The request is where the comparison is decided
An RFQ is not a list of questions; it is the instrument that decides which answers are comparable. Two suppliers can both answer an RFQ and produce quotations that cannot be compared, because the request asked for a figure without the conditions behind it. A lumen figure without the test machine, the mode and the drive current is a figure each supplier can assemble differently. A runtime figure without the brightness level is a figure each supplier can take from a different setting. An ingress rating without its declared test conditions is a claim each supplier can phrase differently.
The fix is to ask for the fields and not the headlines. The request names the brightness level, the test conditions, the colour temperature, the beam angle, the runtime per level, the ingress rating with its declared conditions, the battery documents and the packaging. Each field is a question the supplier can answer in a form the buyer can compare, and the request that carries the fields is the request that produces a comparable quotation.
For a sourcing team the practical rule is that the RFQ is drafted once and reused with the fields intact. A request that drops a field between rounds loses the comparability that the first round established, and the buyer is left comparing figures that were not assembled the same way.
The field list for the request
The first field group is the photometric one. The request should ask for the total luminous flux with the test machine, the mode and the drive current, the beam angle with its edge definition, the centre illuminance with the distance and the axis, the colour temperature with the tolerance and the drive condition, and the colour rendering with the method. Each field should ask for the value and the condition behind it.
The second field group is the runtime one. The request should ask for the runtime at every brightness level, with the starting charge, the ambient temperature, the load condition and the cutoff rule. A request that asks for one runtime figure is a request that has decided which level the supplier will choose.
The third field group is the ingress one. The request should ask for the ingress code with its declared test conditions, the venting or breath path, the materials and finishes at the joints and the optics, and the drying instructions. This group separates the external test from the internal condensation question.
The fourth field group is the battery one. The request should ask for the cell chemistry, the capacity, the protection scheme, the test summary with its level and validity, and the electrical safety report. This group separates the transport document from the electrical safety document.
The fifth field group is the packaging one. The request should ask for the inner tray, the colour box, the outer carton, the label set and the manual, and whether a change to any of them re-opens the compliance documents.
The fields an RFQ should carry
| Group | Fields to request | What the field buys |
|---|---|---|
| Photometric | Flux with machine and mode, beam angle, colour temperature, colour rendering | A figure with its conditions |
| Runtime | Runtime per brightness level with starting charge and cutoff | A figure for every level |
| Ingress | Code with declared test conditions, venting, materials, drying | A claim with its boundary |
| Battery | Chemistry, capacity, protection, test summary, safety report | A pack with its documents |
| Packaging | Tray, colour box, carton, labels, manual | A unit with its compliance set |
| Commercial | Unit price, tooling, lead time, defect commitment | A price with its scope |
Ask for the fields, not the figures. A supplier who can fill the fields has answered a comparable request, and a buyer who holds the fields can compare two quotations field by field.
The golden sample and what sign-off means
The golden sample is the reference unit. It is the unit the buyer approves and the unit the production run is expected to match, and the sign-off is the moment the reference becomes a written record. A sample that is approved verbally is a reference the buyer cannot hold the supplier to, because the approval has no record of what was approved.
The sign-off should record the photometric figures with their test conditions, the beam and the colour temperature as measured on the sample, the runtime per brightness level as measured on the sample, the ingress rating with its declared conditions, the battery documents that cover the sample, and the packaging as supplied. It should also record the sample identity: which unit, from which batch, on what date, and whether it is a golden sample or a production unit.
A buyer should sign off only after the sample has been tested, and should send the signed record to the supplier in writing before mass production. A supplier who proceeds on a verbal approval and delivers a batch that differs has delivered to a reference that was never written down, and the buyer's remedy in that case is a negotiation rather than a claim.
A sample ≠ a batch
The boundary to state plainly: a golden sample is not a batch guarantee. The sample is one unit, and the batch is the run that follows it, and the two can differ in binning, in assembly and in the details that a first unit gets more attention than a later one. The sign-off describes the sample, and the batch guarantee is a separate statement the buyer must request.
A second boundary: a signed-off sample is not a signed-off document set. The sample carries the photometric figures and the packaging; the documents carry the test summary, the electrical safety report and the market compliance files. Both are needed, and the sign-off should record which documents were provided with the sample.
A third boundary: an approved sample is not an approved price. The sample can be approved while the price, the tooling and the lead time are still open, and the buyer should sign off the sample and the commercial terms separately so that neither is assumed to be agreed when it is not.
Five questions for the supplier
- Can you answer the photometric fields with the test conditions behind each figure, rather than the headline number alone? The conditions are the comparison.
- Can you provide the runtime at every brightness level with the starting charge and the cutoff rule? One runtime figure describes one level.
- Can you state the ingress rating with its declared test conditions and describe the venting or breath path? The external test is separate from internal condensation.
- Can you send the test summary and the electrical safety report with the quotation, and confirm the sample identity? The documents should precede the order.
- Will you accept written sign-off on the sample before mass production, and can you confirm in writing which units the approval covers? The written record is the reference.
Next step
Send the field list as the RFQ, keep the fields intact between rounds, and sign off the golden sample in writing with the photometric figures, the runtime rows, the ingress conditions and the documents. Related reading: quote comparison beyond the unit price for how to compare the answers, lumen rating test conditions for the photometric fields, runtime claims per brightness level for the runtime rows, and IP-rated ingress claims and the condensation gap for the ingress conditions. To apply this to a live sourcing project, start at contact.
Part of the Lumizuno outdoor-lighting notes. Illustrative values only; lumens and ingress ratings must be read with their test conditions.