10 Strategies for Home Furnishing Manufacturers to Alleviate Fastener & Packaging Challenges

The furniture manufacturing market continues to grow at a fast pace. According to Grand View Research, the global furniture manufacturing market was valued at over $648 billion in 2021 and is forecasted to expand at a compound growth rate of 5.7% from 2022 to 2030.

Growth of this magnitude is no surprise. At the height of the pandemic, the market witnessed consumers invest more resources into their homes and home offices as shutdowns and remote work took hold. Today, increased disposable income, growth in hospitality and housing sectors and a growing demand for luxury furnishings continue to drive demand.

However, these opportunities are not without challenges. The lack of skilled workers, supply chain shortages and the increased use of automation have manufacturers rethinking strategies to overcome an increasingly complex industry.

Whether you design, cut, shape, assemble or finish furniture products or interior home furnishings like cabinets, you need clear-cut strategies that increase efficiency, reduce manufacturing costs, protect employees from injury and improve the quality of your products.

LINC Systems can help you meet these goals by providing industry expertise along with a wide variety of products and services. Learn how:

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How LINC Systems Helps Home Furniture Manufacturers with Industry Challenges

The pandemic didn’t create supply chain challenges; it only magnified what has plagued manufacturers for years. But it’s not just navigating a complex supply chain that is cause for concern, it’s the subsequent landslide of other business-related impacts, including:

LINC Systems helps frame, upholstery, bedding and cabinet manufacturers overcome industry challenges like these with tools and services that fit your needs. We offer a wide range of fasteners and packaging solutions from leading brands in the industry, including Encore, Hartco, BeA Fasteners, Omer, Bostitch, and many more.

 

1. Overcoming Material Changes and Supply Chain Issues in Your Furniture Manufacturing

Are you having trouble sourcing staples and nails, or are you paying too much? Is your current fastener overkill for your manufacturing needs? Have you had recent operational or material changes?

Sometimes, a solution may be the smallest component in your manufacturing process. The fastener.

Any time there is a material or production change in your operation, a fastener change is also needed. What worked before may not be the best choice for today’s needs. Sounds simple enough, but hardware like staples, nails or clips are often overlooked when assessing budget or production needs.

Furniture manufacturers can overcome challenges like these by evaluating their current materials, tooling and processes and choosing options that better suit their needs. To do so, we recommend furniture manufacturers work with a vendor that can perform an onsite consultation of your operations to uncover areas of inefficiency you may be missing.

Learn more: Fastener Selection Guidelines: Different Types of Fasteners and Their Uses

Choosing the wrong fastener or tooling for applications requiring precision and performance can be costly and dangerous. You run the risk of increased labor and repair costs, voided warranties, poor connection capabilities, leaks, load failure and shorter product life. Inefficiency can result from changes in:

You can realize cost savings simply by evaluating your current production needs and choosing solutions more suited to those applications. The experts at LINC Systems can help you with this challenge.

Learn more: Struggling with Material and Supply Chain Issues in Your Furniture Manufacturing?

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2. Choosing the Right Fastener Finishes to Create Better Joints

Choosing the proper finish on your fasteners is as important as choosing the material your fastener is constructed from. Fasteners often come in contact with other metals and environments that can cause corrosion and oxidation, limiting function and performance. Choosing the wrong finish can impact:

Different applications, materials and environmental conditions require different finishes. Along with plating and galvanization, here are just some of the many finish options we offer: black oxide, zinc oxide, zinc, cadmium, chromate, chromium, and ceramic.

LINC Systems carries fasteners such as corrugated fasteners, furniture clips, hardware, hog rings, nails, rebar tie wire, scrails, screws and staples in various materials and finishes to meet your needs.

Learn more: A Guide to Fastener Finished for Industrial Applications

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3. Overcoming Labor Shortages and Production Slowdowns with Automation

The furniture manufacturing industry is labor-intensive and with qualified talent in short supply, meeting production deadlines is a challenge. Highly repetitive industrial applications like industrial fastening or hand-wrapping pallets require excessive manpower when performed manually.

