If you’ve done any type of business with illuminico, chances are you’ve heard us talk about how we’re bringing transparency and honesty to the lighting industry through our streamlined distribution model. But what, exactly, does that mean–and why is it important for our clients to understand?
Transparency means different things to different people, but in the business world it generally boils down to two key concepts:
- Disclosing all pertinent information about a transaction or business relationship, and
- Behaving in an ethical manner.
At illuminico, transparency is at the very heart of our business model. We believe that our customers have a right to know where their lighting is coming from, what it costs, and how their money is being spent. We have worked hard to establish trust with our customers through transparency by providing them with all of the information they need to make informed choices about the lighting products that are right for their projects.
Why Transparency Is an Issue
At first glance, the lighting industry may seem like a straightforward business. You need lighting for your construction project, you have drawings, and most likely you have some sort of specification selected by an architect, lighting designer, contractor or yourself. You request pricing for your project and receive an estimate that includes your lighting and/or controls, but do you know what everything in the estimate means and what it all costs? Typically, these estimates leave you with more questions than answers. Are their counts right? Is this the product specified by you or you or your design team, or does it include alternate products that you know nothing about? Is there an alternate product that can save you money while keeping the design and function intent? Will the lights work with the controls/dimming system? The list goes on and on…
As you can see, behind that transaction lies a murky, confusing mess full of grey areas. In an age where transparency is becoming increasingly important, the lighting industry is lagging far behind the times. The problem lies mainly in the fact that there are numerous layers of “middlemen” in the supply chain. Between you and the lighting manufacturer, you’ve got sales reps, distributors, electricians, and contractors, all receiving a cut of the transaction with very little itemization. The entire process lacks accountability, creating an opaque landscape where sleight-of-hand is all too easy. Not that it’s all bad—there are lots of honest companies out there—but it can be difficult to know what to expect in terms of quality and cost.
A New Model for Greater Transparency
At illuminico, we’ve developed a streamlined distribution model that eliminates the ambiguity and injects more transparency into the process. Instead of your order passing back and forth through multiple middlemen, we as the lighting distributor set up open lines of communication between all participants in the transaction–owners, contractors, designers, sales reps, and manufacturers–all of whom can communicate with each other as well as with us. We also go the extra mile to make sure our clients understand the distribution process and cost breakdowns so there are no surprises and no room for inflated prices. In this way, we’re able to get great lighting for our clients at a reasonable price, which then gets distributed fairly among all the parties involved in getting the product to the customer.
In an industry where trust is hard to build and easily eroded, illuminico is proud to be setting a higher standard of accountability. When it comes to our clients, we believe firmly in partnership through communication and transparency. To learn more about our model and how we can facilitate lighting for your next project, contact us here.