Marketing research for the production of furniture is necessary due to the high competition in this line of business.
Ease of organization of production and modern technologies are pushing many entrepreneurs to create a small business for the production of furniture . Nevertheless, in almost any city, there are always free niches that are not occupied by competitors. To identify them and determine the specialization of furniture production, as well as the calculation of profitability, it is necessary to conduct a qualitative marketing research.
Furniture production: competitor analysis
First of all, it is necessary to identify all competitors operating in the market, as well as the list of their offers, pricing policy, and the level of quality and speed of order fulfillment. At the same time, it should be taken into account that there are many intermediaries on the market who only accept and issue orders, without having their own production.
When identifying the level of competition, it is also necessary to take into account the work of various online stores that accept orders on behalf of large manufacturers. Having processed the information received, it is possible to determine the specialization of the future furniture production. At the same time, you can also plan attempts to conclude contracts with intermediaries, transferring order flows to your enterprise. This can only be done if the new enterprise can provide services at lower prices, higher quality, and in a shorter time frame.
Furniture production: choosing a location
Having determined the direction of specialization, you can begin to search for premises for production.
At the first stage, a room of 20-40 square meters is enough to organize production.
However, in the future, as the volume of production grows, it will be necessary to expand the production facilities. In addition, it is necessary to provide additional space for storing materials and finished products.
The production premises can be combined with the premises for receiving and issuing orders, and can even be located at the other end of the city. The separate location of production facilities and customer service points is also due to the fact that it is often effective to combine an order acceptance point with a small finished goods store, which is also an exhibition of product quality samples.
Order pickup points and finished goods stores operate more efficiently in the city center or in places of mass movement of potential customers. It is more profitable to place production premises in an industrial zone or on the outskirts of the city, where the cost of premises and rent are much lower.
How much does it cost to open a furniture factory?
The initial cost of a small furniture manufacturing business will consist of the costs of:
— for the purchase or lease of premises;
-repair, registration and equipment of points for receiving orders and a store for finished products;
-equipment of the production premises;
-purchases of tools and technological equipment;
— expenses for computers and software;
— the cost of registering an enterprise and an advertising campaign.
For the initial technological equipment of a small business for the production of furniture, it is necessary to have computer programs for the preparation of design and construction of furniture, as well as the optimal cutting of sheets of furniture materials.
As for technological equipment, at the first stage it is enough to have just tools, such as screwdrivers and drills, milling and grinding machines, electric jigsaws and end saws, industrial hair dryers, furniture staplers and so on.
The initial cost for tool kits is typically in the tens of thousands of dollars.
As production develops, in order to improve the quality and speed of order fulfillment, it will be necessary to additionally purchase glass processing and metal processing equipment, as well as panel saws and edge banding machines.
The cost of such equipment is already hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can be done through credit or leasing schemes, if income is sufficient to cover loan obligations.
The operating costs of a small furniture manufacturing business traditionally consist of the cost of purchasing materials and fittings, salaries of employees, transportation costs, rent and utility bills, communications and equipment maintenance costs. To increase the flow of orders, you will have to spend money on advertising.
To calculate the profitability of a small furniture manufacturing business, as well as prepare a business plan , you can use the calculator posted on our website.
However, you can better order more accurate calculations and a ready-made business plan on our website .