Forward Space, LLC
Forward Space, LLC is a privately held, woman-owned authorized Steelcase dealer in Chicago and Milwaukee that sells commercial furniture and provides workspace consulting, procurement, installation, and interior construction services to corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Forward Space, LLC does
Forward Space, LLC is a privately held, woman-owned commercial furniture dealership and workspace services firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with an additional regional presence in Milwaukee and a Wood Dale, Illinois warehouse. Founded in 2014 and led by President/CEO/Owner Jenny Niemann, the company is the self-described leading authorized Steelcase dealer in the Chicagoland and Milwaukee markets, and is certified as a Women's Business Enterprise by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). It serves corporate, education (universities and K-12), healthcare, and hospitality customers, including Fortune 500 enterprises and local businesses, delivering workspace consultation, planning, procurement, delivery, installation, and ongoing maintenance.
The company's product surface is anchored by Steelcase and its associated brands — Coalesse, Orangebox, and turnstone — covering desks and tables, seating, panel systems, architectural and space-division products (V.I.A., Everwall, Privacy Wall, Air3 pods, Campers & Dens, On the QT), Steelcase Flex Collection (including Flex Personal Spaces, Height-Adjustable Desks, and Flex Mobile Power co-developed with Anker), and healthcare and education-specific lines such as Radia and Verb. It has extended beyond Steelcase via partnerships with Falkbuilt (prefabricated interior construction), West Elm Work, AMQ, Global Furniture Group, Sagegreenlife, and PolyVision, and operates a Fast Forward Quick Ship Program aimed at SMB and growing businesses seeking accelerated delivery.
Forward Space makes money primarily through one-time commercial furniture sales (a mix of premium Steelcase product and multi-brand Fast Forward SKUs) supplemented by professional services revenue from workspace consulting, interior construction, delivery coordination, and installation, with customer financing facilitated through Steelcase Financial Services. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by showrooms in Chicago and Milwaukee, a warehouse in Wood Dale, and digital channels (website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the WBENC certification functions as a procurement-channel asset for customers with supplier diversity mandates.
Forward Space, LLC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Forward Space, LLC
- Legal name
- Forward Space, LLC
- Website
- https://forwardspace.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Forward Space, LLC is a privately held, woman-owned authorized Steelcase dealer in Chicago and Milwaukee that sells commercial furniture and provides workspace consulting, procurement, installation, and interior construction services to corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Forward Space, LLC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Furniture Dealership
- NAICS
- Furniture Retailers (449110)
- SIC
- Retail-Furniture Stores (5712)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Space & Occupancy Services (Move/Add/Change, Seating, Wayfinding) (IMAIALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Office Furniture Moving, Installation & Reconfiguration (Systems Furniture) (HSAKAKAE)
Keywords
Where Forward Space, LLC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Forward Space, LLC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Furniture Sales: Sale of commercial contract furniture including desks, tables, seating, architectural products, and space division solutions primarily from Steelcase and partner manufacturers.
- Installation Services: Professional installation services for furniture and interior construction, including delivery coordination and optional installation.
- Workspace Consulting: Workspace consultation and planning services to help organizations design spaces that support their people, goals, and culture.
- Financing Services: Access to best-rate financing through Steelcase Financial Services partner for customers furnishing their spaces.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Forward Space, LLC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Forward Space is an authorized Steelcase dealer that sells commercial contract furniture (desks, tables, seating, architectural products, space division solutions) and provides full-service workspace solutions including consultation, planning, procurement, delivery, installation, and ongoing maintenance. The company serves corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality clients through a consultative sales process supported by the Fast Forward quick-ship program for accelerated furniture delivery.
