What is OFCI lighting?
OFCI stands for owner-furnished, contractor-installed: the owner purchases the lighting fixtures directly and the electrical contractor installs them. It splits the material transaction from the installation scope, removing the GC and EC markup on equipment — commonly around 15% — and, in owner-direct-purchase states like Florida, adding sales-tax savings on top. Owners already buy elevators, switchgear, and kitchen equipment this way; OFCI simply extends the practice to the lighting package.
How an OFCI lighting scope is structured
In an OFCI arrangement, the fixture schedule is carved out of the electrical bid. The owner (or a procurement agent acting for the owner) holds the purchase orders for fixtures; the EC bids installation, receiving, and handling only. The construction contract defines the handoff — delivery points, storage, damage responsibility, and schedule coordination — using scope language that is standard across commercial construction.
Done properly, the EC's bid gets cleaner, not messier: they price labor they control instead of financing a large material buy with volatile lead times. Most contractors are glad to shed the procurement risk on lighting.
Why OFCI saves real money
Every party that touches the lighting buy adds margin. The rep agency earns roughly 5% commission plus typically half the overage above manufacturer net; the distributor and EC add their margins; the GC marks up the electrical contract. Moving the buy to the owner's side of the table removes about 15% of pure markup from the equipment scope before a single fixture is renegotiated.
In ODP states, direct owner purchasing can also capture sales-tax savings — a material number on large packages, and one that flows straight to the project budget rather than to the chain.
The catch — and how it's solved
OFCI's honest cost is coordination. A commercial lighting package can involve dozens of manufacturers, each with its own quotes, submittals, release schedules, freight terms, and lead-time drift. When owners take that on unsupported, fixtures show up early, late, damaged, or wrong — and the savings evaporate into schedule friction.
That coordination is precisely the service Brilliant Light Source sells: one contract for the whole package, net-plus-fee transparent pricing, submittals included, designer-approved substitutions only, and every release tracked from PO to delivery. It's how OFCI delivers its savings without delivering its headaches — the model behind $847M procured, 2,400+ projects, and timelines cut by up to 40%.
OFCI vs. the alphabet: OFOI, CFCI
CFCI (contractor-furnished, contractor-installed) is the conventional default described above. OFOI (owner-furnished, owner-installed) applies to scopes like furniture, where the owner's vendors also install. Lighting fits OFCI best: fixtures must be installed by the licensed electrical contractor, but nothing about installation requires the contractor to be the buyer.
Related questions, answered
When in the project should the OFCI decision be made?
Before electrical buyout closes — ideally during design development or CD pricing. Carving lighting out after the EC contract is signed means renegotiating scope. Deciding early lets the electrical bid go out install-only and gives the procurement side time to lock pricing and lead times.
Who handles storage and staging for owner-furnished fixtures?
It's defined in the OFCI scope language — typically the EC receives and stores on site, with phased deliveries sequenced to the construction schedule so material isn't sitting exposed for months. A procurement partner coordinates those releases against the schedule.
Does OFCI work on renovation and TI projects, or only ground-up?
It works anywhere there's a fixture schedule worth carving out. The threshold is package size, not project type — once the lighting buy is large enough that 15% markup matters, OFCI economics apply to tenant improvements and renovations just as they do to new construction.