Bulk Kitchen Appliance Installations

[Clay Kallman]

We are replacing kitchen appliances in 45 units, and I've got to believe there are people in this community that do this far more often than we do and can offer advice on vendors and logistics.

These are occupied units where we have already upgraded countertops and cabinetry, and are now just looking to install a new stainless fridge/dw/stove/microwave in each one. They are 3 story walk-up garden style apartment buildings. 

I have a maintenance crew that could handle this, but would rather not have them dedicated to this many installs as I assumed the vendors would do this far more efficiently. However, the ones I've talked to so far (Chadwell Supply and GE Direct) were surprisingly expensive for installation services and made it sound like asking them to install and haul away was unusual. Even breaking up delivery dates into a manageable schedule did not seem normal. Are there typical arrangements I'm missing when talking to these vendors or am I talking with the wrong people? Do these larger appliance vendors operate differently in different markets and we're just in a smaller market where very few operators order 150+ appliances at once?

While I'm asking -- are there common pitfalls to be aware of in this kind of project? We've done these kinds of upgrades on a smaller scale. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.