Once the design has been approved, it’s time to start placing orders and tracking their arrival. When navigating the process (and pitfalls) of procurement, what’s the best approach?

Earlier this year, San Diego–based designer Susan Wintersteen was anxiously awaiting a shipment of already-late chandeliers from overseas when her procurement specialist received a call that the order had been delivered to a different location: the bottom of the ocean. The container had fallen off the ship, lost to the waves.

Not every designer’s procurement headache starts at sea, but the task is universally stressful. “It’s a challenge for all studios, big and small,” says San Francisco–based designer Emilie Munroe. “Design is subjective. If you love it and your clients love it, then the failure doesn’t happen there. The mistakes all happen in the procurement, expediting, tracking, purchasing, delivering and installation side of the business.”