What does a buyer check before shortlisting a machine supplier?
They check the output rate against their production requirement, the utilities and footprint against their plant, and whether spares and service reach their location. A machine page without a capacity figure cannot be shortlisted, however good the machine is.
A plant manager is drawing up a shortlist for a capex proposal and needs numbers he can put in a table.
Reviewed 4 August 2026
Scope and specifications
- Model and machine family
- The buyer needs something to name in an internal document.
- Output rate or capacity
- The number the whole purchase is justified against.
- Materials or products handled
- Determines whether the machine fits their process at all.
- Footprint, weight and headroom
- Plant layout kills more deals than price does.
- Power and utility requirement
- Compressed air, water, voltage and phase are commissioning blockers.
- Automation and control level
- Manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic are different products.
- Options and configurable modules
- Lets the buyer see how close the standard machine is to their requirement.
Documents buyers may need
| Document | What it proves | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Technical specification sheetAsked at: shortlisting | Capacity, dimensions, utilities and options in a comparable format | Publish it |
| General arrangement drawingAsked at: layout planning, before order | That the machine fits the intended space | Name it, share on request |
| EC Declaration of ConformityAsked at: by eu buyers, before shipment | Conformity with the applicable European directives — this is the document; CE is the marking | Publish it |
| Electrical safety compliance (IEC 60204-1)Asked at: technical review | That the control panel meets machine electrical safety requirements | Name it, share on request |
| Factory Acceptance Test protocolAsked at: contract negotiation | What will be demonstrated before the machine leaves your floor | Publish it |
| Spare parts list and manualAsked at: total cost evaluation | That the machine can be maintained over its life | Name it, share on request |
| Installation reference listAsked at: risk assessment | That machines of this model are running in production somewhere | Publish it |
Details for a useful enquiry
- Application and material
- Decides which machine family applies.
- Required output rate
- Decides the model and the price band.
- Available space and utilities
- Prevents quoting a machine that cannot be installed.
- Automation level wanted
- Materially changes the configuration.
- Installation location
- Drives freight, commissioning and service planning.
- Target commissioning date
- Tells you whether this is budgeting or buying.
Questions suppliers ask
Should we publish prices for machines?
A price band with the conditions attached usually helps more than it costs. Buyers building a capex case need an order of magnitude, and the ones who leave because the band is too high were never going to buy. If configuration makes a band meaningless, publish the basis instead — what drives the price up and down.
How much of the specification should be public versus gated?
Capacity, footprint, utilities and materials handled should be public — they are the shortlisting fields. Detailed drawings, control architecture and commercial terms are reasonable to share after contact. Gating the shortlisting fields removes you from the shortlist.
Do installation references need to name the customer?
No. Industry, country, model and year is usually enough for a buyer to judge relevance, and it avoids the permission problem entirely. A named reference is stronger, but only with written permission on file — an unapproved logo is a real commercial risk.
Check which documents and standards your buyer needs; requirements vary by market, customer and contract.
Plact Research. Plact's editorial desk for buyer-evidence research. Industry standards, documents and buyer questions are researched and drafted with Plact's AI tools, then reviewed by Praveen Kavuri before publication. Every claim cites the standard, regulation or public source it rests on.
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