Two suppliers can price the same bill of quantities and produce totals that are not comparable at all. The difference rarely sits in the headline figures. It sits inside the lines: a variant code shortened to the base model, a material quietly substituted, a trap or accessory priced by one supplier and excluded by the other, documents included in one offer and missing from the next. By the time those differences surface — at submittal review or, worse, on site — the cheaper quote has usually stopped being cheaper.
Spec-for-spec comparison is the discipline of forcing every quotation back onto the same specification before any numbers are compared. It starts upstream, with a BOQ written tightly enough that suppliers have to answer the same question; our BOQ and procurement checklist for plumbing and drainage projects covers that side of the process. This guide covers the other side: how to read the quotes that come back, line by line, and make them genuinely comparable.
The 9 lines every quote should state
A drainage quotation is comparable only when each priced line answers the same nine points. If a quote is silent on any of them, that silence is a question to raise before award — not a detail to settle after it.
- Full model code, including variant suffixes. The complete code exactly as it appears in the manufacturer’s range, not a shortened family name. A base code and its suffixed variants are different products for specification purposes.
- Product description tied to the BOQ line. Each quoted item should be traceable to a specific BOQ line and location — roof, finished floor, plant area, kitchen — so nothing is priced twice or missed.
- Material and finish as specified. The material named in the specification, stated on the quote line itself. If a supplier proposes an alternative material, it should appear as an identified alternative, not as the priced item.
- Size and outlet details. Nominal size, outlet size and outlet direction or configuration where the specification calls for them. Drainage lines fail comparison most often here, because two drains of the same family can carry different outlets.
- Grate or cover type and finish. Grated, solid, recessed or slotted — and the finish the drawings show. Visible drainage is part of the finished building, and the wrong grate is a snagging item.
- Quantity and unit of measure. Each, set, or metre run, stated per line, matching the BOQ quantity. A lower line total built on a different unit is not a saving.
- Accessories and traps — included or excluded. Odour traps, cleanout assemblies, extension pieces, frames and fixing accessories should be listed as included in the line price or shown as separate lines. Never assume they are inside the unit rate.
- Documents supplied. Which datasheets, dimensional information and submittal documents accompany the quoted models, and whether they are provided with the quotation or after order.
- Delivery city, delivery basis and quote validity. Where the price delivers to, what the delivery basis is, and how long the quotation remains valid. A price that expires before the procurement decision is made is not yet a comparable price.
Model-code traps: near-identical models are not the same product
Drainage ranges are built as model families: one base code, then suffixed variants that change the configuration. The variants sit under a single product listing in a catalogue, which makes it easy for a quote to cite the family name while pricing a different variant from the one specified. Real families from the Fanoos range show how tight this gets:
- Large Sump Roof Drain 4080 family: 4080, 4080G, 4080GX and 4070R are different variants grouped under one product.
- Finished Floor Drains 5010S family: 5010S, 200D4MD, 5010SB and 5010RB are different variants of the same floor drain line.
- Small Sump Roof Drain 4050 family: 4050, 4060, 4060G, 4060GX and 4160 are different variants under one product.
The practical rules are simple. Never accept a family name where the BOQ names a variant. Treat any “or equivalent” offer as a substitution that must be declared, with the exact alternative code stated. And where two quotes cite different variants of the same family, align them to the specified variant first — comparing prices across variants compares two different specifications. You can see how the families are grouped in the product categories, where each range is listed with its models.
Documents to request with every quotation
On most Saudi projects the quotation is only the commercial half of the submission; the consultant still has to approve the product. Quotes that arrive with their documents move through approval faster and leave fewer open questions. Request, for each quoted model: the manufacturer’s datasheet, dimensional and outlet information, the material specification as it applies to that model, and installation information where the product needs specific setting-out. Ask for the manufacturer’s or brand information behind the product as well, so the submittal identifies what is actually being supplied.
