When preparing to move your offices, it is an excellent time to inventory for missing or damaged components of existing systems furniture and to investigate the feasibility of replacing parts.

Some furniture manufacturers inventory pieces that can be ordered through their dealers. In addition, or as an alternative to purchasing new systems furniture, you may consider refurbishing or upgrading your existing furniture. A project management firm like Relocation Management Solutions can help with recommendations.

Re-installing What You’ve Got

• Moving systems furniture is more complicated than typical office furniture. The systems furniture will have to be disassembled before the move, and then reassembled at the new office. The mover is usually responsible for moving the
  furniture panels once they are disassembled.
• Contact your project manager or furniture vendor for names of contractors who will perform the disassembly and reassembly work. Sometimes, furniture vendors have their own installation crews, or they have relationships with vendors who can perform this work. Make sure, in advance, that the vendor you choose is competent and is familiar with your brand of system furniture, and is comfortable with reassembling the systems you require for the new offices. You will need an electrician to disconnect whips and connections and a cabling vendor to wire for your voice/data network.
• Systems furniture is sold in a wide variety of brands, sizes, and colors for almost every type of use. If you use a variety of systems, you should begin to standardize your future purchases. This eases the moving process and replacement of parts.
• By thoroughly analyzing and identifying which systems best suit your organizational or departmental needs, you can focus your future furniture purchases on a few basic models, ensuring flexibility and the interchange of parts, inter-connectibility and a consistent, organized look to your office.
• If your stations are “wired,” you will also need to coordinate telephone and LAN cabling. Wired systems also require adequate electrical service and configuration (commonly known as a “whip” or “pigtail” outlet) for connection to the workstations. Make sure your landlord provides for this in the space plan.
• Determine if desktop or workstation task lighting will be needed, in addition to the overhead lights provided in the building.

Wired or Non-Wired?

• One of the most significant decisions you will make when purchasing systems furniture is whether to buy electrified or non-electrified panels. Electrified panels have wiring in the framing of the panels, allowing for an adequate supply of outlets. Your voice/data cabling vendor can run their wiring through the system, allowing greater flexibility for outlet locations.

The Ordering Process

• If ordering new systems, ask for acknowledgments of all orders and shipping confirmations from the manufacturer(s). It is imperative that your furniture vendor confirm delivery of the systems to your new facility with a date that
  allows enough time for assembly. Allow at minimum six weeks for delivery of new furniture plus 1-2 weeks for installation.

• If you currently use workstations, allow additional time for disassembly and reassembly.

How Good Are Refurbished Systems?

Also known as remanufactured, refurbished cubicles offer a quality alternative to the high cost of new furniture. Businesses that are on a budget can still get some of the best quality brand-name products and case goods from virtually all manufacturers.

When some people hear the word “refurbished,” even, they automatically assume the person is talking about junk. These people are really missing out, as they are only hearing the word “used” when it comes to refurbished items. This is because products like refurbished office furniture and used office cubicles aren’t just used — they’re refurbished. The manufacturer or another company took back the office furniture cubicles, repaired them, and sold them as quality office  furniture.

Refurbished furniture dealers usually repair all dents and scratches, sand work surfaces, clean and de-grease parts and repaint frames. Refurbished office furniture costs noticeably less than the same furniture would cost if bought new and many companies include full warranties on each piece of refurbished office furniture you buy.

If a work surface has surface scratches or missing knobs or drawers, for example, the manufacturer will fix these things. They will sand down the desk and repaint it or refinish it. They will find the right knobs that will match with the other knobs, or they will buy all new knobs for the desk. They will even buy or build new drawers for the desk. Everything that was once broken, missing, or ruined on said desk is now repaired or replaced. So while the desk is not brand new, it is like new.

A major benefit of refurbished office furniture such as used office cubicles is that the items are often for sale at significantly reduced prices. Since these aren’t brand new products, they are sold for much lower prices — this is true across the board for refurbished products of all types. This means, of course, that you could be saving hundreds of dollars on quality office furniture. We have  seen some sites that offer savings of up to 35 percent off the original cost of an item. That’s a good amount of savings!