Comparing valve offers on a consistent basis
Most valve comparisons are invalid before they start, because the offers answer slightly different questions. Fixing that is a table, not a negotiation.
Three quotations arrive. One is cheaper. The temptation is to read that as the answer, and it usually is not, because the three offers are rarely answers to the same question. One may have quoted a different bore. One may have assumed an adaptor. One may have quoted a family rather than an exact model.
Comparing them properly is not a matter of judgement or negotiation. It is a matter of getting them onto one basis first, and that is a clerical job you can do in an afternoon.
The columns that make a comparison valid
- Exact model designationNot a family, not a description. If an offer does not name one, that is the first question, not a detail to resolve later.
- The two connection designations, with orientationCylinder end and outlet, separately. This is where two offers most often diverge without saying so.
- BoreTwo valves with the same outlet can have different bores and will behave differently at the same demand.
- Working pressure, in the unit quotedWrite down the unit each offer used. Do not convert them into a common unit for the table - note them as given and ask, because a conversion you perform is an assumption you have introduced.
- What is includedDocumentation, marking, packaging, minimum quantity, lead time. A cheaper unit price with a longer lead time is a different offer, not a better one.
How to build it
Build the table with one row per offer and one column per item above, and fill it only with what the offers actually say. Leave a cell blank when an offer is silent rather than filling it with what you assume was meant. The blanks are the output: they are your list of questions, and they are usually shorter than expected.
Then send each supplier only their own blanks. It is a short, specific message, it is easy to answer, and it does not reveal anyone else's pricing.
Common questions
Should I tell suppliers they are being compared?
You do not need to. Asking each one to complete the same set of fields is normal practice and produces the same result.
One offer quotes a model I cannot find in any catalogue. What now?
Ask for the exact designation and a photograph of the marking. An unlisted model may be perfectly real; it may also be a description that has been mistaken for a designation.
Is the highest working pressure the safest choice?
No. A rating is a limit recorded for a model, not a measure of quality. A valve rated well above your service pressure can still be the wrong bore or connection.
Send the fields you are comparing on. We will fill in what the factory record holds and mark what has to be confirmed.