Two quotations for what looks like the same box can differ by thirty per cent, and the difference is rarely visible in the line items. It is in the assumptions: what thickness tolerance is implied, how the corners are made, what load the quoted stack height assumes, and whether the price includes the lid. Reading a quote means reading what it does not say.
Thickness: nominal, minimum or average
A sheet quoted at 700 GSM may be supplied at an average of 700 with a tolerance that allows a meaningful proportion below it. Ask whether the figure is nominal, minimum or average, and what the tolerance is. A box specified at a minimum thickness costs slightly more and removes an argument later. Where a quote is much cheaper than its competitors, thickness tolerance is the most common reason.
Corner construction is invisible in the price
Whether the base corners are radiused and double-folded, whether the rim is turned, whether the hand holes are reinforced – none of these appear as line items and all of them dominate service life. Ask for a description of the corner and handle construction in writing. Two quotes of identical thickness can differ in box life by a factor of three purely on this.
Stack height needs a load and a duration
A quoted stack height without a stated load per box and a stated duration is not a specification. Loaded stack height for a box carrying fifteen kilograms is not the same as for thirty. Safe height for an hour is not safe height for a week, because PP creeps. Ask for both numbers and the conditions, and if a supplier cannot give them, treat the figure as marketing.
What is included
Lid, dividers, base pad, label panel, printing: each is either included or not, and each can be a significant fraction of the unit price. A quote that is twenty per cent cheaper because it excludes the lid is not cheaper. Normalise the quotes to the same deliverable before comparing, and check the incoterms and whether tooling is separately charged. The line-by-line method is the one used in reading a quotation line by line.
Lead time is part of the price
A quote with a shorter lead time is worth more than the same quote with a longer one, and the difference is real money when a fleet is being replaced under time pressure. Tooling lead time and production lead time are different numbers and should be quoted separately: tooling is a one-off at the start of a new size, production recurs on every order.
Ask what the production lead time is on a repeat order of the same box, because that is the number that will apply for the life of the fleet, and it is often much shorter than the first-order figure. Ask also whether the supplier holds buffer stock of a standard size. Where a fleet will be replenished annually rather than bought once, a shorter repeat lead time is worth paying something for, because it reduces the buffer stock the plant has to carry against a stockout.
What a very cheap quote usually means
A quote materially below the field is rarely a better deal and it is almost always one of four things. Thickness quoted as an average rather than a minimum, with a tolerance that permits a meaningful proportion of thin sheet. Corners and handles made the cheap way, which shows up in service life rather than on the delivery note. Recycled content of unspecified and variable quality, which affects consistency more than strength. Or a stack height quoted without conditions.
None of these are visible in the quote and all of them are discoverable with three questions: is that thickness a minimum, how are the base corners made, and what load and duration does that stack height assume? A supplier quoting the low number will usually answer the first two honestly when asked directly, and the answers tell you whether the saving is real. Where it is not, paying the middle price for a box that lasts twice as long is the cheaper decision and the one most plants eventually make.
What we can do
We quote PP corrugated turnover boxes with thickness stated as a minimum, corner and handle construction described in writing, and stack height quoted with load and duration. Send us a competing quote and we will tell you where the differences are – including where ours is the more expensive option and why.