What are the Customer’s Own Material (COM) program enhancements?
We have created a more seamless experience when specifying your favorite COMs by working with 16 industry-leading textile suppliers to proactively review, test, grade, and assign product eligibility for all textiles in their offerings. New textiles offered by these 15 suppliers, including all colors, will be added as selections in the COM library as patterns are introduced, tested, and approved.
Which textile suppliers are included in this enhanced COM process?
The list includes these popular and well-known textile suppliers:
- Anzea
- Arc-Com
- Architex
- Camira
- Carnegie
- CF Stinson
- DesignTex
- Knoll Textiles
- Kvadrat
- Luna Textiles
- Luum
- Maharam
- Mayer Fabrics
- Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering
- Ultrafabrics
Will more textile suppliers in addition to the 15 participating suppliers be added in the future, creating even more pre-approved COMs?
We will continue to review the textiles being submitted through the standard COM approval process and consider adding additional textile suppliers based on volume of COM requests.
Why are we proactively adding these textiles?
A larger repository of pre-approved COMs will reduce specification, selling, and ordering time, creating a streamlined user experience and resulting in a higher approval rate for all requested COMs.
Does this mean every textile from these participating suppliers is approved as a COM?
No. We will still need to restrict the use of some textiles on some or all products to maintain our high-quality standards. We have worked closely with our COM team to streamline manufacturing processes and are saying “Yes” more often, with the COM approval rate increasing from 40% to 91% since the implementation of the enhancements and process improvements.
Will a textile introduced three years ago by a participating textile supplier be offered as an approved COM?
Yes. All textiles offered by the 16 participating textile suppliers have been tested. However, we will still need to restrict some textiles on some or all products to maintain our high-quality standards.
How can I specify the approved COM textiles?
All approved COM textiles offered by the 16 participating textile suppliers are syndicated within CET, allowing designers to render HBF furniture with their selected textiles for more accurate and realistic visualization. HNI is the only major contract furniture company offering this feature in CET, ensuring a better design experience.
Will all approved COMs, including textiles not offered by the participating suppliers, be retroactively added to CET?
No. Only textiles offered by the 16 participating textile suppliers that have been approved as COMs will be syndicated within CET.
How can I view the approved COM textiles?
The COM search tool and hbf.com have been updated to include COM textile information, with continuous updates as new textiles are introduced and approved.
If I cannot find my textile in the COM search tool, on hbf.com, or in CET, do I have to follow the standard COM process to have it approved?
Yes. Your COM textile will need to be requested on a specific product and go through the standard COM approval process. If it passes testing, a textile order code and grade will be created for only the requested product.
Has the standard COM approval process changed or are the steps still the same?
There are no changes to the current COM approval process. If your textile is not a pattern offered by one of the 15 participating textile suppliers, or has not been approved as a COM previously, you will need to follow the standard COM process to have your textile tested and approved on your requested product.
Aren’t these COM process enhancements simply an expansion of the current graded-in textile program?
The enhancements are an extension of our Manufacturer to Supply COM program where HBF purchases the textile to provide the most hassle-free experience in the contract furniture industry.
What is an MTS Order Code?
MTS stands for Manufacturer to Supply. Use this code when placing an order if HBF will purchase the approved COM fabric directly from the supplier.
What is a DTS Order Code?
DTS stands for Dealer to Supply. Use this code when placing an order if the dealer/customer will send the approved COM fabric to HBF.
How can I learn more about the COM approval process and these new program enhancements?
If you have questions, please contact: HBFCOMTeam@hbf.com
To locate the current Approved HBF Textiles Matrix