What to Include in an Automation RFQ for Chinese Suppliers

A weak RFQ allows every supplier to fill in the missing information differently. The buyer then receives several quotations with similar titles but completely different equipment scope, assumptions, performance commitments, and support.

That is why comparing custom automation quotations by total price alone is usually misleading.

The RFQ Should Describe the Manufacturing Problem

Many buyers begin with a solution:

• We need a robot cell.
• We need an automatic inspection machine.
• We need a packing line.
• We need a machine to replace four operators.
• We need a turnkey assembly system.

These descriptions are useful starting points, but they are not enough for a supplier to engineer a reliable proposal.

The supplier also needs to understand:

• What happens in the current process?
• Which steps are difficult or inconsistent?
• What product variation exists?
• What defects must be detected?
• What output is required?
• What happens when a part is rejected?
• What must be demonstrated before shipment?
• What support will be required after installation?

The goal is not to tell every supplier exactly how to design the machine. The goal is to give them enough information to propose a solution while making their assumptions visible.

Why Chinese Suppliers Can Quote the Same Project So Differently

Chinese automation suppliers often respond quickly. This can be a major advantage, especially when they have experience with a similar process.

However, early quotations are frequently based on different interpretations of the project.

For example, a European appliance manufacturer requested quotations for an automatic component assembly cell.

The first three budgetary quotations were approximately:

• USD 210,000
• USD 345,000
• USD 510,000

The difference was not simply supplier margin.

The lowest quotation assumed:

• Manual component loading
• One product model
• Basic presence detection
• Buyer-provided upstream and downstream conveyors
• No overseas installation

The middle quotation included:

• Automatic feeding
• Three product models
• Vision-based orientation checks
• Reject handling
• PLC and HMI documentation

The highest quotation included:

• Dual-lane feeding
• Six product models
• Force monitoring
• Data traceability
• Automatic changeover
• Overseas installation and production support

All three suppliers believed they had quoted the requested “automatic assembly machine.”

The RFQ had not defined the project tightly enough for the prices to be compared.

Automation RFQ Checklist

1. Product Information

Include:

• Product drawings
• Dimensions and weight
• Material
• Tolerances
• Product variants
• Surface condition
• Flexible or rigid features
• Photos from several angles
• Sample availability
• Known product variation

Why it matters:

Fixture design, feeding, gripping, inspection, and cycle time all depend on the real product.

A supplier may design around a clean CAD model while actual production parts contain flash, deformation, inconsistent labels, surface oil, color variation, or dimensional drift.

2. Current Production Process

Include:

• Video of the current process
• Manual work sequence
• Number of operators
• Current cycle time
• Work-in-process flow
• Rework steps
• Common failures
• Bottlenecks
• Operator judgment points

Why it matters:

Suppliers need to understand what the automation is replacing.

A short video often reveals more than several pages of written explanation. It can show how operators orient parts, compensate for variation, recover from jams, and make quality decisions that may not yet be documented.

3. Performance Requirements

Include:

• Target cycle time
• Target units per minute or hour
• Daily production volume
• Number of shifts
• Expected uptime
• Changeover time
• Product mix
• Buffer requirements
• Reject limits
• Operator involvement

Why it matters:

A machine designed for 12 units per minute is not the same as one designed for 20.

Suppliers should also state how they calculate cycle time. A robot simulation based on ideal movement does not prove that feeders, vision checks, operator loading, reject handling, and downstream flow can maintain the same output.

4. Quality and Inspection Requirements

Include:

• Defects to be detected
• Good and bad sample definitions
• Borderline defect examples
• Measurement limits
• False reject tolerance
• False accept tolerance
• Traceability requirements
• Barcode or OCR requirements
• Test equipment interfaces
• Data storage requirements

Why it matters:

Inspection requirements can determine the entire machine architecture.

A simple presence check may require one sensor. Surface inspection across several reflective angles may require multiple cameras, controlled lighting, part rotation, image storage, and a separate feasibility study.

