Spare Parts: The Cheapest Loyalty Programme in Lighting

Lamps are assembled from parts that wear, and the wear items are cheap. Buying programmes rarely plan for them, which is why a five-dollar component can end up costing a full replacement unit and a customer relationship.

The parts that fail

Four items account for almost every service request on a lamp:

1. The switch, especially rotary switches and foot switches
2. The cord set, from strain at the plug or the base exit
3. The socket and its ring, from heat and from over-tightening
4. The finial, shade ring and any threaded connector, which disappear in moving house

Stock the parts with the order

Order spares as a percentage of the original shipment: one switch and one cord set per twenty units is inexpensive and covers a full warranty period. Parts that are not ordered with production are effectively unavailable, because a factory will not restart a line for fifty switches.

Make the lamp repairable

A lamp that can be opened with a screwdriver and reassembled by a non-technical person is a lamp that can be serviced. Sealed bases, glued sockets and one-way fasteners turn every failure into a replacement, which is a design decision with a warranty cost attached.

Publish the assembly

An exploded diagram with part numbers on the product page or in the carton reduces support volume and gives a retailer something to order from. It also signals durability, which is useful in a category where customers assume things are disposable.

Decide the three-year position

Commit to parts availability for a defined period, in writing, and say what happens after it. Three years is a reasonable standard for residential product and five for hospitality, and a supplier who will not commit to either is telling you something about the second order.