Half the plywood quotes that disappoint were doomed by the enquiry. "Best rate for 18mm ply" cannot be priced honestly — so it gets priced optimistically, and the gap surfaces later as a substitution, a surcharge or a dispute. Send these six specifications with your enquiry and any serious manufacturer can return a quote you can actually hold them to.
The six lines of a quotable enquiry
| # | Spec | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product and grade | The board by bonding grade — MR, BWR, BWP marine, film-faced shuttering — plus the standard if your project names one (IS 303, IS 710, IS 4990) |
| 2 | Thickness and size | Each thickness in mm with its sheet size, line by line |
| 3 | Quantity | Sheets per line — or the load: a truckload domestic, a container for export. State if it repeats monthly; programme volume changes the conversation |
| 4 | Face and treatment | Face veneer (e.g. Okoume), laminate-ready or paint-grade, calibration tolerance if your shop needs it, ISPM-15 where packaging timber is involved |
| 5 | Destination and terms | Delivery city for domestic; port and incoterm for export — what FOB does and doesn't include is in FOB Cochin explained |
| 6 | Documents you need | Test certificates, ISI marking, phytosanitary or fumigation certificates, LC paperwork — name them now, not at dispatch |
What a serious quote looks like coming back
Judge the reply by its anatomy, not its bottom line. A manufacturer-grade quote arrives in writing and states: the grade and standard per line, the price basis and what it excludes (taxes, transport), validity, payment terms, and — the part that matters most — a grade recommendation with reasons if your enquiry asked for the wrong board. A spec sheet attached is the supplier doing your due diligence for you.
Three enquiry habits that cost buyers money
- Asking for one rate to cover mixed needs. Decking, wall forms and infill, or wet-area and dry-area carcasses, deserve split line items. One blended rate always blends in someone's margin.
- Hiding the real quantity. Quoting a trial lot at trial-lot pricing and hoping programme volume gets the same rate wastes a negotiation. State both: the pilot and the programme behind it.
- Leaving the documents to dispatch week. Certificates named on the enquiry get built into the lot. Certificates demanded at the gate get improvised — or refused.
FAQ
How fast should a quote come back?
For standard products, expect a written quote within one business day; genuinely custom constructions take a little longer. Slower than that on stock items tells you something about how dispatch queries will be handled too.
Should I share my target price?
Share the spec first and let it be priced honestly. A target price stated too early tends to be met — by quietly adjusting the parts of the spec you didn't pin down.
What payment terms are normal?
Standard products commonly transact on part-advance with balance before dispatch; custom production on full advance; export by T/T or sight L/C. Whatever is agreed, it belongs on the proforma invoice, not in a phone call.
How many suppliers should I send the enquiry to?
Two or three, all receiving the identical six-line spec. Identical enquiries are the only way the quotes that return are actually comparable.
What the Cochin Wood group recommends
Copy the table above into your next enquiry and fill in the six lines. That is the exact intake our export desk works from — and why our quotes return with the grade recommendation and the spec sheet attached.
Send the six lines now, or browse the catalogue to name the boards first.