1. Create one quotation basis
Record the part number, drawing revision, material, supply condition and quantity being compared. Keep forecast annual demand separate from the quantity actually being ordered. If a supplier proposes a different process or specification, record it as an alternative requiring review rather than silently accepting it as an equivalent offer.
2. Separate one-time and recurring costs
Record tooling, fixtures, sample production and any agreed initial qualification work separately from repeat-unit prices. State what is owned by the buyer, where tooling is kept and which services are included. Do not spread a one-time cost over an uncertain annual forecast and present the result as a committed unit price.
3. Check the complete delivered scope
For a hub or housing, compare the same bore, shoulder, hole pattern and face requirements, as well as finishing, required reports and packing. Distinguish a rough casting, a partly machined blank and a finished component. A body-only price also excludes any separately specified mating hardware or assembly work. Check the named delivery term and place, currency and quotation validity. Leave unknown charges marked for clarification instead of filling in estimated freight or tax as though it were quoted.
4. Compare acceptance and change handling
Confirm the sample approval steps, production-release condition and treatment of drawing changes. Record material or dimensional documentation included in the offer. Ask how a nonconforming delivery would be reviewed and handled under the proposed terms. These are questions to resolve between the parties, not standard promises supplied by this worksheet.
5. Use a transparent first-order calculation
For an identical defined scope, the first-order comparison can show: quoted one-time costs + ordered quantity × quoted unit price + separately quoted inspection, packing and logistics. Include only known amounts and avoid double-counting costs already included in the unit price. Keep non-comparable or missing items visible beside the total. A lower incomplete total is not yet a like-for-like saving.
Worked scope review: two offers for a flanged housing
Offer A covers the casting and rough bore machining; the mounting holes and dimensional report are excluded. Offer B covers the finished bore, mounting face and holes, with a report to the specified drawing revision. Mark the first offer as incomplete for a finished-part order, then ask for the missing operations and records to be priced. If the buyer intends to finish the part, compare both offers at that same intermediate condition instead. Compare tooling at the firm order quantity and show forecast repeat quantities separately. This is an illustrative purchasing decision, not an actual quotation or a savings claim.
Information to collect
- Supplier / quotation reference / date / validity
- Part number / revision / material / firm order quantity; forecast stated separately
- Delivery condition: raw / partly machined / finished; bore, face and hole operations included or excluded
- Tooling, fixture and sample costs; ownership terms
- Production unit price and currency
- Required inspection and documentation inclusions
- Packing, shipment term, named place and separately quoted costs
- Sample approval, production release and proposed commercial terms
- Scope mismatches, unknown costs and clarification owner
Put the information to work
Send the available files and identify open questions. Keep confidential customer information out of public posts; share authorised project files directly for review.
Drawing-based component enquiries · Email Kai your requirements
Further reading: SFSA information for steel-casting buyers. This JK Casting worksheet organises purchasing information; application-specific design and acceptance requirements must come from the approved project documents.