Office Furniture - Managing a Specification Change After Orders Are Placed

Record the change in the job record immediately - product affected, current and requested specification, date, and requester. Do not contact the manufacturer until documented.

Contact the manufacturer to confirm whether the order can be amended, the restocking or cancellation fee, and any lead time reset. Get the response in writing.

Calculate restocking fee (15-25% standard, 30-50% custom), price difference between original and replacement, revised freight, and any installation schedule cost from a lead time extension.

Send the customer a formal change order showing the full cost breakdown and updated lead time. Written approval is required before any supplier action is taken.

No supplier communication proceeds until written customer approval is confirmed. A verbal agreement is not sufficient.

Cancel or amend the original PO, note the change order approval reference, and obtain a revised written acknowledgment from the manufacturer with the updated specification and delivery date.

Revise the works order with the new specification and updated lead time. Adjust the installation schedule if the delivery date has changed.

Add restocking fee, price difference, and any other change costs as separate named line items on the final invoice, each referencing the change order number and approval date.

Customers request specification changes verbally and we absorb the restocking fees because we contact the manufacturer before getting the cost approved in writing.

When a change is made we update the works order but forget to update the purchase order - so the delivery arrives with the original, wrong specification and we have to reorder.

Restocking fees and price differences end up buried in email threads rather than captured in the job record, and they get missed entirely when the final invoice is raised.

What is a typical restocking fee on a furniture order change?

Manufacturers typically charge 15-25% of the original product value for changes to standard stocked items such as a fabric reselect or finish change on a current-range product. For custom or bespoke finishes - discontinued fabrics, special RAL paint references, bespoke timber finishes - fees of 30-50% are common, and some manufacturers will not accept cancellations once production has started.

Can the customer be charged for a specification change they requested?

Yes, and this should be established in the original order confirmation. Including a change management clause - stating that any customer-initiated specification change after order placement is subject to the manufacturer's restocking fees plus an administration charge - gives you the written basis to recover the full cost. Pass the restocking fee through at actual cost and add your administration charge as a separate named line item.