Gaming properties operate in an extremely competitive environment in which guest experience drives revenue and interior design plays a significant role in driving guest engagement. How can a casino or tribe deliver great FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) design without breaking the bank?
The largest companies in the gaming industry have tried to do this in-house and been unable to succeed. And small companies are often overwhelmed by the effort required in the attempt.
Smart casino companies turn to experts to leverage the buying power and expertise of a large-volume FF&E and OS&E (operating supplies and equipment) purchasing company, like Purchasing Management International and PMI-Tribal Services (PMI). Buying big in FF&E and OS&E purchasing for new construction and renovation of casinos depends on product knowledge, sourcing expertise, and diligent, dedicated project expediting.
FF&E and OS&E project purchasing require extensive product knowledge, both from a usability perspective and a value perspective. Qualified purchasing companies can help owners and designers source product in a way that enables designers to push their creativity to the edge while still considering the challenges of the gaming environment.
Engaging a qualified purchasing company early in the conceptual development of a project will provide guidance on where to allocate resources and how to truly value-engineer FF&E. Typically, value engineering on the FF&E portion occurs too late, and leaves owners with no choice but to cut the budget. By engaging in conceptual budgeting early on, the casino development team can deliver great design. It can value-engineer the guest experience where the most value in the FF&E portion of a project budget is guest-facing and guest-engaging. Knowing how to do this requires an understanding of product costs, production sources, and time constraints. From there, projects large and small begin the process of getting the most out of their development dollars.
Once a conceptual budget has been established, a qualified purchasing company can begin sourcing product within the constraints set by the budget. A purchasing company with extensive experience in the gaming industry understands the durability required for FF&E in a casino environment.
Large-volume casino purchasing companies are well-informed in which products wear over time and which manufacturers provide the kind of durable, beautiful product required in the gaming environment. Large-volume purchasing companies have the resources to engage in global sourcing to find the best products at the best prices, meeting both the design and performance requirements of high-design casino developments. To properly source those products, owners must direct their design teams to provide biddable specifications for all FF&E. This means even if a designer firm has a specified vendor as a baseline, it needs to be open to work with other qualified manufacturers.
Given the current volatility in the global manufacturing environment, having resources in multiple manufacturing locations reduces the global supply risk without compromising design or budget considerations. A large-volume purchasing agent will be able to provide an evaluation of multiple bids and insight into cost drivers, manufacturing location and capacity and available alternates across a wide spectrum of global project pricing information.
Once the product has been effectively sourced and ordered, getting the product to the project on time is another way a purchasing company delivers significant value to its clients. Buying big in this instance means the purchasing company has a method of purchasing management and expediting that leverages purchasing volume to move its projects to the front of the line. A purchasing company with established vendor relationships can move product extremely efficiently.
A purchasing company’s expediting procedures must include diligent follow-up with the vendors, the designers, and the owner’s project manager. Managing the time constraints of a casino project is unique because of the compounding nature of gaming revenue. A large-volume purchasing company has the staff resources and expediting training to work at a fast pace with accuracy and efficiency.
At PMI, there’s a team of people solely dedicated to project expediting. Project expeditors enable designers to be efficient, expose risks to project schedules and empower owners to make informed decisions about project milestones.
Owners with large and small casino projects recognize that project purchasing has unique requirements, and their project execution excellence can be amplified when they partner with a qualified large-volume FF&E and OS&E purchasing company that specializes in the gaming industry.
