This questionnaire was initiated by the DesignLinker Cross-border Industry Matching Research Group. Its core objective is to quantify the real pain points, functional preferences, and willingness to pay of global independent furniture/home designers in the process of seeking cross-border flexible production capacity landing, original property rights protection, and process collaboration. This questionnaire strictly adheres to the principle of anonymity in academic research, and all data will be used for academic analysis only. Expected completion time: 6-8 minutes.
1. What is your current core career status and team size? Independent Designer (Fully Freelancer/Independent Business) Emerging design brand founder/personal studio (core team ≤5 people) Small partnership design firm (team size 6-20 people) Designers employed by integrated home/architectural design firms Full-time students or recent graduates majoring in furniture/industrial design at design schools
2. Where are you currently located? North America (U.S. / Canada) Europe (UK/Germany/Italy/France/Northern Europe) Asia-Pacific (Australia/Japan/South Korea/Singapore) Middle East/South America/Africa
3. How many years of professional design experience do you have? Less than two years (emerging designer) 2-5 years (intermediate) 6-10 years (Mature designer) More than 10 years (senior/industry expert)
4. How do you describe your design brand positioning? Economy/mass market Mid-range/contemporary design High-end/luxury design Limited edition/Art collectibles
5. What is your target retail price range for individual items (USD)? Under $200 $200-800 $800-$2000 More than $2,000
6. When you attempt to bring a furniture design concept to physical mass production, what range do you usually expect for the first batch of market test orders (MOQ)? 1 to 10 pieces (pure proof of concept or art limited edition) 11-50 pieces (Geeky pre-sale or core seed user test) 51-200 pieces (standard first order for mainstream small original brands) 201-500 pieces More than 500 pieces (order threshold for regular large volume factories)
7. Which of the following bottlenecks have you encountered or been most concerned about in your past attempts to connect with overseas manufacturing plants? The factory directly refused to communicate due to small order volume Core original design drawings are copied, imitated or sold at low prices Serious language and technical terminology barriers, factories misunderstand core structure and material details The international sample-making cycle is extremely long and inefficient No remote monitoring of production progress, concerned about quality mismatch Lack of security in cross-border payments, concerns about disputes International logistics, customs clearance and destination country environmental compliance (EU REACH, US CARB) are overly cumbersome
8. Have you ever successfully completed a cross-border furniture manufacturing project (from design to physical product delivery)? Yes, and I was satisfied with the overall experience Yes, but I was not satisfied with the overall experience No, I tried but failed to complete any of the projects No, I have never tried cross-border manufacturing
9. Please briefly explain why you were not satisfied with the overall experience.
10. Rate your anxiety level regarding the following cross-border synergy elements
The design drawings were directly copied by the factory during the inquiry stage
Serious workmanship defects were found when the bulk goods arrived across the ocean
Repeatedly explaining process details to the factory due to language barriers
Spending weeks searching for factories willing to take small orders
Cross-border payment disputes or money being defrauded
11. If a dedicated digital matching platform offers the following features, rate the attractiveness of each feature
AI DFM manufacturability analysis: Automatically generate structural optimization and cost estimation reports after drawing uploads
AI Industrial Context Translation: Precisely translate your design description into process terms that Chinese factories can understand
Cross-border Trust custody + third-party quality inspection: Fund custody, disbursement only after quality inspection is qualified
One-click copyright evidence storage and quick rights protection: Blockchain evidence storage + fast application channel for design patents
Real-time production dashboard: Track production progress through workshop cameras and node clock-in
12. If the platform successfully matches you with a suitable flexible factory and provides a full set of cross-border fulfillment guarantees, what percentage of technical service fee (transaction commission) would you be willing to pay for each successfully delivered order? 0% - I think the platform should only charge the factory unilaterally 1%-2% 3%-4% 5%-6% 7%-10%
13. In addition to core matching services, which of the following value-added services are you most likely to purchase? Professional DFM reports and process optimization advice Fast Application Service for Design Patents (China /WIPO) Pre-shipment third-party factory inspection (SGS or equivalent) Export compliance and customs clearance consulting services (such as REACH, CARB) On-site factory inspection video certification service None of the above -- I only use the free service