Supply-Only vs Supply-and-Install Switchgear: Scope, Risk, and Pricing

Why the Contract Model Matters More Than People Think

When an RFQ lands in your inbox for a 2000A main switchboard or a 12-panel distribution system, one of the first questions you need to answer is not what the equipment costs — it is what scope you are actually being asked to cover. Supply-only and supply-and-install are fundamentally different commercial propositions, with different risk profiles, different warranty obligations, and different margin structures.

Many estimators default to supply-and-install because it feels like the complete answer, or default to supply-only because it feels safer. Neither instinct is reliable on its own. The right model depends on the project, your business structure, and how the risk is allocated in the contract documents. Understanding both models — and being able to price them clearly — is a competitive advantage.

What Supply-Only Actually Means

A supply-only switchgear or panelboard contract means you are responsible for procuring, manufacturing (if you are a panel builder), and delivering the equipment to site. Your obligations typically end when the equipment is delivered in working order. What happens after that — unloading, positioning, cable terminations, commissioning, testing, and handover — is the buyer's problem.

Standard supply-only exclusions that should be explicit in every quotation:

• Unloading, rigging, and positioning the equipment at site
• Site preparation, plinths, cable trenches, and civil works
• Conduit, cable, and termination to the equipment
• Interconnection wiring between panels (if multiple panels)
• Commissioning, testing, and protection relay setting
• Utility authority coordination and energisation
• Arc flash incident energy analysis and labelling
• As-built documentation beyond the factory test certificates
• Training of the client's operating personnel

If any of these items are genuinely included in your supply-only scope, that is an exception and should be stated explicitly. Default assumptions lead to disputes — particularly around commissioning, where there is often genuine ambiguity about who bears responsibility for getting the equipment from powered-up to certified operational.

What Supply-and-Install Adds

A supply-and-install contract adds the installation, commissioning, and typically some form of performance testing to the equipment supply. The scope boundary on the right-hand side of your obligations is now the issued completion certificate — not the delivery docket.

The additional scope items you are now responsible for pricing include:

• Labour for installation: Unloading, positioning, securing, and aligning the switchgear or panelboard in its final location. For large MV switchgear, this includes crane hire and specialist riggers.
• Cable terminations: Terminating incoming supply cables, outgoing feeder cables, and control wiring at the equipment.
• Commissioning: Energising the equipment, verifying protective relay settings, testing overcurrent protection trip characteristics, and confirming correct operation of metering, control, and interlocking schemes.
• Testing documentation: Insulation resistance tests, contact resistance tests, functional operation tests, and producing a commissioning report acceptable to the client and the utility authority.
• Coordination with utility authority: Arranging and attending the utility inspection and energisation point, obtaining the authority connection approval.
• Defects liability period: Attending to defects for the agreed defects liability period (typically 12 months from practical completion).

Margin Structure: Where the Money Is in Each Model

Supply-only switchgear and panelboard contracts tend to have higher gross margin percentages on the equipment — but lower total revenue. On a well-specified engineered switchboard, gross margins of 30–50% on the supply-only price are achievable for panel builders with efficient procurement and production. The margin is in the engineering value-add, not in the installation labour.

Supply-and-install contracts typically compress the equipment margin somewhat (because the total price is more directly comparable across competitors bidding the full scope) but add installation revenue. The question is whether your installation team is efficient enough to make money on the labour component. A panel builder without its own installation crews will struggle to make supply-and-install work — subcontracting the installation often eats the margin that the installation scope was supposed to generate.

The practical guidance:

• If you have qualified installation crews and a proven commissioning process, supply-and-install can generate better total project returns.
• If you are a panel builder without an installation arm, supply-only protects your margin by keeping you in the scope you control.
• If a client asks for a supply-and-install price when you prefer supply-only, you can offer both — clearly labelled — and let the client decide which model suits their project delivery.

