LED Street Lights Exporters in Bangladesh: Verified Supplier Checklist

A road programme buys light poles in bulk, and the supplier decision comes first. This checklist is for a buyer who has not yet ordered from a Bangladeshi exporter of LED street lights, and who wants to judge the exporter on documents and evidence rather than on a brochure and a headline price. Work through it for each candidate, keep one copy per supplier, and file it with the purchase order. It checks the exporter, not the finished units.

Why this checklist matters

Two exporters can quote the same wattage and still offer different things: one casts its own housings and fits a named driver, another buys finished heads and adds a margin, and a third quotes a head price that leaves the pole, arm and bracket for the buyer to source. A price comparison that ignores those differences compares unlike offers.

Record each item as pass, fail or to close, with the document reference beside it.

Before you start

Fix the road programme before contacting suppliers: road types, pole heights and spacing, mains-powered or solar models, and destination supply voltage. Name models by wattage and optic, and require the same documents from every candidate.

The per-model file should follow the product information that IEC 62722-2-1 lists for LED luminaires, including input power, flux, efficacy, colour, ambient temperature, and life with its lumen maintenance factor.¹ For safety, IEC 60598-1 sets general requirements for luminaires, including marking, construction and protection against electric shock.² For outdoor use, read the ingress protection code digit by digit: under IEC 60529, the first digit covers solid objects and dust, and the second covers water.³

The full checklist (numbered, printable)

Identity and export documents

1. Confirm the legal name, registered address and factory address, and check that the quotation name matches the trade licence and bank account names.

2. Request the Export Registration Certificate (ERC), and check its validity dates and that the exporter name matches the quotation. ERC application documents include the trade licence, chamber membership, tax identification number (TIN) and bank and incorporation certificates.⁴

3. Request the trade licence, TIN certificate and VAT registration (BIN), and check that names and addresses agree across all three.⁴

4. Confirm the nominated bank is an Authorized Dealer (AD) bank branch able to handle the export transaction, verified through a channel separate from the quotation email. An exporter setting up in Bangladesh needs an AD bank account as part of its export registrations.⁵

5. Record any chamber or association membership claimed, with the body name and expiry date, in the supplier legal name.

Maker, assembler or trader

6. Ask the supplier to state in writing whether it manufactures, assembles or trades each model, and to name the factory that makes it.

7. For a maker, record the factory address and steps done there: housing work, module and driver fitting, coating, assembly and testing. For an assembler, record which parts are bought in.

8. For a trader, record the maker, the written authority to sell that maker's units, and who tests the units before dispatch. An undisclosed trader role is a fail.

9. Ask which steps are outsourced, who tests outsourced work, and what happens when a drawing detail conflicts with the supplier standard build.

Road programme scope: models, optics, pole and bracket

10. Confirm one written schedule per model: wattage, optic, colour temperature, housing material and finish, driver type, surge rating, control option, mounting method and spigot size.

11. Confirm the pole, bracket and arm scope in writing: head only, head plus bracket, or head plus bracket plus pole, with base hardware, cables and fixings listed separately. A head price and a complete assembly price are not comparable.

12. Record mounting dimensions, arm length and angle, pole height and material, and packed weight and dimensions for the scope quoted. A quote that omits poles and arms hides part of the cost.

13. Confirm the classification line for each item. Heading 9405 covers lamps and lighting fittings, including searchlights, spotlights and identifiable parts thereof.⁶ Classify poles, brackets and separate modules on their own lines where supplied separately.

14. Ask how the minimum order splits: per model, per wattage, per optic and per control option. Read the MOQ guide before accepting a single minimum figure for a mixed programme.

Per-model datasheet and test evidence

15. For each model, request its datasheet and check that input power, luminous flux, efficacy, colour temperature, colour rendering and rated ambient temperature are stated for that model, not for the product family.¹

16. Request the photometric file for the exact model and wattage, and have an engineer check it against your pole height and spacing before approving a sample. IES LM-79 covers optical and electrical measurements of solid-state lighting products on the complete luminaire, including flux, intensity distribution, input power, efficacy, colour temperature and colour rendering.⁷

17. Check that photometric data is available in an established format for the intended application, and in electronic file format for lighting design software.⁸

18. Reproduce the datasheet efficacy yourself: divide the reported lumens by the reported watts from the same test report, and compare the result with the datasheet figure. Example figures: 12,000 lumens at 100 watts gives 120 lumens per watt.