Product overview
Forward Space, LLC is an authorized Steelcase dealer offering a comprehensive portfolio of workplace solutions as a single unified service rather than a software platform. The core offering centers on commercial furniture products organized into categories including Desks and Tables (featuring Steelcase Flex Collection, Ocular Tables, and height-adjustable desks), Architecture + Space Division (encompassing V.I.A., Everwall, Privacy Wall, Air3 Pods, Campers & Dens, and On the QT Pods), Esports/Gaming Chairs, and the Fast Forward Quick Ship Program. The company provides full-service support including workspace consultation, procurement, delivery, installation, and maintenance. Key product lines include Steelcase Flex (with Personal Spaces, Height-Adjustable Desks, and Mobile Power developed with Anker), Steelcase Answer/Kick/Avenir panel systems, Orangebox pods, Coalesse lounge and conference furniture, turnstone furniture, and Sagegreenlife Verdanta living partitions. The portfolio serves corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality environments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fast Forward Quick Ship Program Quick-ship furniture program providing in-stock commercial furniture from multiple manufacturers (Steelcase, West Elm Work, AMQ, Global Furniture Group, turnstone) with accelerated delivery timelines for growing, relocating, or upgrading businesses. Includes access to Steelcase Financial Services best-rate financing.
- Interior Construction Services Comprehensive workplace solutions including workspace consultation, planning, procurement, delivery, installation, and ongoing maintenance for corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality clients.
- Desks and Tables Complete portfolio of workplace desks and tables including height-adjustable desks, benching systems, conference tables, and occasional tables from Steelcase, turnstone, Coalesse, and other partner manufacturers.
- Architecture + Space Division Interior construction solutions including prefabricated walls, acoustic pods, moveable walls, space division systems, and glass wall solutions from Steelcase, Orangebox, and Falkbuilt.
- Esports/Gaming Chairs Specialized gaming chairs including Steelcase Gesture chairs designed for esports programs with full adjustability and comfort for extended gaming sessions.
- Steelcase Flex Collection Flexible workspace ecosystem including height-adjustable desks, personal spaces, tables, screens, and mobile power (developed with Anker) designed for teams to create rearrangeable spaces for hybrid workplaces.
- Home Office Solutions Work from home furniture collection enabling remote workers to create productive home office setups, accessed via the Steelcase online store.
Companies that use Forward Space, LLC
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Forward Space, LLC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Forward Space, LLC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered primary, core, secondary and minor.
- SteelcaseprimaryForward Space is the leading authorized Steelcase dealer in Chicagoland and Milwaukee. They offer the full range of Steelcase products including desks, tables, seating, architectural products, and space division solutions. Steelcase is a global leader in the furniture industry with annual revenue of over $3 billion, traded under SCS on the NYSE.
- FalkbuiltcorePrefabricated construction partner offering interior architecture solutions integrated with Forward Space's furniture offerings.
- West Elm WorksecondaryPartner brand offering residential-inspired commercial furniture including Greenpoint collection and Brighton lounge seating through the Fast Forward program.
- AMQ (AMQ Solutions)secondaryPartner offering sit-to-stand desks (Cluvo), desking and storage solutions (Embank), and workspace screens (3F Screens) through Fast Forward program.
- Global Furniture GroupsecondaryPartner offering Evolve Systems cafe furniture and additional product lines through Fast Forward program.
- CoalessesecondarySteelcase brand partner offering premium furniture including Montara650 tables, E-Table 2, Exponents whiteboards, Denizen tables, Potrero415, and other conference/collaboration furniture.
- OrangeboxsecondarySteelcase brand partner offering Air3 acoustic pods, On the QT phone booths, Campers & Dens relocatable structures, and Border cafe furniture.
- turnstonesecondarySteelcase budget-friendly brand offering Bivi desking, Campfire seating and screens, Bassline tables, Simple Tables, and Clipper screens.
- SagegreenlifeminorPartner offering Verdanta living walls and partitions - hydroponic growing systems with self-sufficient recirculating irrigation for biophilic design.
- PolyVisionminorPartner offering a3 CeramicSteel mobile whiteboards and displays with 50+ year durability.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Forward Space, LLC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Workplace Elements: Authorized Steelcase dealer in the Kansas City region offering workspace furniture, design, and installation services. Competes with Forward Space in the broader Midwest market and shares the same Steelcase dealer business model.