Risk Allocation: Where Things Go Wrong

The risk profile changes significantly between the two models. In supply-only, your principal risks are:

• Equipment does not meet the specification and is rejected at factory acceptance testing
• Delivery is delayed and the client claims liquidated damages
• Equipment is damaged in transit and insurance and replacement costs become disputed
• The specification changes after order placement and variation pricing is disputed

In supply-and-install, you inherit all of the above plus:

• Installation delays caused by site conditions, access restrictions, or other trades not completing their work before yours
• Commissioning failures caused by incorrect protection relay settings, incorrect cable terminations, or utility authority changes to interconnection requirements
• Damage to equipment during installation by your crew or by interface with other trades
• Extended defects liability — if the equipment fails during the DLP, you bear both the equipment and the remediation labour costs
• Interface with the main contractor's program — if the switchgear commissioning is on the critical path, delays attract liquidated damages exposure

The interface risk is often the most underestimated. In a supply-and-install contract, you are responsible for the outcome — but you are dependent on other trades completing their work (cable pulling, conduit installation, civil plinths) before you can install and commission. If those trades are late, you need the contract to clearly state how this risk is managed and how you can claim an extension of time.

How to Structure Your Quotation for Each Model

Clarity in the quotation document is your primary protection against scope disputes. For supply-only, the quotation should include:

• A precise description of what is included (equipment items, factory testing, delivery to site gate, installation instructions)
• A clear list of exclusions — not just generic "installation not included" but specific items that are commonly disputed
• Delivery terms (DDP, FCA, EXW — use Incoterms correctly) and the delivery address
• A statement of who bears damage risk during unloading and site handling
• Factory acceptance testing terms — what is included in the FAT and what witness requirements are assumed
• Warranty terms — what is covered, for how long, and what the process is for warranty claims

For supply-and-install, add to the above:

• A clear definition of practical completion — what condition the switchgear must be in for your work to be considered complete
• Interface responsibilities — what other trades or the client must provide before your installation can proceed
• Commissioning scope — what tests are included, what documentation is provided, and what constitutes successful commissioning
• Defects liability period terms — duration, what is covered, and what exclusions apply (fair wear and tear, third-party damage)
• Program assumptions — what project schedule is assumed and the basis for any liquidated damages exposure you accept

When Clients Ask for Both

Some RFQs explicitly ask for both supply-only and supply-and-install prices. This is actually useful — it helps the client understand the cost of installation separately from equipment, and it gives you an opportunity to show the value of your installation capability (or to make clear that your core strength is the equipment engineering, not the installation).

When providing dual pricing, make the scope difference explicit in the quotation rather than just listing two dollar figures. The client should be able to see exactly what the installation component covers, what the installation exclusions are, and what program assumptions are embedded in the supply-and-install price. This prevents the client from taking your supply-only price and then asking why it does not include commissioning — because they thought commissioning was just part of what any supplier would include.

A Practical Note on Commissioning-Only Scopes

A hybrid scope that often creates confusion is supply-only with commissioning support. In this model, you supply the equipment and provide a factory-trained technician to attend site during commissioning — but the actual installation labour is the client's or main contractor's responsibility. This is common for specialist switchgear where the OEM's technical knowledge is needed for commissioning but where a regional electrical contractor handles the physical installation.

Price this as a day-rate or lump-sum add-on to your supply-only price, with clear limits on the number of site visits, the duration of each visit, and what is included in "commissioning support" versus what requires a formal variation. If the commissioning is more complex than anticipated because the installation was done incorrectly, that additional time should not be absorbed into your lump-sum commissioning fee.

Conclusion

Supply-only and supply-and-install are not just different prices for the same job — they are different commercial models with different risks, different margin profiles, and different operational requirements. The best estimators are clear about which model they are pricing, explicit about the scope boundary in their quotations, and honest about which model their business can actually execute well. A supply-and-install contract that exposes you to risks you cannot manage is worse than a well-priced supply-only contract that you deliver cleanly.