October 16, 2026

By Cory Young

Because “price the electrical” is technically a request. It’s just not a very helpful one.

There’s a common misconception about electrical quoting.

You send your distributor a drawing package, maybe a fixture schedule if they’re lucky, type “Need pricing ASAP” in the email, and somewhere behind the counter a highly trained estimator stares intensely at the drawings until a perfectly accurate material list reveals itself.

Unfortunately, we have not unlocked that technology yet.

A good quote depends on good information.

The more your distributor knows about the drawings, scope, products, schedule and delivery requirements at the beginning, the better chance you have of getting an accurate quote back quickly—without seventeen clarification emails and a phone call that begins with:

“Quick question…”

This isn’t about creating more paperwork for contractors.

It’s about avoiding doing the same work twice.

So, before firing off your next RFQ, here are five things that can make your distributor’s life easier—and your quote better.

1. Complete and Current Project Documents

Nothing gets a quote off to a flying start quite like receiving Revision 2 drawings when the project is currently on Revision 6.

Bonus points if nobody realizes it until after pricing is complete.

If you want meaningful pricing, send the complete and current package whenever possible:

Electrical drawings
Relevant architectural drawings
Specifications
Fixture schedules
Panel schedules
Equipment schedules
Addenda
Clarifications
Current drawing revision and issue date

If you only need part of the project quoted, that’s perfectly fine.

Just tell us which part.

There is a big difference between:

“Price the lighting package on E4.1–E4.6.”

and:

“Price electrical.”

One gives us directions.

The other gives us an opportunity to explore the drawings like an electrical-themed escape room.

Why it matters

Missing documents creates assumptions.

Assumptions create exclusions.

And exclusions have an incredible ability to become extremely important approximately five minutes after the project is awarded.

Getting everyone onto the same drawing revision from the beginning eliminates a surprising amount of unnecessary chaos.

2. A Defined Scope and Usable Material List

Electrical projects are not exactly known for being simple.

A request to “price the electrical” could mean:

Distribution
Lighting
Lighting controls
Wiring devices
Transformers
Disconnects
Supports
Boxes
Wire
Cable
Data
Fire alarm
Half the building
The entire building
Or apparently whatever the estimator had in mind that morning

If you already have a material list or takeoff, send it.

If you want the distributor to perform the takeoff, say that clearly and define what you want included.

It also helps to clarify:

Which systems are included
Who owns the quantities
Spare quantities or attic stock
Waste factors
Owner-supplied equipment
GC-supplied equipment
Items supplied by another trade
Prefabrication requirements
Kitting requirements
Base bid versus alternates

That last one matters more than people think.

A quote can contain all the right material and still be nearly impossible to compare if base pricing, alternates and options are all mixed.

Why it matters

A clear scope lets your distributor spend time doing something useful:

finding the right product at the right price.

Instead of playing a high-stakes version of:

“Guess what the estimator meant.”

3. Approved Products—and Whether We’re Allowed to Get Creative

This is where distributors can bring some serious value.

Sometimes the specified product is exactly what the project needs.

Sometimes there’s an equivalent product with better availability, better pricing or features that make more sense for the application.

But before we start sharpening the substitution pencil, we need to know the rules.

Tell us:

The specified manufacturer
Complete catalogue numbers
Critical performance requirements
Whether approved equals are allowed
Whether alternates can be submitted
Who approves substitutions
When submissions are due
Whether compatibility with existing equipment is required

This becomes especially important with lighting and controls.

Two fixtures can look almost identical on a schedule while having completely different:

Lumens
Distribution
Wattage
Dimming
Color temperature
Controls compatibility
Mounting
Warranty
Lead times

“Something similar” sounds simple.

It has also probably generated enough clarification emails to power a small data center.

Why it matters

Clear substitution rules allow your distributor to use their product knowledge.

If alternates are allowed, we can look for opportunities to reduce costs, improve availability or simplify installation.

If they aren’t allowed, that’s fine too.

We just need to know before somebody spends three hours finding the greatest alternate fixture known to mankind only to discover the specification says:

NO SUBSTITUTIONS.

