Verify the entity, not just the letterhead
The supplier you shortlist has to be the entity you will contract with and pay. Check that the registered name, the certificate of incorporation or registration, the tax documents, and the bank account details all point to the same organisation. Mismatches here are the single most common cause of a payment or audit problem months after delivery.
Ask for the documents rather than a summary, and confirm that expiry dates run past the expected contract period. A supplier whose compliance lapses mid-contract creates a problem for you, not for them.
Put lead times and scope in writing
A quotation that names a price but not a delivery period is not comparable with one that does. Ask each shortlisted supplier to state, in writing, the lead time from purchase order, the delivery point, and who is responsible for offloading, installation, and commissioning.
This is also where hidden costs surface. Delivery to a county site, installation outside Nairobi, or training for staff are all real costs that some quotes include and others quietly leave to you.
- Lead time from purchase order, in working days.
- Delivery point and who offloads.
- Whether installation, configuration, or commissioning is included.
- Whether user training and documentation are included.
- Validity period of the quoted price.
For equipment, pin down warranty and support
Warranty language is where otherwise comparable equipment quotes diverge. Confirm the warranty length, what it covers, whether it is manufacturer-backed or supplier-backed, and — critically — who performs warranty service locally and how fast they are expected to respond.
A cheaper unit with no local service path can cost far more over its life than a slightly pricier one with a documented support arrangement and spare-part availability.
Compare compliance, not just totals
Line up the quotes against the specification you issued and mark each line as met, partially met, or not met. A quote that meets every line at a higher total is frequently better value than one that meets most of them and leaves you to source the remainder separately.
Where a supplier offers an alternative, ask them to state the difference explicitly rather than describing it as "equivalent". That one question turns a vague claim into something you can evaluate and defend in an audit.
Ask for references you can actually check
References from institutions of a comparable size and complexity are worth more than a long client list. Ask what was supplied, to which location, and how long ago — then make one call.
What you are listening for is not enthusiasm but specifics: whether deliveries arrived complete, whether defects were handled without a fight, and whether the supplier was reachable when something went wrong.