Quoting a first article and then a batch on the same drawing

4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Introduction

A customer sends a drawing and asks for a price for one, and then a price for two hundred. Quoted as a single unit rate the first part looks absurdly expensive and the batch looks cheap, and the customer concludes you are gouging them on the prototype. Which is exactly the wrong impression to leave with a new account.

The reality is that the first part carries everything: reading the drawing, programming, tooling, setup, first-off inspection and any iteration needed to get to a good component. The two hundredth part carries almost none of that. They are genuinely different products.

Quoting them as two separate things, with the setup visible, is both more honest and easier to win. Customers stop suspecting the prototype price.

1. Quoting a first article and then a batch means separating setup from unit cost

Show the arithmetic rather than hiding it.

Quote setup as its own line

Programming, tooling, fixturing, first-off inspection. Include the time spent reading the drawing. Stated once, whatever the quantity. Put it at the top of the quotation.

Then quote a unit rate

Machine time and material per part. Add your handling and packing. The customer can then see exactly why quantity changes the price. Nothing about it looks arbitrary.

2. Price the first article for what it actually is

It is a development exercise, not a part.

Include the proving time

Iterations, adjustments, measurement, documentation. A first article frequently takes several attempts. Price for two, not one.

Charge for inspection and reporting where required

First article inspection reports are real work with real documentation. Quote them separately. Some customers need full dimensional reports.

3. Give the quantity curve up front

Do not wait to be asked.

Quote three or four quantities as standard

One, ten, a hundred, five hundred. Adjust the steps to the part. Customers frequently order more once they can see the unit price fall. It costs nothing to calculate all four.

Say what the setup is amortised over

If the customer knows the setup is spread across the batch, the pricing logic becomes obvious rather than suspicious. One sentence does it.

4. Handle the repeat order properly

The second order should be cheaper and it should not be free.

Charge a reduced setup on repeats

The programme and tooling exist, but loading, proving and inspection still happen. A reduced figure is honest; zero is not. State the repeat setup on the original quotation.

Keep the tooling and say you have

That is a genuine reason for the customer to return to you rather than requote elsewhere. Say how long you will hold it.

5. Use the first article to win the account

The prototype is the audition.

Deliver it early and inspected

The customer is evaluating whether you can be relied on for the production order. Speed and paperwork matter as much as the part. Send the inspection report with it.

Offer the design observation

Telling a customer how a small change would reduce the batch cost is what wins accounts rather than jobs. It also shows you read the drawing properly.

Conclusion

The first part and the two hundredth are different products, so quote them as such: setup as its own line covering programming, tooling, fixturing and first-off inspection, then a unit rate for machine time and material.

Price the first article as the development exercise it is, including proving iterations and any inspection reporting required. Give three or four quantities as standard without being asked, and say what the setup is amortised over so the logic reads as arithmetic rather than opportunism. Charge a reduced but real setup on repeats, keep the tooling and say so, and use the first article to win the account by delivering it early, inspected, with an observation about how the batch could be made cheaper.