Projects and procurement
Buying Kitchens Direct From the Manufacturer: A UK Guide
Key points
- Buying factory-direct removes one or more distributor margins from every kitchen.
- The risks are quality, communication and logistics; each can be managed.
- Check the supplier is a genuine manufacturer, approve samples, and arrange pre-shipment inspection.
- Choose an Incoterm that matches your experience: DDP if you want one delivered price.
Most kitchens on UK sites pass through several hands: a factory, an exporter, an importer or distributor, sometimes a merchant. Each adds a margin. For a scheme of fifty or five hundred homes, buying direct from the manufacturer can free up a meaningful share of the kitchen budget, money that can go back into specification or margin.
What you gain
- Price. No distributor margin on any plot, on any phase.
- Specification control. You talk to the people who make the cabinets, so construction, materials and finishes are what you agreed.
- Consistency. One factory, one set of codes, so phase three matches phase one.
- One supplier for more. Kitchens, vanities, wardrobes and internal doors on one order.
What to manage
1. Is it really a manufacturer?
Many "factories" are trading companies. Ask for factory addresses, photographs and videos of production, certifications (ISO 9001, FSC chain of custody) and references. Better still, visit or send an inspector. See our factories.
2. Quality
Approve sample doors and a sample cabinet before production. Agree the specification in writing by order code: carcass material and thickness, drawer box, hinges, runners and finish. Arrange independent pre-shipment inspection; any serious manufacturer will welcome it.
3. Sizes and compatibility
Insist on UK modular sizes in millimetres, not converted inch sizes, so worktops, appliances and fitting practice all work. Read our UK kitchen sizes guide.
4. Logistics
Agree the Incoterm (see our Incoterms guide), the packing (labelled by plot), the loading plan and the delivery point. If you have never imported, DDP gives you one delivered price.
5. Compliance
Ask for E1 or CARB Phase 2 test reports and the supply-chain documents you need for UK Timber Regulation due diligence. See our UKTR guide.
A checklist for your first order
- Factory credentials, certificates and references checked
- Specification agreed by order code
- Samples approved and retained as the standard
- Inspection booked before shipment
- Incoterm, payment terms and warranty agreed in writing
- Carton labelling and loading plan agreed
We are a manufacturer, with our own factories and 25+ years of supplying the US market. Send us your house types for an itemised quotation.
About the author. Written by Sanyang's design and technical team, drawing on more than 25 years of manufacturing kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and more than 500 containers a month shipped to the United States. About Sanyang.