19. Check the ingress rating for the housing and separately for any driver compartment exposed to the same conditions, with the test report and model it covers.³ If the ratings differ, record the weaker one for the assembly.

20. Check the driver datasheet for the exact model: input voltage range, surge rating, whether the driver can be replaced without replacing the whole head, and the spare driver price and lead time. Check the lumen maintenance factor and rated ambient temperature against your hottest road conditions.¹

Commercial terms, spares and the decision

21. Require a quotation with separate lines: quantity, unit price and currency, delivery term with named place, validity, lead time in stages, tests, documents and packing.

22. Confirm payment terms, the documents that trigger each payment, and that the bank account name matches the legal name in item 1. Under Incoterms 2020, CPT and CIP share delivery, risk transfer and transport cost rules, while only CIP includes the seller obligation to insure the goods.⁹

23. Confirm warranty terms in writing: what is covered, for how long, how a claim is raised, what evidence is required, who decides it, and who pays for transport of a replacement.

24. Confirm spares in writing: spare drivers, modules where supplied separately, brackets and fixings, with prices and lead times, and whether spares ship with the main order or later.

25. Confirm the inspection and document point before shipment: which reports arrive before the balance is released, and who witnesses testing.

26. Apply a decision rule before any deposit: no production order until every fail is closed or accepted in writing, with the risk and the person accepting it named.

Common failures and how to fix them

The most common failure is a photometric file for a different wattage: a file for a 100 W head does not evidence a 150 W head. Ask for the file by model and wattage. The second failure is a trader presented as a maker. A trader with a named maker, written authority and a clear test location can be sound; the failure is the undisclosed role, fixed by a written statement of role, maker and test location.

The third failure is a pole and bracket scope discovered late: a head-only price looks lower until poles, arms and freight are priced separately, so require every bidder to price the same scope list. The fourth failure is a datasheet efficacy that does not reproduce from its own lumens and watts: ask for a corrected datasheet or a new report. The fifth failure is a warranty period with no claims route: confirm how a claim is raised, what evidence is required, and who decides it.

Downloadable template / summary table

Copy the checklist into your supplier file, add result and evidence columns, and keep one row per supplier. A row marked to close needs an owner and a date.

How Exportain helps

Exportain is a B2B marketplace connecting buyers with Bangladeshi suppliers, so these checks can be applied to suppliers you find through the platform before you commit. Browse suppliers, then use RFQs to send the same schedule and checklist to several suppliers. Read how supplier verification works on Exportain to see what document and photo checks cover.

Supplier profiles show which document and photo checks have been recorded, not factory inspections. Exportain is not a party to the goods contract and does not inspect goods. A badge tells you which documents were reviewed; items 6 to 20 still need the supplier's own evidence for the model you are buying.

FAQs

When should this checklist be used?

Use it before you pay a deposit, approve a model or confirm production with a new supplier, and repeat the checks when the model, factory, driver or optic changes.

Who should complete it?

The buyer or the buyer's engineer should complete it, since datasheets, photometric files and driver evidence must be judged against the road programme. A local agent can gather documents.

What are the most common failures?

A photometric file for a different wattage, an undisclosed trader role, a late pole and bracket scope, a datasheet efficacy that does not reproduce, and a warranty period with no claims route.

Can a third party do it?

Yes, if you share the road programme, the standards in your enquiry and the evidence standard for each item first. A third party can collect documents and visit the factory, but the decision should stay with the buyer.

Next steps on Exportain

Before you shortlist, write your road programme schedule and pole scope, then browse suppliers and send the same checklist to each candidate through RFQs. For unit checks, read the LED street lights quality control checklist and the LED street lights import guide, and keep the completed checklist with the purchase order.