Is one supplier really cheaper, or has it quoted a different quantity?
An oxygen absorber quotation might give a price per sachet, per inner pack or per carton. Freight may be included in one offer and left for later discussion in another. Put those prices side by side without the details and the comparison is misleading.
There are two decisions here: what the offer includes, and whether the proposed absorber is right for the pack. This article deals with the first. A lower price does not settle the second.
What exactly does the price buy?
Start with the supplier’s item reference, not the price column. Does each offer identify the format and specification it covers? Two sachets can look alike without being the same quoted product.
The next question is simpler, but easy to miss: how many sachets are in that quoted unit? A carton price cannot be converted to a sachet price until the packing quantity is confirmed. The order quantity matters too. An offer for a different order size is not automatically a like-for-like alternative.
Where the quote is incomplete, leave a gap in the comparison and ask the supplier. Copying a packing quantity from another offer makes a tidy spreadsheet, not a reliable one.
A quote comparison sheet
Use one column for each supplier and keep the original offers alongside it. The following fields are suggestions for your comparison, not Tianhua’s mandatory order requirements.
| Item | What to record or clarify |
|---|---|
| Product reference | The quoted item, format and specification reference |
| Price unit | What one quoted unit contains and the packing quantity used for conversion |
| Order quantity | The quantity covered and any stated minimum order |
| Packing | What inner and outer packing is included |
| Currency and validity | The quoted currency and offer validity |
| Delivery basis | The stated destination or delivery terms, including whether freight is included |
| Separate charges | Any quoted customization, tooling, freight or other charge |
| Timing and samples | Confirmed details, estimates and open questions |
“Not confirmed” is a useful entry. A blank freight charge is not free freight; an unanswered delivery question is not a promise of immediate stock.
Any currency conversion or quantity adjustment belongs in a separate calculation. That way, a colleague can see the supplier’s figures without confusing them with your assumptions.
Does the paperwork match the item?
A company brochure and a product specification do different jobs. Ask which specification and application notes cover the item being offered, then keep their references or versions with the quotation. If a document covers a product family rather than the specific item, note that distinction.
Tianhua’s food oxygen absorber page makes final format and capacity subject to application review and representative package testing. Comparing prices does not replace that review or approve a particular food pack. There is no need to turn this worksheet into a technical specification.
Give suppliers the same starting information
Use a dated description of the product and pack for each enquiry. When that description changes, attach the revision to the corresponding offer. Otherwise, the suppliers may be responding to different requirements even though the quotations sit in the same folder.
Tianhua’s contact page asks for product and packaging details and the target shelf life to start a discussion. That is a starting point, not enough information by itself to approve the final absorber specification.
A message you can adapt
This is an editorial template, not an actual customer message or a supplier quotation:
Please confirm the item and specification reference, price unit, sachets per quoted unit, order quantity and offer validity. Which packing, delivery and separate charges are included? Please mark estimates or points still open. We would also like to know what further information you need to review this absorber for our product and pack.
Trim the message to the unanswered points. Sending a long checklist back when the offer already answers most of it only obscures the question that needs a reply.
What should you have before ordering?
A price ranking, the original offers and a short list of unresolved points. If an answer changes the offer, ask for a revised quotation rather than treating an informal assumption as an agreed term. Keep the application decision separate from the purchasing comparison.
For an OXYFREE enquiry, contact the Tianhua team with the product and pack information you have and the questions still open. Request the relevant product information and quotation basis; the public product page is not a current offer for your order.