5. Controls and Electrical Requirements

Include:

• Preferred PLC brand
• Preferred HMI brand
• Robot brand restrictions
• Servo and drive preferences
• Vision system preferences
• Safety component standards
• Electrical voltage and frequency
• Cabinet standards
• Communication protocols
• Remote access rules
• Plant cybersecurity restrictions

Why it matters:

A lower-cost local controls package may be acceptable in China but difficult to support in the installation country.

This does not mean buyers should automatically require premium international brands. It means component choices should be deliberate and visible.

6. Installation Conditions

Include:

• Plant layout
• Available floor space
• Ceiling height
• Power supply
• Compressed air
• Water or extraction requirements
• Temperature and humidity
• Cleanroom or washdown needs
• Noise limits
• Safety standards
• Installation country
• Local certification requirements

Why it matters:

A machine can work perfectly on the supplier’s factory floor and still be unsuitable for the buyer’s facility.

7. Interface Requirements

Include:

• Upstream equipment
• Downstream equipment
• Conveyor heights
• Signal interfaces
• MES or ERP connections
• Data exchange requirements
• Buffer logic
• Line stop rules
• Responsibility for integration

Why it matters:

Many disputes happen at the edge of the machine.

The supplier may deliver a functioning station but exclude the signals, conveyors, or software needed to connect it to the rest of the line.

8. Documentation and Handover

Include:

• Mechanical drawings
• Electrical drawings
• Pneumatic drawings
• I/O list
• PLC backup
• HMI backup
• Robot program
• Vision configuration
• Spare-parts list
• Maintenance schedule
• Operation manual
• Training materials
• Documentation language

Why it matters:

Buyers often assume they will receive all source files after final payment. Suppliers may assume they are providing only operating access or protected software.

Ownership and handover should be written into the quotation and purchase agreement.

9. Factory Acceptance Testing

Include:

• Sample types
• Sample quantity
• Product variants
• Continuous runtime
• Target output
• Allowed stops
• Quality criteria
• Recovery tests
• Documentation checks
• Punch-list rules
• Retest requirements
• Payment holdback

Why it matters:

FAT should not be invented after the machine is almost complete.

The test method affects fixture design, sample requirements, logging, debug time, and payment milestones.

Ask Suppliers to Return an Assumptions List

Every supplier should provide a separate list of assumptions.

Common assumptions include:

• Parts arrive correctly oriented.
• Product dimensions remain within drawing tolerance.
• Only one product variant is required.
• Loading remains manual.
• Buyer supplies utilities to the machine connection point.
• Buyer installs the equipment.
• Supplier support is remote only.
• Testing uses ideal samples.
• Cycle time excludes changeover.
• Reject recovery is manual.
• PLC source code is not included.

A quotation with clear exclusions can be safer than one claiming to include everything.

Hidden assumptions normally appear later as design changes, price increases, delays, or disagreements during FAT.

What to Attach to the RFQ

Attach as much of the following as possible:

• Product drawings
• Product photographs
• Current process videos
• Good samples
• Bad samples
• Borderline samples
• Product variation descriptions
• Target cycle time
• Floor layout
• Utility information
• Preferred component brands
• Plant standards
• Installation-country requirements
• Draft FAT checklist

When the RFQ Is Not Ready

Some projects are not ready for a full machine quotation.

This is common when:

• The product is still changing.
• Defects have not been defined.
• Sample variation is unknown.
• The process has not been proven.
• The buyer is unsure which supplier category is required.
• Several technical approaches may be possible.

In these situations, a supplier-discovery or feasibility phase may be more useful than requesting turnkey prices.

The initial objective should be to determine:

• What information suppliers need
• Which technical risks require testing
• Which supplier category should lead the project
• Whether a feasibility test is required
• What must be defined before commercial quotation

Practical Rule

A good RFQ makes supplier differences visible.

When every quotation is based on a different machine, different assumptions, and different acceptance criteria, the RFQ has not yet done its job.