Lighting Dynamics has spent nearly three decades serving the South Florida region as a manufacturer’s representative in the lighting industry. Acting as a bridge between over 100 lighting manufacturers (including industry-leading brands like Cooper Lighting) and architects, designers, contractors, and distributors, Lighting Dynamics orchestrates everything from early design guidance to shipment coordination—without ever handling money directly.

“We are the extension of the factory. The factory doesn’t have the resources to answer every local call or question, and the local architects and engineers don’t have time to chase every single manufacturer. We’re that local, centralized resource.”

While this unique business model has helped Lighting Dynamics maintain close relationships and unparalleled support, an ever-increasing volume of email began to strain their core quoting processes.

The Challenge: Drowning in Shared Inboxes

High-Volume Quote Requests

Multiple times a day, distributors and contractors send requests for the same project from various angles—sometimes from several distributors for a single contractor, or multiple contractors from the same distributor. Lighting Dynamics routinely fields around 100 quote-related emails daily.

Lack of Coordination in Outlook

Initially, these messages funnelled into a single shared Outlook inbox:

• One person would monitor inbound messages and forward them to a quoter.
• Internal communications (clarifications, status updates) would bounce around separately, causing confusion.
• No one had a clear view of who was working on what, which quote requests were duplicates, or whether requests were addressed on time.

Risk of Missing Deadlines

In commercial lighting, bid dates are crucial. Contractors have strict deadlines for pricing, but Lighting Dynamics also can’t reveal quotes too early—it risks sharing confidential pricing strategies with competitors. Juggling numerous deadlines in a single inbox made it easy to miss or delay requests, threatening relationships and the bottom line.

Searching for a Solution: Trials & Errors

Attempting Project Management Tools

Stephanie, Director of Operations, tested well-known apps like monday․com and ClickUp, hoping to tame the chaos. While robust for project roadmaps, these tools didn’t map well to Lighting Dynamics’ rapid quote-turnaround needs:

“We looked at project management tools, but we don’t have typical milestones or tasks. We have to interpret 50+ projects daily, each generating multiple emails. It was just pandemonium.”

Running into Outlook’s Limitations

They explored advanced Outlook configurations, including distribution lists and tasks, but couldn’t effectively convert emails into trackable tasks within a shared environment. Realizing Microsoft 365 wasn’t built for this volume of shared, concurrent workflows, they sought a more specialized solution.

Evaluating Help Desk & Shared Inbox Solutions

Stephanie also trialed help desk platforms. Some lacked full Outlook support; others struggled with two-way email sync or intuitive assignment workflows. The time-zone gap with offshore support teams only compounded the challenges.

The Missive Discovery: A Real Fit for Shared Inbox Management

Stephanie’s Google search for “shared inbox management for teams” brought her to Missive, which rose to the top of multiple review sites. After a 45-minute live demo addressing her technical questions, she was convinced:

• Transparent Assignment: Missive gives every team member full visibility into who is handling each conversation. No more forwarding an email into a black hole.
• Internal Collaboration: Built-in chat and comments within each email thread streamline discussions—cutting out countless internal emails.
• Flexible Customization: Labels, rules, and conversation assignment allow each department to adapt Missive to its specific workflow.
• Responsive Support and Roadmap: The team at Missive stood out for quick replies, in-depth product knowledge, and planned features like tasks and due dates—perfect for Lighting Dynamics’ future needs.

Implementation & Adoption: From a Single Friday to Steady Progress

Rolling Out in the Quotations Department

Lighting Dynamics started with its Quotations team—10 people managing the busiest inbox, receiving up to 100 messages daily. Stephanie and the Quotations Manager spent a Friday afternoon setting up shared inboxes, assigning roles, and teaching everyone the basics of labeling, conversation assignment, and internal chat.

“We had to rip the Band-Aid off at some point. We chose our slowest Friday and worked through it together. The transparency factor alone made a huge difference immediately.”

Fine-Tuning Workflows

Early on, they learned:

• Assigning vs. Watching: Over-assigning conversations to multiple people caused confusion. Now, they assign a single owner and use “Watch” for those who need visibility but aren’t the primary contact.
• Labels & Archiving: Custom labels like “Being Reviewed” help team members avoid duplicating work. Quoters often create rules to remove assigned conversations from their inboxes, keeping focus on their “Assigned to Me” view.

Results: A Bright Path Ahead

Streamlined Quote Management

Missive drastically cut down internal email clutter and confusion. Everyone sees who is addressing a quote, how many quotes each quoter is juggling, and whether new information arises in the same email thread.

“I can see that a request is assigned to Daniel and trust it’s being handled—no need to chase him with more emails or Slack messages. That’s a huge time saver.”

Faster Response Times & Fewer Missed Deadlines

With immediate visibility into new requests, the Quotations Department can now handle inquiries in near real-time. Because they label or tag each email before assigning, no emails get lost at the bottom of an overstuffed inbox.

Clear Path to Company-Wide Adoption

Having proven Missive’s value in Quotations, Lighting Dynamics plans to roll it out to other teams—projects, orders, info—once a few key features (like integrated task and due date management) are released.

“We absolutely see the potential. Once we can set deadlines and group requests by project, it’ll be a game-changer for sales, project management, everyone.”

Looking Ahead: Task Management & Industry Collaboration

Beyond the Quoting team, Stephanie envisions a future where Missive replaces not just Outlook in the front office, but also the siloed internal chat tools. The ability to track conversations, store key documents, and discuss everything in a single platform holds promise for:
• Project scheduling & hand-offs
• Real-time collaboration with remote teams
• Customer support & post-installation follow-ups

Final Thoughts

Lighting Dynamics’ story underscores how a shared inbox solution built for teams can revolutionize even the most complex workflows. By centralizing email communication, boosting transparency, and drastically reducing internal busywork, Missive has empowered Stephanie’s team to handle hundreds of daily quote requests—with confidence that nothing slips through the cracks.

For fast-moving businesses that rely on email-intensive, confidential, and multi-stakeholder interactions, Missive offers a modern approach. And as Lighting Dynamics continues to refine their processes—their path to streamlined, scalable success looks brighter than ever.