COM (Customer Owned Material) vs. Manufacturer's Fabric

Fabric

Sep 2

Written By QC Team

A huge distinction on any bid by any manufacturer is whether the materials used to make the product are Customer Owned (COM) or owned by the manufacturer. This single decision on the purchasing agent’s part can affect project pricing by as much as 50% in some cases, so it is critical to clearly define and understand the difference between the two.

In light of this we want to share a summary of each option and offer some thoughts that one should heed in making this decision.

Customer Owned Material (COM)

As its label denotes, Customer Owned Material, is customer owned and therefore customer sourced. The basic gist is when working on a hotel project, a designer specifies the fabrics; the purchasing agent makes an estimate of the fabric needed for that job (most of the time this is confirmed by the drapery manufacturer, in their quoting process) and then finds said fabric. The purchasing agent orders it from a textile manufacturer, sets up shipping and logistics and has it delivered to the drapery guys (us)! We take it from there and the cost of the fabric is not included in our bid.

Points to Consider: Sourcing, Lead Times, Cost & Logistics

The sourcing lead time's piece of this puzzle is rather straight forward. As the one buying and delivering the material, in order for it to be made into a treatment, you have to go out and find it in a timely manner. Finding the source of that fabric, contacting them, learning about their stock quantities and lead times for production are all part of the process. The bottom line is that all of this takes time, and time is valuable.

As far as price, depending on a number of factors including the company you work for, your company’s buying power, and the size of the job that you are working on, some textile companies will sell you fabric for an extremely competitive price, but pricing does vary as does lead time. It is important to remember that the customer is responsible for all delays, logistical issues, etc. for any material provided until it is received and inspected by the manufacturer.

All of that to say…

If you have a procurement team that handles the logistical details, you may be all set; but, remember that most manufacturers provide this service as well.

Manufacturer Material

When working on a new Hotel project, the architectural plans and specifications from the designer, are handed over to the drapery manufacturer, there’s an agreement to pay what they have quoted for the fabric alongside everything else and… well that’s actually it on your end (hooray!).

Points to Consider: Cost & Trust

When the drapery manufacturer either has or purchases the fabric according to the specs provided for a certain project the biggest advantage for you, the customer, is that it eases two burdens; risk and time.

When a manufacturer buys the fabric they ask all the questions, work with design as needed and inherit all logistical responsibility. We check lead times and quantities, we know that we may have to add extra time for FR treatment (see our post “5 Flammability Ratings for Textiles used in Hospitality & Healthcare”) in certain cases and other nuances. We calculate shipping costs, do the research on substitutes and deal with the headache of fabrics that don’t pass inspection. Basically, we are incurring the risk. For this, we will place a small mark-up on the fabric (typically 5%), but it is simply to cover all costs.

In Conclusion…

You cannot go wrong either way, Customer Owned or Manufacturer Owned, but with this information you will be better equipped to make a decision with confidence. We hope this is helpful for you to consider which option is best for any upcoming projects.