Miami contracts with River City Furniture for furniture repairs, purchases and moves

By Robert Bell, Physical Facilities Planning, Architecture, and Engineering

Miami University has contracted with River City Furniture (RCF Group, Inc.) for furniture repairs, purchases, and moves.

RCF Group is experienced with Miami furniture purchases and services and assisted in developing Miami’s design standards. The ten-year contract for furniture-related services will save the university money through negotiated pricing, allow Physical Facilities resources to be redirected to higher value needs and support implementation of new design standards. 

How to access services

Effective immediately, all staff/faculty will use Buyway to request services and make small quantity furniture purchases.  At right is a screenshot of the Buyway catalog button to use for furniture requests.

The different types of services are grouped:

1.1 Service - Furniture service/repair (Non-Residence Hall),

2.1 - 2.3 Services – student room

3.1 and 3.2 Service Quote - for furniture or content moves

4.1 – 4.3 Chair Purchase - for task and side chairs

5.1 – 5.6 Desk Purchase - for office desks

6.1 – 6.6 Filing Purchase – for filing drawer unites

7.1 – 7.3 Storage Purchase - for bookcases

8.1 -8.3 Storage Purchase - for lateral filing units

User Guides for how to use Buyway for Furniture Services can be found here: Furniture Services User Guides.

Users should receive acknowledgement of their online order/request within one business day.

Emergencies can be handled by calling RCF Group directly at 513-612-7303.

This number is also listed under the Service-Furniture Visit (non -residence hall) page. RCF Group will acknowledge within one hour of verbal communication or voicemail to RCF Group.

What this means for departments

All furniture purchases will be fulfilled by RCF Group. The university has negotiated pricing for new furniture, and users will know total cost before orders are placed. 

For small quantities of office furniture such as task chairs, desks, and bookshelves, users will be able to purchase items directly using Buyway.

For larger quantities or furniture purchases associated with a project managed by Physical Facilities, a quote will be obtained before purchase. This will ensure that the university receives the best pricing. All purchases will be restricted to the university’s new design standards.

Please note two significant changes that are now in place:

1. Some services that were not previously charged will now be performed for a fee with the requesting department responsible for the cost.
2. Furniture repairs and moves will not go through the Service Request portal on the PFD website. These should be initiated in Buyway. This change is necessary to facilitate RCF Group performing the work and the appropriate department being charged for those services.

Exceptions and special circumstances:

Projects: furniture needs that are necessitated through a project managed by Planning, Architecture and Engineering will be purchased through the Project Manager assigned to the project.

Systems furniture (cubicles) will also be fulfilled by RCF Group, but will be managed through a PFD Project Manager. Requests for systems furniture purchases or reconfigurations can be initiated with Tracey Soppanish, Senior Interior Designer, at soppanth@miamioh.edu.

Note: RCF can move various items including scientific equipment, items requiring special handling procedures, and fragile items.

Users can request a quote for special items using the 3.2 Service move quote Request item in the catalog. 

Additional information: 

Requests that are entered into the facility Service Request portal that will be performed by RCF will be rejected and sent back to the user with instructions to go through Buyway.

Most repairs and task chair purchases will be fulfilled within 3 days.

All users will be asked to participate in a short survey to help the university assess the furniture services contract. As this change is implemented there will be Miami staff monitoring RCF Group’s performance.

Our goal with implementing this new relationship is to provide the best customer service and should result in faster resolutions to furniture issues in most situations. Thank you for helping make this transition successful.

• Questions regarding the changes to furniture services or the design guidelines can be directed to Tracey Soppanish, Senior Interior Designer, at soppanth@miamioh.edu.