These eight points work on any supplier's offer, not only Vessel Core's own — the same principle Vessel Core already publishes on its parts-authenticity buyer checklist. Check off what the quotation in front of you actually states, and see how close it is to something you can compare and decide on.
This does not judge whether the price itself is high or low — Vessel Core does not publish market price data, and a tool should not pretend to have it. It judges completeness: whether the paperwork gives you enough to compare offers and defend the decision afterwards.
Check off what this quotation actually states.
Adapted from Vessel Core's own instructions to its suppliers — the same eight things any technical buyer can reasonably expect back.
A number silently translated into a different system is one of the most common causes of a wrong part reaching a vessel. The quotation should say the reference the way it is physically marked, and which source it came from. Where the offer is an alternative to the part fitted, the readers that check a replacement compare its marking with the fitted one, point by point.
The item named in plain words next to the number, with any material or grade quoted as a certificate states it — not a general class that could mean several things.
New and unused, reconditioned, surplus, or removed from service — and where it came from. Condition and origin decide whether the line can be offered onward at all, so a vague answer here matters before price is even read.
How many are actually available at the quoted price, whether that quantity is held for this enquiry, and how the goods are packed. If part of the quantity is still on order, that should be a separate line at a separate price.
A lead time only means something once the clock has a start: a written order, cleared payment, release of material, or the end of another customer's hold. A bare number of days cannot be planned against a port call.
Currency, and whether the price is ex-works from a named address or delivered to a named place, with the Incoterms rule spelled out. A figure with no stated basis cannot be compared safely with a second figure that already includes carriage.
These three decide freight cost, clearance treatment and whether the consignment can travel in time for a port call. Supplied with the offer, they save re-measuring a crate at the moment a decision is already due.
How many days the price holds, and what sits outside it — packing, export documents, testing, certification, bank charges, minimum order value. Exclusions that surface only after acceptance do more damage than a high price openly quoted.
None of these are about the number itself — they are about whether the quotation can be trusted at all.
A well-formed quotation from an unverifiable company is still a risk. Vessel Core publishes its own registry and VAT details so a buyer can run exactly this check on Vessel Core itself — the same check applies to any supplier: confirm the registered company name against the national business register, and validate the VAT number through the EU VIES service before releasing payment.
No. This checklist scores whether a quotation states what a buying decision needs — reference, condition, lead time, price basis and so on — not whether the number is high or low. Vessel Core does not publish market price data, so comparing price is left to the buyer once the basis is clear.
No. These points work on any supplier's offer, not only ours — the same principle already stated on Vessel Core's parts-authenticity buyer checklist. A quotation from any source can be checked against them.
Not necessarily. Some gaps are quick to close with a follow-up question. Others — a price with no stated basis, a reference changed without saying so, vague condition or origin, or a cost that appears only after acceptance — are the ones that most often make a quotation unusable regardless of price.
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