A lower unit price is often a different offer: another revision, another tool, another delivery term. Quotations become comparable only when every supplier answers on the same technical and commercial basis.
Three quotations, three different products
Suppliers read an enquiry differently. One uses the revision from the last project, another omits surface treatment, and a third includes tooling in the unit price. The three prices look comparable but cover different scopes.
A total-cost comparison covers freight, duties and tied-up capital. Here, you first establish whether suppliers are offering the same product at all.
What a comparable enquiry must contain
The more precise the enquiry, the less suppliers have to guess. This information belongs in every enquiry for custom parts made to a drawing:
- Drawing with revision status and the critical characteristics
- Inspection requirements, for example a measurement report or material certificate
- Material and surface with standard
- Quantity per call-off and annual volume
- Delivery term under Incoterms with location
- Packaging and labelling
- Tool: cost, ownership and service life
- Samples: quantity, cost and date
- Payment terms
An example comparison
Illustrative example – not a client case. Three quotations for the same die-cast part, as received:
| Item | Quotation A | Quotation B | Quotation C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit price | €4.20 | €3.85 | €4.05 |
| Revision | C | B | C |
| Tool | €9,800, owned by the customer | €6,500, service life 50,000 shots | not stated |
| Minimum order quantity | 2,000 pieces | 5,000 pieces | 1,000 pieces |
| Delivery term | FOB Shanghai (free on board) | EXW (ex works) | FOB Ningbo |
| Packaging | individual bags | loose in carton | individual bags |
| Payment | 30% deposit | 50% deposit | 30% deposit |
Name the gaps instead of estimating them
Quotation B has the lowest unit price but refers to revision B and a tool with a shorter service life. Its terms are ex works rather than free on board. Quotation C omits tooling cost. We ask the supplier and label the items rather than estimate missing information.
In the example, supplier B needs an additional machining step for revision C. The unit price rises to €4.32. On a free-on-board Shanghai basis, B is then above quotation A. After clarification, the apparently cheapest supplier is the most expensive.
- Comparable: same basis, directly comparable
- Comparable after adjustment: difference known and assessable, for example the delivery term
- Not comparable: information missing or based on another revision – query required
From comparison to selection
We use the comparison to make a sourcing recommendation. Which candidate should you sample? Which conditions must be clarified first? What must remain unchanged before ordering? You decide on the selection. In the next stage, we support sampling with one product-specific day on site.