Without adequate personnel to perform tasks, cycle times and production capacity often come to a grinding halt, significantly impacting overall throughput.

Investing in automating routine tasks like fastening, packaging and palletizing save on material and labor costs.

 

Learn more: How Automated Stretch Wrappers Can Reduce Packaging Costs and Improve Your Business

Automated machines reduce the work humans perform, increase production capabilities and allow businesses to place those workers in positions more suited to their skill set. More importantly, automation can reduce workplace injuries and create a safer work environment.

Additionally, limited access to raw materials and supplies means that errors and defects must be carefully managed to avoid diminished production output. Automated fastening solutions can be dialed into the application’s required specifications, reducing the likelihood of errors and expensive rework.

 

Automated options like the BeA Autotec automated stapler offers home furnishing manufacturers key benefits that include:

Learn more: Labor Shortages and Production Slowdowns? BeA Answers the Call with Automated Fastening Technology

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4. Improve Production, Safety and Quality: A LINC Success Story

Why partner with LINC Systems? Learn how LINC provides value.

LINC Systems partnered with Klaussner Home Furnishings to deliver personalized service, extensive product knowledge and tool repair solutions to reduce downtime and improve safety on their production lines.

Klaussner sought to elevate employee safety and profitability while ensuring efficient operations on their manufacturing lines. With that in mind, Klaussner had three main objectives when selecting a new vendor:

In addition to a great product offering, LINC Systems provided Klaussner with extensive product and application knowledge and regular visits from trained technicians and representatives. Other benefits included:

LINC Systems can help you streamline production with the right tools, fasteners, supplies and expert advice. We offer:

Learn more: LINC’s Automated Packaging Equipment

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5. Achieve Safer Shipping of Furniture Products with High-Quality Packaging Materials

Product damage during shipment is a serious and expensive problem. Replacing damaged products inflates operating costs, doubles shipping costs, creates unhappy customers and puts even more strain on your already limited inventory. That’s why you want to ensure packaged items are not damaged, crushed or ruined in transit.

We recommend customized packaging options and materials to protect from dust, dirt and moisture and curb product damage during shipping, storage and transport.

Custom films for surface protection and specialty packaging solutions can eliminate damage to furniture, cabinetry and other millwork.

Woven polyester strapping is one example of a material advancement that may be a better fit than steel strap for your packaging needs. They are lightweight, cost-effective and as strong as steel but safer to handle.

Learn more: How to Select the Right Strap for Different Applications

Choosing the best options for packaging, shipping and transporting goods can quickly become overwhelming. That’s why calling our team of packaging experts should be step one.

When you schedule a consultation with us, an expert will arrive onsite to evaluate your operations, provide detailed recommendations for improvements and develop customized solutions to your business needs.

For furniture applications, we offer a variety of packaging equipment, such as stretch wrappers, shrink wrappers and palletizers, and related supplies, including:

We’re not limited to one or two equipment and material manufacturers. We work with several of the best manufacturers on the planet, so we can identify the solution that is right for YOU.

A better solution is out there. You just need to know where to look. We can help.

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6. Managing Expenses through Supplier Consolidation

Manufacturers of all sizes struggle with increased raw material prices, fluctuating supply shortages and market volatility. What’s your plan to manage operational costs?

Increase your purchasing power through supplier consolidation with LINC Systems.

By selecting a few choice vendors, you can often expect better pricing, freight, shipping and handling fees, and more personalized service. With fewer purchase orders to manage, you can also expect improved reporting on purchasing activity — helping you make better data-driven purchasing decisions.

Supplier consolidation is one way to streamline your supply chain and eliminate unnecessary expenses from managing multiple invoices. LINC Systems offers a one-stop shop for the products you use every day, such as:

You can manage operational challenges even further when you bring in a consultant. We recommend reaching out to a LINC Systems industry expert. Once they evaluate your current state of operations, they can offer tailored recommendations on process and tooling improvements that can lead to better productivity, improved worker safety and greater profitability.

