KENYA · GUIDE 0572 · EDITION 4.2
Supplier quotation comparison in Kenya: Customers and Market Demand
The buyer and the buying decision
Owners buying equipment, supplies or services. The offer to test is: Compare quotations on a like-for-like specification and disclose missing information.
Compare supplier quotations for a defined purchase using the buyer's specifications, separating base price from delivery, installation, exclusions, payment terms, lead times, and assumptions that make apparently similar offers materially different before any recommendation is presented.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Compare a small set of actual quotes without choosing on price alone.
The purpose of this test is to establish whether the buyer accepts the specified result, delivery arrangement and payment terms. An encouraging interview does not establish repeat demand. Ask what the buyer currently uses, what would make them change supplier and who has authority to approve the first order. Record a refusal as carefully as an enquiry so that unsuccessful offers do not disappear from the evidence.
Collect evidence specific to this offer
Keep original quotations, common specification, clarification replies, exclusions, comparison assumptions, buyer priorities, unresolved differences, and the final authorized selection, making clear which findings come from supplier statements and which recommendations reflect the buyer's chosen evaluation priorities for procurement.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Ask the buyer to review a side-by-side comparison against original quotations, checking omitted items, differing quantities, warranty wording as supplied, and whether each supplier actually quoted the requested specification rather than a cheaper alternative product or service. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Compare supplier quotations for a defined purchase using the buyer's specifications, separating base price from delivery, installation, exclusions, payment terms, lead times, and assumptions that make apparently similar offers materially different before any recommendation is presented. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Show buyers a fictional landed-cost comparison with clearly stated gaps. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | Differences and undisclosed commissions remain visible; no supplier guarantee is invented. |
Decide whether to continue
Review the specification with the buyer before committing to tools or stock. A trial is commercially useful only if actual costs, rejected work, time spent and cash collected can be reconciled. The cheapest headline quote can become the costliest practical choice when required accessories, transport, commissioning, or replacement terms were excluded and the comparison silently treated those missing elements as equivalent to fully included supplier offerings being evaluated together.
If a buyer changes the required output, record a new scope and re-cost the test. Do not count a request for a different product as proof of demand for the original one. Keep personal contact details in your private records and use customer statements publicly only with permission.
Turn the example into a buyer test
Fictional comparison QTE-72 compares three client-supplied quotations for ten identical-specification office chairs. Output is a line-by-line matrix of specification, quantity, price basis, delivery, assembly, warranty wording, lead time and unresolved questions. Worked example: supplierA at 1,800 per chair plus 500 delivery totals 18,500; supplierB at 1,750 plus 1,400 delivery totals 18,900. These invented figures illustrate why a lower unit price can cost 400 more overall. No supplier endorsement, technical chair certification or purchasing authority is included.
| Buyer discussion | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Specification to confirm | A fixed chair and adjustable chair are not treated as equivalent because both are called office chairs. |
| Output to inspect | Final selection remains the owner/procurement authority's decision; matrix is not an award notice. |
| Failure that can defeat acceptance | Cheapest changes after delivery added |
Ask the buyer to describe one acceptable and one unacceptable result. Record the decision maker, price basis, quantity, handover point and payment date privately. A sample request, an encouraging conversation and an accepted order are different evidence. Keep the first commitment within your demonstrated capacity; no customer interview or successful trial is asserted here.
What a failed test should change
Check all surcharge/inclusion lines.. If the offer cannot meet that check, revise the specification or process before promising a repeat. Keep rejected offers and reasons in the same register as positive replies so that your record does not exaggerate demand.