The Fabric of our Society

The Fabric of Our Society column invites industry leaders to provide experience-based opinions and discussions on various topics. Diverse perspectives are respected and most welcome, but do not necessarily reflect the opinions of IESNYC or the Board of Managers. Want to contribute? Email [email protected]

September 2025

Why Lighting Distributors Are Essential  

Sean Lafferty
President & CEO, Chelsea Lighting

Shant Madjarian’s May 2025 Fabric of Our Society column lays out a clear explanation of the lighting supply chain’s players and pain points. While I’m not specifically endorsing max pricing, I do agree with his call for more transparency in a system that can too easily blur who’s responsible for what.

We deal with the same challenges across hundreds of projects: lump-sum package quotes, contractors asking for value engineering options to enhance their profit, and the same fixture priced dramatically differently from one bid to the next. Expensive delivery delays can stem from prolonged negotiations on the pricing for each individual project. I expect that designers are often left wondering whether their careful specification will be honored. In the end, clients could end up paying too much for lighting that fails to meet the design intent. In some cases, quality may also be compromised, leading to field failures and further delays.

Transparency builds trust. In that spirit, I want to focus on one player whose positive contributions often get overlooked: the lighting distributor. Somewhere between the spec and the punch list, the designer can feel like design control – and budget – can be lost. This is where the distributor can make all the difference. A good distributor doesn’t just move product; a good distributor builds relationships and protects the project.

Distributors have leverage

Distributors are often dismissed as middlemen, but we’re vital connective tissue that can hold a project together. We manage the flow of goods, yes – but also information, risk, and accountability. A distributor can serve as a line of defense for the design team and owner, rather than just a pricing and financing conduit.

We manage dozens of submittals a day, across multiple manufacturers and territories, tracking inventory, juggling lead times, and arranging site deliveries. When product is late, damaged, misquoted, or unavailable, we’re the ones who get the call.

Distributors absorb the headaches to keep the project moving forward:

A key line of defense

Yes, I am motivated to get paid quickly. But as you can see, distributors are on the hook if we move a project forward at any cost. And I believe that by working earlier and more closely with design teams, distributors can provide even stronger connective tissue to benefit the project – and save all parties some time, aggravation, and money.

Design specifications are crafted with intent. Whether for performance, aesthetics, controls compatibility, or compliance, those decisions matter. But without strong communication, projects may be underbid or, often, substituted with misaligned product. This sometimes happens quietly, contrary to the client’s best interests.

We’ve all seen it happen…

When a designer specifies a high-performance decorative pendant for a signature space, the rep may be financially motivated to swap in a lower-cost fixture, packaged into a lump-sum quote. A sharp distributor will not simply quote and supply the alternate. They will catch the discrepancy, flag it, and work with the rep and designer to restore the original spec before the order goes through.

Because distributors handle these products daily, they understand differences in quality and performance (and warranty). A knowledgeable distributor can advocate for the value added by the specified solution in terms of lifecycle cost and design outcome, not just first cost.

Sometimes, a client is appalled to find that the same fixture is quoted at twice the cost of the previous project. It could be that the rep is putting overage on the fixture due to the lack of competitive pressure on the second order. A savvy distributor will look at historical purchase prices and negotiate the rep and factory back to a reasonable price.

Lead times can also be tricky. Contractors are often quick to claim that the specified fixture is delayed, and they’ll push for an alternate. A good distributor will provide a lead-time schedule at the project kickoff, update tracking weekly and identify issues early. With early warning, a good distributor can push the factory to prioritize the project and pull the delivery forward. This can be a great mechanism for the designer and distributor to work together to resolve factory issues.

At the end of the day, a good distributor can make all the difference. What separates the good distributors from the rest is working with the designer to understand and protect the design intent. Our day-to-day decisions are driven by a shared understanding of what the client paid the designer to conceive.

Distributors deserve their fair share

A distributor’s margin covers real costs. Coordinating with multiple reps and manufacturers, managing warehousing, staging, and just-in-time delivery are only the beginning. Processing freight damage claims, tracking down missing parts, and reconciling mismatched cut sheets are just a few of the issues. Reviewing drawings with the field in pre-wire meetings ensures that crews understand how to install the fixtures.

When distributors are out of the loop or treated as interchangeable, critical details can be missed. Substitutions happen without notice, accountability blurs, and the schedule can suffer. Good distributors are design and construction partners.

Lighting professionals have been asking for more transparency for decades. At IALD Enlighten Americas 2024, a packed room of designers, reps, and distributors came together to talk about pricing opacity, trust, and the need for better collaboration. It’s clear that the appetite for both fair compensation and change is real.

What designers can do

Make sure your budget is based on the products exactly as specified. For example, different mounting options for different ceiling types often have pricing different from the basic distributor net price that the rep or factory provided.

Split the bill of materials evenly across different reps. Specifying multiple factories represented by different reps ensures that no single rep can carry too much overage. Single-name specification affords the rep and factory an opportunity to set pricing higher than distributor net. If you want to make sure that the rep makes some money on the project (perhaps in exchange for some design assistance they provided), then go ahead and provide some single-name lines on the bill of materials. Just be aware that your budget may be at risk by doing so.

Build a relationship with a good distributor. A good distributor who resolves issues on hundreds of projects per year can give insight into which factories are having issues – either systemic issues or temporary ones. A good distributor can tell you that a factory that was once famous for reliable products has had more quality issues of late. They can tell you who is more, or less, responsive than they were in the past. They can tell you which fixtures arrive at the jobsite on-time, undamaged, and with good instructions for the installing electrician. These elements combine to tell the story of “buildability.”

And let’s keep up the discussion. Let’s continue to collaborate – designers, reps, manufacturers, distributors, contractors, owners – with mutual respect and shared responsibility. Let’s call out poor practices like opaque pricing, unfair profits, and cutting corners. But let’s also recognize the teams who get it right. Let’s partner early, communicate clearly, and make space (and budget) for each stakeholder to bring their strengths to the table.

Working together, designers and distributors can ensure that our clients move into their new spaces on-time, on-budget, and with a terrific lighting experience.