Who This Checklist Is For (and When to Use It)
If you're a specifier, project manager, or purchasing lead at a mid-sized design-build firm or a general contractor handling commercial and high-end residential work, this checklist is for you. I manage procurement for a small design-build studio—we handle roughly 20-30 projects annually, with an annual volume of about $150K in surfacing materials across MSI, and a few local tile suppliers.
This checklist works best when you’re in the planning phase for a project that uses natural stone or quartz countertops, backsplashes, or feature walls. It assumes you’ve chosen a product family from MSI’s catalog and need to go from spec to order without the headaches (or the expensive last-minute substitutions). I’ll walk through 7 steps, with a focus on the one most people overlook: verifying slab inventory for uniformity.
Step 1: Start with a Clear, Written Specification for Your MSI Product
Before you even look at inventory, write down exactly what you need. This sounds basic, but in 2024, a supplier sent me Calacatta Borghini when we’d specified Calacatta Lincoln (quite different veining—we had to reject the install).
What to list:
- Product name (e.g., MSI Calacatta Lincoln Quartz, MSI Silverwave Slate)
- Thickness (2cm vs 3cm for countertops matters for edge profile and support)
- Finish (honed vs polished vs leather)
- Quantity in square feet (account for 10% waste for cuts, 15% for complex layouts)
- Desired slab sizes (if you need oversized slabs for a kitchen island)
A quick note about color consistency (based on my experience): Quartz is more uniform across slabs. Natural stone can vary considerably. For our last lobby project using MSI Slate, we requested specific slab photos before delivery—which saved us from getting pieces with a heavy iron oxide streak that didn't match the sample.
Step 2: Get a Current Price Quote and Lead Time (Do Not Use Catalog Prices)
Catalog prices are aspirational, not real. I've learned this the hard way. In Q3 2024, I called for a price on MSI Carrara Marmi quartz for a 40-unit condo kitchen spec. The online price was $58/sq ft. The actual quote from the local distributor was $67/sq ft because of a “material surcharge” (their term—honestly, a cost of doing business these days).
Action items:
- Call your local MSI distributor or use MSI’s “Find a Retailer” tool. Get a quote in writing.
- Ask about lead times: 3–5 business days for in-stock quartz; 2–4 weeks for special-order natural stone.
- Get a confirmed price for delivery. In 2024, delivery added 12% to our total invoice for a suburban location.
(Prices as of January 2025; verify current rates before spec.)
Step 3: View and Select Physical Samples (Don’t Rely on Screenshots)
This should be obvious, but in a hurry (ugh, we've all been there), it's tempting to pick based on a photo. MSI’s showroom near me is decent, but honestly, lighting is still misleading. I almost spec'd a MSI Pietra Gray slate for a lobby floor based on a screen—looked like a warm charcoal gray. In the showroom, under fluorescent lights, it was cooler, almost blue-gray.
Checklist for sampling:
- Get a 4x4-inch or larger sample (MSI offers these, often for a small fee).
- Check it under natural light, warm interior light, and fluorescent light.
- For natural stone, ask for a “dry” and “wet” sample. (Slate looks very different when sealed.)
Step 4: Verify Slab Inventory and Color Uniformity (The Overlooked Step)
Here's the step most people skip. Once you select a product and it's available, ask the supplier to send a photo or video of the actual slabs in their yard. Quartz is forgiving; natural stone is not. For a high-end residence, I once got 2 slabs of MSI Pewter Quartzite from different “lots” (which, surprise, surprise, had noticeably different color tones). The client's designer rejected it on-site. Return cost us $350.
What to do:
- Politely request: “Can you show me the slabs from the current inventory? I need to confirm color consistency for my design spec.”
- Major suppliers like MSI expect this from professional buyers. If you’re working with a builder or fabricator, have them do this for you.
- If you receive slabs and they don't match the sample, reject them immediately and document with photos. (In 2022, we had to reject 3 slabs of MSI White Venato because they had a yellow undertone the sample didn't have.)
Step 5: Place Your Order and Confirm the “Small Print”
Once you’re satisfied with the spec, price, and sample, it’s time to place the order. This is where the “admin buyer” role kicks in. For an $8,000 order, I once paid with a personal card because the vendor didn’t accept purchase orders from small firms (they wanted a corporate credit card). That created a massive headache for my accounting team—delayed reimbursement by 3 weeks.
To avoid that:
- Confirm payment terms at quote stage. Net 30 for established accounts; prepayment or credit card for first-time buyers.
- Get the invoice template in advance. (Granted, this seems paranoid, but for $12,000 of MSI quartz, I needed proper W-9 and invoice format for my finance team.)
- Get a delivery date in writing. If the date slips, you need to know 48 hours before.
Step 6: Prepare for Delivery and Installation (Inspect Upon Receipt)
Delivery is when things get real. The driver drops slabs on a forklift. You or your crew sign. If you sign without inspecting, you've accepted the condition.
Checklist for receiving:
- Inspect for chips, cracks, or edge damage before the driver leaves.
- Some MSI distributors offer a 24-hour inspection window for concealed damage. Know this policy—for a 900-lb slab, you can't move it off the truck to check every inch.
(The most frustrating part of receiving stone: even if you inspect, you may miss a hairline crack only visible after installation. You'd think they'd use better packaging, but crates are often minimal.)
Step 7: Manage Variations and Common Order Errors
Even after careful steps, things can go wrong. The last shipment of MSI Rustic Slate for our project had minor variations in thickness (3cm vs the specified 2cm). The fabricator adjusted, but it cost us an extra $200 in labor.
Common errors and how to mitigate:
- Thickness swap: Verify thickness on the shipping docs. A 2cm slab will feel thin on a kitchen island.
- Wrong finish: Polished looks different from honed. I've had a supplier send honed when polished was ordered.
- Under-delivery: Losing 5% to under-measure is frustrating—keep a buffer in your order.
To be fair, MSI has decent quality control, but human error still happens. The best practice: keep a small reserve fund (5-10% of material cost) for order corrections.
Final Thoughts (No Fluff, Just a Reminder)
What was best practice in 2020 (just order from the catalog) may not apply in 2025. Inventory is tighter, lead times can be longer, and prices shift. The fundamentals haven't changed: verify, document, inspect. But the execution has transformed—especially with the need to see actual slab inventory before committing.
One last thing: If you’re a small firm like mine, don’t be afraid to ask for sample photos. Most MSI distributors expect this from professional buyers. If they push back, that's a red flag. I've only worked with a few domestic suppliers for MSI products, but the process above works consistently.
Prices are as of January 2025. Verify current rates.
