OEM vs ODM furniture: what is the difference?
In furniture manufacturing, OEM (original equipment manufacturing) means you bring the design, as drawings or a physical piece, and the factory builds to it. ODM (original design manufacturing) means the factory develops the design and you put your label on the result. OEM gives you more control and usually ownership of the drawings, but someone has to produce them; ODM is faster and cheaper to start, but the design may not be exclusively yours.
Private labelBy E and J Furniture, Los Angeles CountyUpdated 3 min read
Ready to price a piece? Drawings, a photo or a tearsheet is enough to start a program brief.
Send a program briefHow OEM works: you bring the design
You arrive with a tech pack (the drawings, dimensions, materials and hardware a factory builds from), a dimensioned sketch or a physical piece to work from. The factory quotes against that specification and builds a sample. Once you sign off on the sample, production is checked against it.
The advantage is control: your program agreement can name you as the owner of the drawings and make the design exclusive to you. The cost is that somebody has to do the design work first, and every gap in the tech pack becomes a decision the factory makes for you. Our OEM furniture manufacturing page shows how we build to your design.
How ODM works: the factory brings the design
The factory offers one of its existing designs or develops one with you, and you choose the covering, finish and hardware. Development is shorter when the frame and patterns already exist. Once you change the dimensions or construction, you're into the hybrid below.
Settle exclusivity before production. If the base design stays available to other brands, you're closer to white label than to private label, and your line can turn up under somebody else's name.
The hybrid: an existing silhouette adapted to your drawings
Many programs sit between the two: an existing silhouette, such as one from our library of production silhouettes, re-scaled, re-specced and re-covered until little of the original remains, with your drawings governing the result. You start from a frame and patterns that have already been through production, and the finished piece reads as your own.
Settle in writing, before production, who owns the resulting drawings and what stays shared. At E and J Furniture, both are set out in your program agreement; see how our private-label programs work.
| Point of comparison | OEM | ODM | Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the design comes from | You: drawings, a tech pack or a physical piece | The factory: an existing silhouette, or one developed with you | An existing silhouette, re-scaled, re-specced and re-covered to your drawings |
| Who owns the drawings | Usually you; the program agreement names the owner | Settle it in writing; the base design may remain the factory's | Settle it in writing before production |
| Can another brand buy it? | Not if your program agreement makes it exclusive | Yes, unless the factory agrees to withhold the base design from other brands | It depends on how much of the original remains; agree on it up front |
| Up-front cost and time | Highest: design work, and often more sample rounds | Lowest when the design already exists; higher when it's developed with you | In between |
Common questions
What does OEM stand for in furniture?
Original equipment manufacturer (or manufacturing). In furniture it means a factory that builds pieces to another company's design, which that company sells under its own name, not the factory's.
What is ODM furniture?
Furniture built under the original design manufacturing model: the factory develops the design, and you sell the pieces under your label, often adapted to your specification. Settle in writing whether another brand can buy the same base design.
Is OEM more expensive than ODM?
Usually not per unit. Any extra cost tends to come up front, in the design work and the extra sample rounds a new design can take. The guide to what sets the price of a private-label upholstered piece covers the other cost factors.
Can a brand start with ODM and move to OEM later?
Yes. A first run on a factory design tests demand, and the next version can be drawn as your own design. Have your program agreement name who owns the drawings that result.
Keep reading
Your program
Building to your own design? Put the drawings in a program brief.
Paste links to any drawings or photographs and tell us how many you need. No minimum order: a program can start at a single piece, and lead time is 4–8 weeks, plus freight.
Only your name and email are required. We reply by email with questions, or with a quote if the brief has enough to price.