Why Your Security Consultant Should Never
Be on a Vendor's Payroll

Across every major construction market in the world, a quiet conflict of interest plays out on security and ELV projects every day. A consultant specifies equipment. A contractor installs it. A vendor earns commission. And somewhere in that chain, the client's interests quietly stop being the priority.

This is not a fringe problem. It is structural. And understanding it is the single most important thing a project owner or facilities manager can do before appointing a security consultant.

How Vendor Relationships Compromise Advice

Many consultancy firms maintain formal or informal relationships with equipment manufacturers and distributors. These relationships take several forms:

• Referral commissions paid when a specified product is purchased
• Preferred partner programmes that incentivise brand loyalty through discounts or training subsidies
• Corporate shareholding or equity in a distributing company
• Exclusive supply agreements where the consultant's associated trading arm supplies the specified goods

None of these arrangements are necessarily disclosed to the client. In many jurisdictions, they do not have to be. But they fundamentally change the nature of the advice being given.

The Signs to Watch For

Vendor-tied consultancy is often difficult to detect, but there are patterns that experienced clients learn to recognise:

• Specifications that name a single brand without a genuine "or approved equal" clause
• Tender packages that make it technically difficult to substitute equivalent products
• Consultants who are reluctant to evaluate contractor-proposed alternatives on merit
• Advice that consistently aligns with a narrow range of premium brands, regardless of project requirements
• Resistance to value engineering exercises that could reduce equipment cost

What Genuine Independence Looks Like

A truly vendor-independent consultant has no financial relationship with any equipment manufacturer, distributor, or installation contractor. Their income derives solely from professional fees paid by the client. This alignment of interests is not complicated: the consultant is paid to serve the client, so they do.

In practice, vendor independence produces measurably better outcomes. Specifications are written around functional performance requirements rather than product catalogues. Tender evaluation is objective. Value engineering is approached honestly. And when a contractor attempts to substitute cheaper equipment mid-project, the consultant pushes back without hesitation, because they have no financial reason to allow it.

Before You Appoint: The Questions to Ask

Before engaging any security or ELV consultant, ask these questions directly:

• Do you, or does your firm, receive any form of commission, referral fee, or financial benefit from any equipment manufacturer or distributor?
• Do you have any equity interest in, or supply arrangement with, any company that may be involved in this project?
• Are your specifications written to a functional performance standard or to a specific brand?

If the answers are evasive, the scope of the conflict is likely significant. Genuine independence is not something a consultant is embarrassed to confirm.