How a Supplier Review Turns an Enquiry into a Quotation

An enquiry basket is a request, not an order. What follows the moment you send it is a review step in which the supplier compares what you asked for against what can actually be supplied, and then states the conditions in a quotation. This overview separates the two sides of that handover: the details only you can supply, and the checks only the supplier can make. It is meant to help a reseller judge what the review step is worth before planning around a reply.

Where the enquiry stops and the review begins

Sending the enquiry form does not create a purchase contract. The automated acknowledgement only confirms that the selection has been received for review. Everything you entered in the basket stays in your browser until you remove it, clear browser data or submit it successfully; contact details are not stored in the basket. From the moment the enquiry is reviewed, the supplier is working with a snapshot of your selection plus the business and destination details you provided. Accuracy at submission therefore determines how much of the review can be done without asking you to clarify.

What only the buyer can supply

Several inputs cannot be reconstructed by anyone else. These include your business name and contact details, the destination the goods are meant for, your packaging requirements, and the varieties and quantities you selected. If you are asking about something not in the catalogue, the botanical or variety name, the quantity and the destination are what make the question answerable. If a destination has official import conditions, the applicable case and the documents you need belong in the enquiry as well, because a catalogue listing does not confirm import eligibility.

What the supplier checks against your selection

The review compares your requested items, quantities and destination before any offer is made. That covers availability of the varieties and quantities you named, the pack sizes that can be offered, prices and quantity tiers, applicable taxes, shipping charges, payment terms and delivery arrangements. Where a shipment requires documentation or batch-specific test results, these are confirmed as part of the review rather than assumed from the catalogue entry. The catalogue describes entries; it does not confirm current stock.

Answers that only exist once the quotation is issued

Some questions genuinely have no answer before the quotation. Which pack size applies to your line, what the final price is after tiers and taxes, what shipping will cost to your destination, how payment is handled and when delivery is expected are all settled in the quotation and the agreement that follows. If you have asked for documentation for a proposed shipment, the answer to whether it can be provided also arrives with the offer, not with the acknowledgement. Treating these as open until the quotation arrives keeps planning realistic.

Reading the quotation as a decision document

A quotation is worth reading line by line rather than as a single total. Compare the confirmed pack sizes with the quantities you asked for, check that the destination and shipping conditions match what you intended, and confirm that any tax, payment and delivery terms fit your calendar. Where the offer differs from your enquiry, the difference is usually a factual constraint rather than an oversight, and it is the part worth responding to. The terms of any purchase are set out in the quotation and subsequent agreement, not in the catalogue.

Correcting an enquiry before or after sending

Before sending, you can edit quantities or remove items in the basket freely. After sending, corrections are handled by contacting the supplier with the enquiry reference. If the form could not send and delivery was not confirmed, the selection remains in the basket and you should use the displayed message and the enquiry reference rather than resending blindly. This is also why a reference is useful: it lets a correction or a later question be attached to the right review without rebuilding the whole request.

How to judge whether the review step earns its place

The review is valuable in proportion to how much it resolves that you could not resolve yourself. If your enquiry carried clear quantities, a precise destination and stated packaging needs, the review can answer availability, pack sizes and shipping in one pass. If those details were vague, the review either stalls or returns questions. A reseller can therefore treat the quality of their own submission as the main lever on how much a quotation will tell them, and plan reorder volumes only once confirmed pack sizes and terms are in hand.

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