Learn more: LINC Express Program Delivers Better Efficiency and Supply Chain Management

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7. Use Data to Make Better Business Decisions for Manufacturing of Home Furnishings

By gathering, tracking and analyzing data, furniture manufacturers can improve their operations, reduce costs, improve customer relationships and gain a competitive edge. Up-to-date and accurate data can help you with the following business activities:

At LINC Systems, we see technology as an essential part of serving our customers and helping them to be as productive as possible. We implement industry-leading technology within our organization and in our customer relationships to provide a seamless, efficient experience.

This includes using advanced digital tools to make working with us simple and convenient. Our team works with top-of-the-line software, devices and connectivity for superb and informed customer communications and service.

In addition to providing product knowledge and cost and functionality breakdowns, we can often leave product samples for your team to get a hands-on feel of any product changes before the sale.

We help you understand your operational data, and have other customer-focused tools such as:

✓ A new website with a comprehensive e-commerce platform. Our website lets customers quickly and conveniently search for product information, make online purchases and track orders.

✓ Service LINC, which is a one-of-a-kind parts and tool service ticketing system. This system lets us understand the parts usage and tool data to serve our customers better.

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8. Achieve Cost Savings through Improved Ergonomics

Another indirect way furniture manufacturers manage their supply chain needs and increase productivity is by improving tooling ergonomics.

 

You may be able to improve efficiency and achieve labor savings in your furniture manufacturing operation by using a different line of tools. We have access to tooling manufacturers with a variety of lightweight tools, user-friendly machines and consistent and durable fasteners and application tools, including:

Learn more: Encore Hartco: Fastening Solutions for Furniture and Bedding Manufacturers

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9. Pneumatic Tool Safety Tips for Home Furnishing Manufacturers

Furniture manufacturers, builders and assembly often use tools powered by compressed air. Unlike traditional tools powered by electricity or gas, air tools have their own hazards associated with use.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the most common occupational injuries that occur when using pneumatic tools are getting struck by one of the tool’s attachments or by nails, staples, rivets, or other fasteners used in the tool.

So, how likely are occupational nail gun injuries? Based on a study of apprentices, OSHA found that:

Don’t let this happen to your employees. Read our handy tips to improve your workplace.

Learn more: Top 10 Pneumatic Tool Safety Tips for Improved Workplace Safety

In addition to the physical dangers associated with the tool itself, there are additional safety concerns to consider. Many facilities require multiple shifts throughout the day. That means equipment and tools like pneumatic nailers, sanders, buffers or spray guns are used around the clock. Any defect or equipment failure due to overuse can lead to serious injuries, increased downtime and loss of production. Other risk factors include:

Read all about the best ways to avoid situations like these by following step-by-step pneumatic tool maintenance best practices:

Learn more: 6 Steps to Better Pneumatic Air Tool Repair and Maintenance

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10. Prioritizing Employee Safety Training and Tool Performance

LINC Systems offers repair services on all major brands of pneumatic and strapping tools for the highest level of performance. To ensure your pneumatic tools are in optimal condition, we provide regularly scheduled onsite tool repair services performed by trained technicians.

StaySafe! Safety Training for Pneumatic Tools

When was the last time you took a good look at your pneumatic tool safety program? Without regular hazard assessments, your business and your employees could be at risk. But with a proper air tool safety program, your company can experience increased safety awareness, fewer accidents and injuries, lower workers’ compensation costs and improved company morale.

With our Stay Safe! Safety Program, you can expect to receive:

Learn more: Stay Safe! Safety Training

   

LINC Systems is proud to carry a variety of fasteners, industrial supply and packaging products from top-rated brands. We also have the services you need to manage your operations more efficiently. If you would like to consolidate your supply needs and start saving time and money, contact us today by calling 800.513.9918 or visit LINCsystems.com.