KENYA · GUIDE 0011 · EDITION 4.2
French bean growing - Equipment, materials and suppliers
Buy for the acceptance standard
The procurement decision starts with the result you must deliver: Pods should match agreed length, tenderness and condition without hiding off-grade stock.
Have the customer examine a representative harvest before sorting, explaining which pods they reject for tenderness, shape or visible damage during their normal buying process.
A tool or material is suitable only when it can support this specification at the pilot scale. Use the following shortlist as a starting point, not a compulsory shopping package:
- traceable seed
- irrigation access
- picking containers
- sorting table
Write comparable requests for quotations
| Resource | Questions for the supplier |
|---|---|
| traceable seed | Confirm the precise variant, usable quantity, compatibility, delivered cost, lead time, invoice and remedy for a mismatch. |
| irrigation access | Confirm the precise variant, usable quantity, compatibility, delivered cost, lead time, invoice and remedy for a mismatch. |
| picking containers | Confirm the precise variant, usable quantity, compatibility, delivered cost, lead time, invoice and remedy for a mismatch. |
| sorting table | Confirm the precise variant, usable quantity, compatibility, delivered cost, lead time, invoice and remedy for a mismatch. |
Ask for the exact unit or pack size, rather than accepting a price without a quantity. Where equipment is involved, check maintenance needs, safe operation, available support and whether you can obtain replacement consumables. Inspect a sample or demonstration where practical. A photograph and a low asking price do not prove suitability or available stock.
Connect procurement to the operating sequence
- Obtain the French-bean buyer's written pod specification and collection arrangement before scheduling harvest labour or purchasing extra packing materials.
- Use agreed pod examples while sorting, recording total picking weight, accepted grade and rejected pods separately for every harvest lot.
- Keep input and harvest records linked to the delivery, and do not describe local acceptance as evidence of export certification.
At each step, identify the input whose absence would stop delivery. Arrange that input before accepting a deadline. Compare buying with suitable hire or a competent subcontractor, while keeping the responsibility for inspection and customer handover explicit.
Inspect before release to use
Retain the quote and check the delivered specification, quantity, condition and identifying details. Keep unsuitable items separate while you resolve the discrepancy. Record supplier identity and payment reference privately; do not post customer or supplier personal data in a public planning sheet.
Allocate picking and hand-sorting time by accepted grade, since a good price for selected beans can be outweighed by extensive work on rejected pods.
Limit the first purchase to the agreed scope: Select a domestic kitchen or trader whose French bean specification you can inspect directly, and define a separate outlet for beans outside that preferred grade. Expand the resource list only when actual orders and measured capacity justify it.