What is COL, and how much leather does the chair need?

COL means customer's own leather: leather supplied for a piece instead of chosen from the furniture maker's standard cover program. It resembles COM, customer's own material, but leather is specified by square footage and usable hides rather than simply by fabric yardage.

Picture a customer arriving with two hides from a Tuscan tannery and a chair whose COM chart calls for 6 yards. The useful answer begins with an estimate, then the maker's approval. Two handsome hides can still be the wrong quantity or shape for the required panels. Leather has not agreed to behave like a rectangle.

Why does the estimate use 18 square feet per yard?

A linear yard of 54-inch-wide fabric has an area of 13.5 square feet: 4.5 feet wide × 3 feet long. Leather hides are irregular, and the entire measured area may not be usable for the required cuts. KOVI's leather-ordering guide uses an estimating allowance of 18 square feet per fabric yard to account for waste.

Treat that as a planning rule, not a guarantee of usable leather. A large uninterrupted panel can need a hide with the right cutting shape even when the total square footage looks sufficient. The manufacturer's own requirement for the exact piece takes precedence over the conversion.

What does the chair example work out to?

For an illustrative chair requiring 6 yards of the stated baseline fabric, the estimate is 6 × 18 = 108 square feet. Suppose the proposed hides are each 50 square feet. Two provide 100 square feet, which is below the estimate; three provide 150 square feet before cutting suitability is assessed.

Round the purchasing plan to the hides actually available, using their measured sizes and the maker's cutting requirement. Don't order “three hides” without checking what those particular hides contain. Their shape, marks, and the panels needed can change the practical answer.

Should you send half hides or full hides?

Ask the maker which format its cutting plan accepts. Half hides provide less uninterrupted cutting area, and patterned or directional material may need additional allowance. A maker's COM and COL yardage guidance illustrates that these material conditions can change the requirement.

Use the maker's instructions for the actual order rather than borrowing another factory's percentage allowance. Keep the approval tied to the leather type, finish, thickness, and selected color. The leather-types guide helps distinguish those descriptions before the material goes to production.

Can the COM chart be used as the final leather order?

Use the COM chart as a starting point only when the maker permits that conversion. Obtain a COL requirement for the exact model and configuration before shipping. A fabric chart may assume a particular width, plain material, and cutting orientation that don't describe the customer's leather.

Arrange material approval and inspection before cutting. The factory can reject unsuitable hides, so establish its acceptance requirements and when production timing begins. Record whether all approved material must arrive before the production clock starts, then explain that starting event to the customer.

Keep the material shipment identifiable to the furniture order and agree how unused leather will be handled. Preserve the maker's reply with purchasing. A clear approval record is more useful than a note saying the leather “looked fine” in the showroom.

How does COL fit into an OrderPilot quote?

Offer COL as a value on the Cover option, with its own selling-price addition, cost, and lead-time information. A COL square feet Number option can appear only when Cover = COL, with the appropriate bounds and unit. Enter the approved quantity rather than allowing the estimating formula to pose as factory approval.

The configured specification carries to the vendor PO. Lead time is visible on the Admin line and optional website block, rather than printing automatically on the PO or quote PDF. Communicate the agreed production and delivery expectation explicitly, with the material approval and arrival conditions in view.

Put the appropriate material terms with the agreement before signing; the signed terms are frozen. Keep any COM or COL upcharge distinct from the leather quantity so staff can explain what the customer is paying for.

Start with the product-template guide to model the choice. The finished record should answer which leather, how much, who approved it, and what must arrive before the maker begins.

Sources

1. Specifying leather, part 1 — KOVI Fabrics, 2022. Vendor estimating rule and preference for the maker's required quantity.
2. COM yardage guide — Vanguard Furniture. Maker-specific material and quantity conditions.