- Tangram Interiors: Authorized Steelcase dealer with showrooms across the western US. Comparable in offering full-service workspace design, furniture specification, and installation—directly comparable dealership model though operating in a different geography.
- Red Thread: Authorized Steelcase dealer serving the New England region. The most direct comparable—same brand authorization model, same full-service design-to-installation offering, same target verticals. Notably, Forward Space's CEO Jenny Niemann was previously CEO of Red Thread, highlighting operational and structural similarity.
- Atmosphere Commercial Interiors: Multi-location authorized Steelcase dealer providing commercial furniture, design, and installation. Operates in several US metros and represents the same dealer archetype as Forward Space—consultative sales backed by Steelcase's full product portfolio.
- A+I (formerly Architecture + Information): Authorized Steelcase dealer headquartered in New York with a design-forward practice. Comparable in bundling interior architecture and Steelcase furniture, with strong corporate and creative-vertical focus similar to Forward Space's Fortune 500 segment.
Broad incumbents
- KI (Krueger International): Manufacturer of workplace, education, and healthcare furniture with a strong US dealer footprint. Especially relevant peer given Forward Space's heavy K-12, university, and healthcare vertical focus where KI is a frequent competitor.
- Haworth: Global office furniture manufacturer and dealer network operator competing head-to-head with Steelcase. Comparable as a vertically integrated competitor—Haworth's dealer network routinely competes with Steelcase dealers like Forward Space on enterprise furniture RFPs.
- Teknion: Office furniture manufacturer with a North American dealer network selling systems furniture, seating, and architectural products. Competes with Steelcase in the same contract-furniture category, with dealers frequently bidding against Forward Space on enterprise deals.
- Kimball International: Office and hospitality furniture manufacturer with a national dealer network. Competes with Steelcase and Forward Space for corporate, education, and healthcare contracts, particularly in the mid-market and public-sector segments.
- MillerKnoll: Parent of Herman Miller, Knoll, and Design Within Reach; one of the largest office furniture incumbents. Competes with Forward Space through its own authorized dealer network in the same corporate, education, and healthcare verticals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Forward Space, LLC social profiles
Digital presenceForward Space, LLC compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Forward Space, LLC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Forward Space, LLC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Forward Space, LLC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Forward Space, LLC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Forward Space, LLC
What does Forward Space, LLC do?
Forward Space is an authorized Steelcase dealer that sells commercial contract furniture (desks, tables, seating, architectural products, space division solutions) and provides full-service workspace solutions including consultation, planning, procurement, delivery, installation, and ongoing maintenance. The company serves corporate, education, healthcare, and hospitality clients through a consultative sales process supported by the Fast Forward quick-ship program for accelerated furniture delivery.
Is Forward Space, LLC a public or private company?
Forward Space, LLC is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Forward Space, LLC founded?
Forward Space, LLC was founded in 2014. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Forward Space, LLC based?
Forward Space, LLC is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Forward Space, LLC make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Furniture Sales are the primary driver. The others are installation Services, workspace Consulting and financing Services.
Who are Forward Space, LLC's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Workplace Elements, Tangram Interiors, Red Thread, Atmosphere Commercial Interiors and A+I (formerly Architecture + Information). Broad incumbents are KI (Krueger International), Haworth, Teknion, Kimball International and MillerKnoll.
Does Forward Space, LLC have an API?
No public API is recorded for Forward Space, LLC.
What industry is Forward Space, LLC in?
Forward Space, LLC's product category is Commercial Furniture Dealership. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIALAF, Space & Occupancy Services (Move/Add/Change, Seating, Wayfinding), with a secondary code of HSAKAKAE, Office Furniture Moving, Installation & Reconfiguration (Systems Furniture). Its NAICS code is 449110 and its SIC code is 5712.