Keep a simple document register against the BOQ: one row per line, marked received or outstanding. It takes minutes to maintain and it converts the vague statement “documents to follow” into a list you can chase. As background on the supplier itself, Fanoos publishes a company profile that can be downloaded from the homepage of backup.fanoosksa.com, and project-based supply is described on the الحلول page.
Delivery-city and timing terms
A quotation that does not state where it delivers to is incomplete. Drainage products are bulky, phased with the works, and often needed at different stages — below-ground and slab work first, finished-floor items much later. When you issue the RFQ, state the delivery city explicitly. The Fanoos contact and quote form, for example, asks for the delivery city through a dropdown of 15 cities for exactly this reason: the city affects how supply is planned, and a quote prepared without it is an estimate of a different job.
Compare timing terms as carefully as prices. Check whether each quote is priced for a single delivery or supports the phased call-offs your programme needs, what the delivery basis is (delivered to site or collected), and how long the prices remain valid against your procurement timetable. Two quotes with identical line prices can carry very different risk if one assumes a single drop and the other follows the programme. Put the agreed basis in writing at award stage, while both sides are still reading from the quotation. Validity deserves one more check: if a quote expires before the submittal for its products is approved, the commercial comparison has to be re-run at exactly the moment the project can least afford delay.
Worked example: two quote lines for one roof drain
The BOQ line reads: “Large sump roof drain — 12 no.” — and the specification schedule behind it names a specific variant from the 4080 family. Supplier A quotes the line against model code 4080. Supplier B quotes the same line against model code 4080G, at a lower unit rate. Both lines look like the same product. They are not: 4080 and 4080G are different variants within the Large Sump Roof Drain family, grouped under one product listing.
Before the rates mean anything, four checks align the two lines. First, which variant does the specification and roof drainage drawing actually call for? Second, does the variant difference change the sump or outlet arrangement the roof build-up was designed around? Third, are the accessories and any trap or extension pieces treated the same way in both lines? Fourth, will both suppliers confirm their exact variant code in writing against the specification? If the specified variant is the one Supplier B did not price, the comparison restarts — either B re-prices the specified variant, or the substitution goes through the consultant as a declared alternative. The lesson generalises to every family in the range: align the code first, then compare the number.
Frequently asked questions
Why do two quotes for the same BOQ differ so much?
Usually because the lines are not describing the same scope. Variant codes, materials, accessories, traps, documents and delivery basis can all differ inside lines that carry identical BOQ descriptions. Align those nine points first; most of the gap normally explains itself.
What does a variant suffix on a model code change?
It identifies a different configuration within the same model family — the products are grouped under one listing but are not interchangeable for specification purposes. The exact difference is a datasheet question, which is why the full code, not the family name, belongs on both the BOQ line and the quote line.
Should we always award to the lowest line price?
Only after the lines are spec-aligned. A lower price on a different variant, a substituted material or a line that excludes accessories is not a lower price for the specified work — it is a price for different work, and the difference tends to reappear as a variation or a site problem.
What documents should accompany a drainage quotation?
At minimum, the datasheet for each quoted model, dimensional and outlet information, the material specification for that model, and installation information where setting-out matters. Request them with the quotation rather than after award, and track them against the BOQ lines.
How do we get a like-for-like quote from Fanoos?
Send the BOQ lines with full model codes, quantities, the delivery city and any required documents listed. Fanoos works on a quotation basis for projects across Saudi Arabia; the fastest route is the contact and quote form using the Product Inquiry/RFQ enquiry type.
Send your BOQ for a spec-for-spec quotation
Fanoos AlHadeeth Trading Co. supplies plumbing and drainage products for projects across Saudi Arabia from its base in Jeddah, on a quotation basis. Send your BOQ or product list through the contact and quote form — choose the Product Inquiry/RFQ enquiry type, state the delivery city, and include the full model codes from your specification. Prefer to talk it through first? Call +966546236905 or email sales@backup.fanoosksa.com (Sat–Thu, 08:00–19:00).