Quotes arrive in different layouts: one prices per piece, one per carton, one includes tooling and one does not. The question is not which number is lowest but what each number actually covers. This page describes how we convert a pile of quotes into a single comparison and show the conversion steps.
You hold quotes as received: PDFs, email bodies, spreadsheets. We set a basis first, meaning the unit, the quantity, the payment condition and the delivery basis stated in the quotes, then restate each quote against it. You receive a comparison matrix in which each cell is marked as a verified fact where it is read in the quote, as an inference where we converted it with the rule shown, as unavailable where the quote does not say, or as client-provided where it comes from material you supplied. Totals are given only where every component is stated or converted on a rule you can read.
We convert and arrange what suppliers wrote. A missing term is shown as unavailable, not filled with a typical value and not counted as zero.
Each row is a dimension on which quotes can differ. The columns show how the comparison treats it.
How it is restated: Converted to the unit you choose, with the pack size used shown beside it. When it stays flagged instead: The pack size is not stated and cannot be read from the product description.
How it is restated: Each price is placed at the same order quantity, using the supplier's own breaks. When it stays flagged instead: The quote gives one price with no stated quantity it applies to.
How it is restated: Shown in the currency the supplier quoted. Where several currencies appear, the matrix says the prices are not directly comparable unless one basis is agreed in the scope. When it stays flagged instead: The quote does not state its currency or its own conversion term.
How it is restated: Tooling, samples and set-up are separated from the repeat unit price. When it stays flagged instead: A supplier says they are included but does not say in what.
How it is restated: Written beside the price as the supplier's stated condition, not folded into it. When it stays flagged instead: Conditions differ so much that a single total would mislead.
How it is restated: Recorded exactly as quoted; where bases differ, the matrix says the prices are not directly comparable. When it stays flagged instead: Any attempt at equalising would need a freight estimate, which is outside this service.
Where a dimension cannot be restated without guessing, the matrix keeps the supplier's wording and says why.
Formats are close, so the work centres on quantity breaks and one-off charges. The matrix is short and the flags are few.
They quote different things under the same product name. The matrix adds a line for what each entity says it supplies and from where, so the reader sees that the prices answer different questions.
Validity dates and specification versions drift. We mark which quotes were given against an older version of the request and do not mix them into the same total silently.
Research reports what can be established from public and provided sources. It is not a guarantee about a counterparty's future conduct and not legal advice.
It states a recommendation summary with its assumptions where you ask for one. The choice remains yours, and a weighting you set changes the result.
Terms that could not be read are listed as unread and marked unavailable, not guessed.
They are listed as questions for the supplier and carried into the matrix as unavailable. Negotiating with a supplier is not part of the service.
No obligation. We read your request and reply with a straight answer.
Tell us what you need to find out and by when. We confirm scope before any work starts.
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