Buying Guide

How to Brief a Vehicle Lighting Supplier and Get a Useful Quote

Most slow quotations are slow because the enquiry did not contain enough to quote against.

Start From the Machine Not the Wattage

A request for forty 60W work lamps can be answered by twenty different products. A request for rear deck lighting on a 24V wheel loader, mounted in an existing 4 inch square cut-out, with flood optics, can be answered with two model numbers and a price.

The Five Things Worth Stating

Mounting position and cut-out or bracket type. System voltage. Beam pattern or working distance. Any approval that is a condition of the order, named by regulation number. Annual quantity and whether it is one shipment or a schedule. Those five lines turn a general enquiry into a quotable specification.

Say Whether It Is Branded

A private label programme changes the answer on lead time, minimum quantity and artwork. Raising it at the end, after a price has been agreed on unbranded product, restarts the conversation.

Ask for Samples Before the Container

Beam behaviour, bracket fit and connector type are all easier to settle on a sample than in a specification document. Dantech states a lead time of about 30 to 40 days on production orders and a two year warranty, so build sample time into the plan rather than against it.

Ranges Covered