Write the purchase requirement before opening the quotes
A team needs 300 interchangeable units available within ten calendar days and has no beginning inventory. The specification and acceptable quality are assumed identical across the two fictional suppliers for this exercise. That assumption must be verified in a real purchase; otherwise you are pricing different products.
BLS describes purchasing work as assessing suppliers on factors including quality, price and delivery, not price alone. An intern can demonstrate that reasoning with a comparison memo even without authority to negotiate or place an order. The exercise below is an independent work sample, not an employer procurement instruction.
Record a requirement owner and distinguish a mandatory condition from a preference. If arrival by day ten is mandatory, a supplier that cannot meet it is not made acceptable by a lower price. If the date is negotiable, obtain that change explicitly rather than silently changing the brief to favor a preferred offer.
Sources[1]
Put the two quotes on comparable terms
Supplier A quotes $8 per unit, a 1,000-unit minimum and $300 freight for the order, with arrival in 21 days. Supplier B quotes $10 per unit, a 300-unit minimum and $120 freight, with arrival in seven days. Assume payment is due at order and no tax, inspection cost or other charges are included in this teaching case.
| Measure | Supplier A | Supplier B |
|---|---|---|
| Unit price | $8.00 | $10.00 |
| Minimum order | 1,000 units | 300 units |
| Freight per order | $300 | $120 |
| Arrival from order | 21 days | 7 days |
| Cash for minimum order | $8,300 | $3,120 |
| Landed cost per received unit | $8.30 | $10.40 |
| Meets ten-day requirement | No, on quoted terms | Yes, on quoted terms |
To obtain at least 300 units, the minimum cash commitment is $8,300 to A or $3,120 to B. A would leave 700 units after fulfilling the initial need, but those units are inventory, not an immediate accounting loss merely because they are unused. They still tie up cash and could incur storage or obsolescence costs.
Make a conditional recommendation, not an unconditional endorsement
On the supplied terms, B is the only quote meeting the stated timing requirement. Its higher unit price does not make it the more expensive way to obtain the required 300 units by day ten. The difference in initial cash commitment is $5,180.
The recommendation should identify the assumptions carrying it: identical acceptable specifications, reliable quoted arrival, no additional charges and approval to buy. You would still need to validate the supplier and purchasing permissions. “B is the feasible option among these two quotes under the supplied assumptions” is more accurate than “B is the best supplier.”
Ask A whether an expedited option exists only as a follow-up. Do not write an assumed expedited price or treat a discussion as a committed shipment. Record any revised quote with a date and version so the original comparison remains understandable.
Do not confuse a minimum order with an order multiple
Now suppose confirmed demand becomes 1,200 units rather than 300 and timing is no longer the binding issue. A minimum of 1,000 units does not by itself require ordering 2,000. If any quantity above the minimum is permitted, A could supply 1,200 at $9,600 plus the assumed $300 freight, or $9,900 total. B would cost $12,000 plus $120 freight, or $12,120.
If A instead requires multiples of 1,000, ordering 1,200 is not permitted. You would need to compare a 2,000-unit purchase and its inventory implications. The quote must establish the order increment; a spreadsheet should not infer it from the minimum quantity.
For recurring demand, add delivery schedules, storage constraints, expiration and payment timing. Dividing a bulk order’s unit cost by the first month’s usage can misdescribe both cash and expense. The useful next analysis follows the inventory over time.
Make the uncertainty log part of the deliverable
Add rows for specification, inspection or acceptance, shipment responsibility, payment timing, cancellation conditions and what happens if arrival is late. Assign each question to the person authorized to resolve it. This is a commercial comparison, not legal advice about interpreting or signing a contract.
Do not treat a quote lacking a defect rate as offering zero defects, or a familiar vendor as automatically meeting the specification. Conversely, do not invent a risk score without a defined method and evidence. A blank field with a precise follow-up can be more useful than a numerical rating.
Your memo should distinguish requested, quoted, approved, ordered, shipped and received. Those are different stages. This habit prevents an enthusiastic progress update from claiming that inventory exists merely because someone sent a purchase request.
Deliver a comparison someone can challenge
Submit the requirement, the two source quotes supplied in this exercise, a calculation sheet and a one-page recommendation. Include the 300-unit case and the 1,200-unit sensitivity. Ask a reviewer to change the lead time or order multiple and see whether your conclusion changes for the right reason.
In an interview, explain why the $8 unit price did not win the first case and why the conclusion might change in the second. Describe the work as a fictional sourcing analysis, not supplier negotiations or savings achieved for a company.
To find suitable internships, inspect purchasing, procurement, sourcing and supply-chain descriptions for the actual deliverable. Some roles center on supplier data and contracts, others on demand or production planning. The inventory case linked here gives you a second work sample for the planning side.