4. Real Deadlines—and the Actual Project Schedule

Every quote request comes with a deadline.

Sometimes it’s next Friday.

Sometimes it’s tomorrow.

Sometimes it’s:

“Any chance you can get this back in the next two hours?”

Technically, yes.

Emotionally, we’ll discuss that later.

But the bid closing time is only one piece of information.

Your distributor should also know:

Bid closing date and time
Time zone
Internal review deadline
Expected award date
Expected purchase order date
Construction starts
Rough-in schedule
Required-on-site dates
Long-lead equipment requirements

Because there’s a major difference between:

“We need pricing Friday.”

and:

“We need pricing Friday, award is expected next month, and the switchgear needs to be on site in March.”

Now we can start thinking beyond price.

We can check availability. We can flag long-lead equipment. We can talk to manufacturers. We can identify products that might become schedule problems before someone is standing on site asking where they are.

And if the RFQ arrives late, tell us what matters most. Maybe distribution and lighting need to be completed first while commodities follow later. Priority helps.

Why it matters

The project schedule determines how much time exists for sourcing, technical review and manufacturer pricing.

It also exposes lead-time problems early—before they become jobsite emergencies complete with their own email chain, Teams chat and emergency group text.

5. Delivery, Staging and How the Job Will Actually Be Built

Here’s something that doesn’t get discussed enough:

The cheapest material price is not always the cheapest way to supply a project.

Imagine getting an entire multi-floor project delivered at once.

Great. Everything showed up.

Unfortunately, half of it is now sitting in the wrong corner of the building underneath three pallets of material nobody needs for another four months.

That’s where staging matters.

Tell your distributor:

One shipment or multiple releases?
Floor-by-floor?
Room-by-room?
Unit-by-unit?
Area-by-area?
Special labelling?
Pallet requirements?
Site receiving hours?
Delivery restrictions?
Limited storage?
Who is receiving the material?

For larger projects, this conversation can save a ridiculous amount of time.

Material can potentially be organized around the way crews install it instead of simply arriving as:

Pallet #1: Good luck.

Why it matters

Good staging reduces double handling, misplaced material and damaged product.

More importantly, it reduces the amount of time your foreman spends walking around the site saying:

“I know we ordered it.”

Because, yes, you probably did.

And yes, it is probably somewhere in the building.

The Five-Minute Quote Request Check

Before sending your next RFQ, ask yourself whether your distributor can answer five questions without opening a detective agency:

Documents: Do they have the current drawings, specifications, schedules and addenda?
Scope: Do they know exactly what their pricing and who owns the quantities?
Products: Do they know what’s specified and whether alternatives are allowed?
Schedule: Do they know the quote deadline, expected award and required-on-site dates?
Delivery: Do they know how the material needs to be released, staged and received?

If the answer is yes to all five, you’ve already made the quoting process significantly easier.

Better Information Produces Better Quotes

Contractors and distributors are ultimately trying to accomplish the same thing:

Get the right material onto the job at the right price and at the right time without creating unnecessary headaches along the way.

Your distributor doesn’t need perfect information before they can start. Projects change. Addenda happen. Specifications get revised. Someone will inevitably change a fixture after everyone thought the lighting package was finished.

That’s construction.

But the quality of a quote will usually reflect the quality of the information available when it was built. So, send the current documents. Define the scope. Explain the product rules. Share the real schedule. Tell us how the material needs to arrive.

Will that eliminate every clarification email? Absolutely not.

Electrical projects are far too creative for that. But it gives contractors, distributors and manufacturers a much better chance of getting things right the first time. And maybe—just maybe—we can retire “Need pricing ASAP” as the entire RFQ description.

Cory Young is an Inside Sales Representative with Nedco in Regina, Saskatchewan, bringing seven years of hands-on electrical experience in industrial and oil and gas environments. With a diploma in Supply Chain and Logistics Management, he combines field knowledge, product expertise and technology to help contractors simplify material sourcing, improve project planning and reduce costly delays. Cory is also the founder of The Current, an electrical-industry blog offering practical insights for contractors, builders, engineers and distribution professionals. His work focuses on connecting the realities of the job site with smarter, more efficient ways of doing business.