Normalize the selected scope
If both formats are required at launch, add the confirmed option to B’s comparable scope and retain the original offer total separately.
Factory planning for water bottling projects
Plant buying and operating worksheets
A requirement-level matrix makes differently structured quotations comparable. Keep technical acceptability separate from commercial scoring so a low price cannot hide an unresolved performance or scope requirement.
Answer first
Give every requirement a stable ID, state its priority and testable wording, then record each bidder’s response, evidence reference and status. Distinguish comply, deviation, option, exclusion and unresolved. Link open items to a clarification register and record the approved final document revision.

Downloadable buyer resource
Three editable Excel registers: Bid Compliance, Clarifications and Spare Parts. Start with blank project rows and use the clearly labeled examples to understand each field. No macros or automatic supplier scores.
Download buyer workbook (.xlsx)
Free download. No email address required. The workbook stays on your device; enter your project information in your own copy.
01
The status describes what the offer says and what evidence supports it. It is not a substitute for the buyer’s acceptance decision.
| Status | Meaning | Buyer action |
|---|---|---|
| Comply | Offer meets the stated requirement with identified evidence. | Review evidence and record acceptance. |
| Deviation | Proposed value or method differs from the requirement. | Evaluate the consequence and formally accept or reject. |
| Option | Available only as an optional package or price. | Decide whether to include it and update the total. |
| Exclusion | Bidder explicitly leaves the work outside its scope. | Assign the work and include its cost/interface. |
| Unresolved | Response or supporting evidence is incomplete. | Raise a clarification; do not assume compliance. |
02
Split a paragraph containing several obligations into separate rows. A requirement for output, a requirement for bottle compatibility and a requirement for installation support have different evidence and may have different owners.
| Requirement family | Useful row wording | Evidence reference |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | State the required good-output rate for the named bottle and pack under agreed test conditions. | Performance schedule and FAT protocol |
| Package compatibility | Identify supported bottle drawings, neck finishes, closures, labels and change parts. | Format matrix and parts list |
| Utilities | Identify demand and quality at each supplier/buyer connection. | Load list and interface drawing |
| Handover | Identify manuals, drawings, backups, training and spare-parts documents. | Deliverables register and schedule |
03
Illustration only: Supplier A marks a second bottle format as included and references a change-parts list. Supplier B marks it as an option with a separate price. Both may be technically feasible, but their base prices cover different equipment.
If both formats are required at launch, add the confirmed option to B’s comparable scope and retain the original offer total separately.
A mandatory compatibility issue remains open until supported. Do not allow a high weighted average on other criteria to conceal it.
If format flexibility already has its own evaluation criterion, do not add the same advantage again under unrelated service or capacity headings.
04
The workbook contains separate Bid Compliance, Clarifications and Spare Parts tabs for three different working tasks. The compliance tab starts with blank input rows and defined status choices. It contains no bidder scores, approval automation or private project data.
A long table is easier to filter than a growing block of new columns for each bidder. Preserve the same requirement wording and revision across bidders.
Use the clarification ID to connect a summary status to the exact question, response and evidence. Keep final disposition separate from compliance status.
Before award, identify the approved requirement revision, offer revision and accepted exceptions. Archive the comparison used for the decision.
Buyer questions
No. Not stated remains unresolved until clarified. Excluded is an explicit supply boundary.
No. It organizes technical evidence and exceptions. Commercial, delivery and business decisions require their own agreed criteria.
Only if the requirement and supporting evidence genuinely apply to all of them. Separate rows when rates, parts or limitations differ.
Move this project question forward
Narrative proposals can hide different boundaries, assumptions and exceptions behind similar equipment names.
Not sure which data matters? Send what you have and state the decision you need to make.
Send target capacity and SKUs, source-water report, site utility schedule, building layout and required project milestones.
The project desk can identify missing inputs and a practical next step. Final engineering, configuration, compliance and commercial terms remain project-specific.
Allot Tech (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. · sales@allottech.com · Project telephone: +86 186 6213 1120 / +1 818 262 0958