Outsourcing Revisited: Expanding Capacity, Skills and Profitability in Today’s Cabinet Shop

Historically, outsourcing is not a new idea in woodworking. Colonial craftsmen in America often specialized and outsourced parts cooperatively to make furniture. One shop would sculpt seats and arms, another turned legs and stretchers, and upholstery was almost always a specialist skill. Historians have found extensive business records mapping out the flow of parts. And while a single person or shop can still craft entire projects in-house, the same economics that encouraged outsourcing then still apply today. The tools, equipment and skills required to build a cabinet box are not the same as those needed for making stile and rail doors.

A general contractor doing an addition or remodel may subcontract a local shop to build and install the cabinets needed. But they also have the option to buy cabinets built to order and install the cabinets themselves. This can save money, provide more quality control, and allow for more options if any of the other contractor phases run late.

Companies like Cabinets Quick (cabinetsquick.com) allow you to order semi-custom cabinets online for delivery to your site. It offers catalogs specific to kitchen, garage and closet cabinetry, and the option to order doors and drawers. They work with laminate suppliers for commercial applications and source quality veneered plywoods for residential projects. European-style high gloss finishes are also available, which can be difficult for smaller shops to produce.

Buying cabinets from domestic suppliers typically offers the advantage of shorter lead times, easier communication with suppliers, and lower shipping costs. CabParts (cabparts.com) is another outsource option for buying cabinets that emphasizes the advantages of local production. Companies like this provide installers with the advantages of a fully equipped manufacturing facility so they can focus on providing their clients with the best possible installation quality and experience. A look inside the CabParts factory shows the complete line of equipment that is “available” to their outsourcing clients without having to own it.

Ordering doors and drawers has always been a popular choice for outsourcing just because it is often easier, especially for smaller shops. Radiused doors and drawers can add a lot of drama to a kitchen design and outsourcing them through a firm like Décor-ative Specialties (decore.com) eliminates the drama of building them yourself.

This company, like many that provide outsourced parts, grew out of the demand from shops looking to buy particular pieces for the job at hand rather than entire cabinets. But many outsourcers have expanded their offerings over the years to supply their customers with the entire build rather than only specific parts. One advantage of this for the buyer is knowing that all the fit and finishes will be matched across the job without needing to blend parts from different sources. And very difficult parts, like the curved doors and drawers offered by Décor-Ative Specialties, do not need to be engineered and built locally.

Most cabinet shops are set up to make kitchens, closets and baths from sheet goods, but solid wood components, especially large ones, need a different set of tools, skills and finishes. This is where outsourcing can save costs and expand a shop’s product range.

Conestoga Wood Specialties (conestogawood.com) specializes in solid wood products beyond its line of RTA cabinets, including solid wood doors, drawers, posts, columns, corbels and range hoods.

For example, Elias Woodworking (eliaswoodwork.com) has introduced a line of ‘modern’ range hoods, available in both wood and thermofoil finishes, to meet the growing demand for contemporary kitchen aesthetics. Elias also offers assemble-on-site (AOS) Elite Cabinetry flat-pack casework, available in either white or classic maple furniture board, or a UV finished birch plywood. The parts can be edge-banded in white or various matching wood grains, and the boxes can be assembled on the jobsite or in the woodshop using either preinstalled Lockdowel hardware that requires only a rubber mallet and glue (no screws) for assembly, or a screw and dowel process.

Vista Finishing (vistafinishing.com) also offers pre-finished custom range hoods, plus corbels, posts, crown and light rail moldings with a custom color or color-matched.

Cabinotch (cabinotch.us) offers another approach to cabinet outsourcing. The company manufactures RTA cabinets using a proprietary notch joint system, producing plywood components on CNC machines that contractors can assemble on-site. Following its acquisition of KCD Software, Cabinotch has integrated design and manufacturing workflows. Contractors can now use KCD's design software to create cabinet layouts, then send specifications directly to Cabinotch for production and shipping — eliminating the need to own manufacturing equipment or design software.

KCD’s software creates photo realistic images to assist in the sales process and instantly provides pricing and ordering info to speed the process. Customers can order just the cabinet boxes or doors, drawers and hardware as needed. This concept should certainly appeal to those who have limited shop space, specialize in installing, or are primarily focused on renovating existing spaces.

Outsourcing can help solve another problem that many trade centered businesses are facing; the shortage of experienced workers. You may have a solid team that can mill and assemble plywood sheets into cabinets, but you may lack the people who are skilled in working solid wood, or worse, finishing it. In many areas of the country, finishing booths are harder and harder to install or expand. This is where ordering cabinet face frames, doors and drawer fronts from a supplier like Arkansas Wood Doors (arkansaswooddoors.com) begins to make a lot of sense.

Arkansas Wood Doors started as a supplier of solid wood doors and now offers RTA cabinets and some unique accessories such as corner shelves, floating shelves, built-in options and drawers inserts.

Outsourcing differs from hiring subcontractors, and whether it makes sense for your company depends on factors you must weigh carefully. To make this decision, you need a clear understanding of your actual cost structure.

When I ran cabinet shops, we used base pricing for a lower cabinet with one drawer and door, then added charges for each additional drawer. We priced this way because drawer construction requires different processes than cabinet building, despite both being boxes.

If you don't know what a drawer box costs to build, finish, install, and adjust, you cannot determine whether outsourcing makes economic sense. Understanding your company's costs is essential for this decision. If you haven't analyzed costs recently, your outsourcing calculus may have changed.

Before the internet, outsourcing doors and drawers meant flipping through catalogs and completing paper forms to mail. The process was laborious, lead times were long, and customization options were limited. These extended lead times forced us to order drawers immediately after design approval. Since clients often change their minds, we needed clear change-order policies when ordering parts in advance.

Today's ordering process is streamlined, lead times have shortened, and the risk-benefit equation has shifted. Compare your current internal costs against vendor estimates for each job. Remember that outsourcing isn't necessarily all or nothing — many companies handle smaller jobs in-house while outsourcing components for larger projects. This approach helps absorb new business without immediate hiring commitments and provides time to recruit and train staff properly.

Outsourcing vendors operate nationwide, and online ordering eliminates geographic constraints. However, regional suppliers can reduce shipping time and costs. Ask potential vendors about their policies for handling mistakes, shipping damage and losses. Request references — talking with other contractors often reveals important questions you hadn't considered.

Review outsourcing options regularly as your business environment evolves. What worked yesterday may not be the most cost-effective choice today.

Find outsourcing vendors at resourceguide.woodshopnews.com

Originally published in the June 2026 issue of Woodshop News.