact, according to Insights for Professionals, old office equipment & accessories can compromise your business growth in multiple ways, from slowing down your workflow to harming employee performance and satisfaction. Giving your employees a fresh look with new lighting, or an easier way to charge their work devices can help boost their productivity and their overall well-being at work.

At Mammoth Office Furniture, we work closely with companies to re-imagine their space while maintaining, if not improving, their performance. Here are some of our favorite products that can help achieve just that in any work environment!

HANA Laptop Support by ESI

Sitting for long periods of time, hunched over a laptop sounds like a recipe for (sciatic) disaster.

As published by the National Library of Medicine in 2021, one study had demonstrated that when sitting in a slumped position for a long time, the discomfort in the lower back increases. More discomfort means more time spent making seating adjustments instead of the task at hand.

Having an easy way to prop up a laptop makes working in an upright position that much easier with the HANA laptop support stand. Equipped with fast-charging dual USB ports, built-in cable management, and height adjustability, this laptop stand helps those with stay flexible while maintaining proper spinal posture in any office setting.

We offer both the HANA Laptop Support stand and the HANA Monitor Riser for a much more comfortable sitting experience while at work.

Coop Desktop Organizer by OFS

A great way to keep clutter at bay is to use a desktop organizer, like Coop by OFS. Since it’s very easy to get into the habit of letting things pile up, having some type of storage for your employees’ most used office items will eliminate the time they would otherwise spend trying to find them in the first place!

According to the Harvard Business Review, studies done by scientists at Princeton University’s Neuroscience Institute found that when participants cleared clutter from their work environment, they were better able to focus and process information, and their productivity increased.

Coop offers a fun and light way to keep your desk tidy with a compartmentalized organizer for things like pencils, notepads, devices, & more. Learn more about Coop here.

Variant Collection Coil Cable Snake

Tangled electrical cords hanging off a desk from multiple devices can cause issues other than just looking messy – they’ll be that much harder to detangle, and they’ll leave the workspace less organized than ever before.

Use the Variant Collection coil cable snake to neatly organize electrical wires from desktop computers, laptops, tablets, chargers, and more! Easy to install, this product will allow the user to keep all cords in one place while avoiding entanglement and keeping a tidy work area.

Lily LEDX Desktop Lamp by ESI

Inadequate workspace lighting can be frustrating, especially when the project requires particular attention to detail. Bad lighting can also lead to adverse effects such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue, and stress.

A great way to facilitate a well-lit environment for staff is to integrate better desktop lighting, such as the Lily LEDX desktop lamp. Flexible and sturdy, Lily LEDX is equipped with LED bulbs that can last up to 90,000 hours (approximately 30 years!) as well as a touch-and-hold dimmer for adjusting to optimal brightness.

Available in black, white, or silver with a 15-year structural warranty plan, Lily LEDX can be both a sleek and durable option when it comes to improving workstation lighting. Learn more about this product here!

Out With the Old, In With the New – The MOF Buyback Program

0 Comments

xr:d:DAFb9sYLYcg:18,j:47901656673,t:23030115

With the rise of hybrid office layouts and an ever-changing work environment, companies are looking for ways to transition from the old more easily to the new. Creating a fresh space plan and shopping for furniture is already enough work as it is, and trying to find a painless way of getting rid of the old furniture might seem like it’s more hassle than it’s worth.

Well, no need to worry! Mammoth Office Furniture can help with our new buyback program.

What is the MOF Buyback Program?

When making a new furniture purchase with Mammoth, we will offer to take your preowned furniture when it’s time to update, move, or add to your existing space. Once we’ve inspected your old furniture, we’ll offer to buy it back for the best liquidation value possible. This can help free up some capital for your new furniture purchase!

At Mammoth Office Furniture, we will help your organization build the ideal workplace with our Gold Standard Services, and help you make new furniture selections based on your design, budget, & space needs. We will coordinate the removal of your old furniture and setup of your new furniture with our experienced Delivery & Installation crew.

What are the advantages of the MOF Buyback Program?

There are several reasons why it’s a good idea to utilize a buyback program for your old office furniture:

Save money & time – We will buy back your used furniture for the highest value possible before purchasing for new furniture begins. Save time by off-loading the old, selecting the new, and putting it all together with Mammoth!
Hassle-free service – We guarantee your new furniture arrives on time for installation OR we will furnish your office with loaner furniture at no additional cost. You are free to utilize the loaner furniture for as long as it takes to get the new in.
Entice employees back to the office with a fresh workplace layout – a new perspective can help staff better focus and boost productivity. We will help design & plan your newly refurnished space to make this vision a reality.
Lower your environmental impact by downcycling your old furniture – we do everything we can to salvage what’s left of previously used items and make them new again, contributing to the circular economy.

Who can benefit from a furniture buyback program?
Businesses that need to relocate or startups that plan to expand their current workforce are just a few examples of those who can benefit from the buyback program. If you’re moving offices, adding to a current space, or needing to liquidate everything on site then Mammoth Office Furniture can help!
At Mammoth Office Furniture, we pride ourselves on being able to help our clients build high-quality & sustainable workplaces no matter where they are in their business growth.

Developed by Tewodros Kemal (@.tk)