Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
FFD Beefs Up Cross-Docking Program for Small, Mid-Size Retailers
August 10,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Industry 
Upholstery and case goods resource Fine Furniture Design has strengthened its quick-ship mixed container program by offering more aggressive price points and accelerated delivery for small and mid-size retailers.
The company said the program, known as Segments, is now available across the entire product line. Many items and collections can be delivered from the company’s warehouse in Shanghai to the West Coast in as little as two weeks and to the East Coast in five weeks.
With a minimum order, retailers can share the freight cost on orders shipped from the Shanghai warehouse to either coast, where the orders are then deconsolidated and shipped to retailers’ locations.
“This program allows us to better service our valued independent and mid-size retail partners with value-added benefits that they can pass along to their customers,” said Eric Graham, president of Fine Furniture Design. “The combination of container-direct pricing with the additional benefit of domestic cross-dock delivery options on both the East and West Coasts provides a seamless logistics process, with a remarkably short lead-time at an incredible value.”
He said orders are based on direct container pricing, plus the freight cost to the retailer, providing a cost savings for smaller and mid-size retailers who were previously unable to take advantage of direct container pricing due to the up-front capital required and the high cost of carrying inventory.
“The benefits of this program are not limited only to smaller and mid-size retailers,” Graham added. “It also provides ‘fill-in’ orders for our larger retailers who are waiting to build full container orders, and need inventory quickly. This is a huge competitive advantage, especially for our West Coast retailers.”
In addition, the case goods and upholstery manufacturer has increased its inventory levels on several best-selling items at its North Carolina warehouse to better service its East Coast retail partners who require shorter lead times or smaller quantities.
“Our North Carolina warehouse inventory can be picked up the same day or delivered, on average, within two to four days,” said Graham. “Our full container business remains strong, yet we must continually reinvent ourselves to offer the most competitive pricing and delivery options for our growing customer base of retailers and interior designers across the U.S.”