Introducing The Designing Link!

First things first - thank you so much for stopping by our brand new website and blog to take a stroll and see what we are all about.  We are thrilled to be getting started with this very ambitious venture and we really look forward to sharing the path to success with you!

The Designing Link was created to fill a void.  Our industry has been missing a connection and an efficiency in our communication model between vendors and designers.  In the past, before a designer could select, propose, or specify a product they needed to contact each individual company to get all of the information about shipping, policies, lead times, minimum orders, payment types, and so on and then do it over and over again for each project, generating tens of unbillable hours per week or month.  As for the vendors, in order to satisfy the needs of the designers so they could request order placement they were constantly answering the same questions day-in and day-out instead of spending their time focusing on expediting orders.  (Maybe these things sound a bit familiar to you...)

We at The Designing Link say to you, "let's get organized, get on the same vendor database "page", and make and save some money!".

Our goal is to make redundancy a thing of the past.  The Designing Link is basically our industry's organizational make-over.

Here are some of the great benefits of The Designing Link for our members and our vendors together:

• It's Comprehensive:
  • We request answers to an incredibly comprehensive list of questions from each and every vendor so you don't have to.  
• We're open 24/7:
  • Our members have access to the entire database, every vendor, and all of their information 24/7.  For the first time, time zones will not dictate when you are able to work on sourcing, proposing, or specifying.
• It's current:
  • We ask the vendors to let us know how frequently changes occur within their company so we know the frequency of updates we need to monitor. 
• PRICES, PRICES, PRICES!
  • Oh, we have all been there... "How can I specify this product if I can't get a hold of the price without wasting a bunch of time requesting it each and every time I select an item?".  The answer is simple - get a membership to The Designing Link.  The majority of our vendors provide their price lists so you have access to them 24/7.  (We still recommend double checking pricing before proposing exact prices as there could be a lag in the time of price changes to when the vendors post the new list on our site)
• It has never been so easy to get the requirements to set up an account with a vendor:
  • We provide you with a list of the required forms to be completed or materials they need from you to apply for an account.
• It saves our members time:
  • Instead of making a ton of phone calls and searching all over the web to get the answers you are seeking, go to one place every time.
  • You can remain logged in for the entire workday and continue to reference information for each project from any vendor you like.
  • If you have vendors you work with a lot or would like to, send us a request at info@thedesigninglink.com and we will contact the vendors in an attempt to setup their free account in the Vendor Database so you have access to their information.
• It saves our members money:
  • Instead of spending hours gathering information for a project, take a couple of minutes to look up the information in the database and spend the time you saved to complete billable tasks.
• It saves our vendors time:
  • Instead of spending the day answering or returning phone calls and emails filled with the same questions you answer day-in and day-out about your company's terms, policies, typicals, etc. contact us to create your account where all of the answers can be for you to refer your customers if they aren't already our member.
• It saves our vendors money:
  • Instead of wasting time responding with answers to the same old questions, the designers will either go to our site on their own or you can refer them to our site and you can get back to expediting orders, taking orders and working on obtaining new accounts.

There are so many other benefits to having a membership with The Designing Link, and we know that you will find your own favorites once you begin your membership.  When you are ready to save yourself time and money, visit the Sign Up! page and get your subscription application started!  Once you do, we would love to hear back from you to learn of the benefits you realize for yourself and your company. Happy sourcing!