Supplier price lists and quotations

Compare supplier offers without rebuilding every file by hand

Bring product names, units, currencies and delivery terms into one clear table while leaving doubtful matches for purchasing to check.

Tell us about the files you compare See what we can help with

What happens today

One supplier quotes per sheet, another per kilogram

Purchasing asks three suppliers for 8 mm steel plate. One sends an Excel price per sheet. Another sends a PDF with a price per kilogram. The third uses its own product code, quotes in another currency and places the delivery cost in a note at the bottom.

Before anybody can compare the offers, an employee copies rows into a new spreadsheet, converts units, checks whether the dimensions are really the same and adds delivery terms by hand. Next month, much of that work starts again with a slightly different file.

The danger is not only wasted time. If the sheet size, tax, currency date or minimum order is missed, the cheapest-looking offer may not actually be the cheapest.

How it can work

Keep the original offers, but compare them in one common format

  1. Keep the sourceSave the original spreadsheet, PDF or export so every value can be checked later.
  2. Read the offerFind the product, dimensions, unit, currency, price and commercial terms.
  3. Match the productsLink clear supplier items to the company’s own material or product names.
  4. Convert by agreed rulesCalculate a common unit price and record the currency, tax and delivery assumptions used.
  5. Separate doubtful rowsSend unclear products or units to purchasing instead of forcing a match.
  6. Prepare the resultCreate a comparison table or an import file for the current purchasing or estimating system.

Who does what

The system prepares the comparison. Purchasing chooses the supplier.

What the system can prepare

  • Read recurring Excel, CSV, PDF and export layouts
  • Recognise supplier columns, product codes and descriptions
  • Convert the units and formats covered by agreed rules
  • Show duplicate items, missing values and price changes
  • Prepare a comparison or the file needed by the current system

What purchasing still decides

  • Which internal product each unusual item belongs to
  • Whether a substitute material is acceptable
  • Which tax, currency and delivery conditions apply
  • Which supplier to use and whether to place the order

What must stay visible

A converted price is useful only when you can see how it was calculated

  • The original row: keep a link from every converted value back to the supplier’s file and line.
  • An unknown unit: ask for review instead of assuming what the supplier meant.
  • A currency or tax conversion: show the rate, date and rule used in the calculation.
  • An uncertain product match: show the likely choices rather than silently selecting one.
  • The rest of the offer: keep delivery, minimum order, payment and validity terms beside the price.
Two different offers for what may be the same material. The system prepares the calculation but leaves the product match visible for purchasing to confirm.

What the suppliers sent

Supplier A: code PL-08, 1500 × 3000 mm sheet, price per sheet. Supplier B: “8 mm steel plate”, price per kilogram, delivery charged separately.

What purchasing sees

Both offers are shown as a price per kilogram, including the stated delivery cost. Sheet dimensions and calculation rules are visible. Supplier B’s material grade is unclear, so that row must be confirmed before the comparison is used.

A practical way to start

Begin with the file somebody cleans every week or month

  1. One repeatable conversion: turn one familiar Excel or CSV layout into the required format.
  2. Files that change: add checks and a review list for PDFs or spreadsheets with variable layouts.
  3. A supplier comparison: show common units, terms and a link back to every source value.
  4. Send it to the current system: prepare an approved import or send the reviewed data through an existing connection.
  5. A suitable location: process commercially sensitive offers in the client’s environment or another agreed private setup.

Where this helps

Supplier files that differ in layout but describe familiar products

This works best when purchasing or estimating teams receive recurring products and can agree on the fields needed for comparison. A one-off technical offer with no usable product numbers may still need careful manual review.

Which supplier file do you clean the same way every time?

Tell us what formats arrive, what usually differs and what the final table or import should contain. There is no need to send commercial files in the first message.

Tell us about the recurring file
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