Compare industrial salt quotations on a true landed-cost basis

Normalize the product first

Put every quote against the same product type, NaCl and impurity limits, moisture basis, particle size if relevant, packing and lot-document requirement. A lower-grade or wetter salt is not a saving merely because both offers use ₹/MT.

Build the landed-cost bridge

Start with ex-refinery salt. Add bag or pouch differences, special testing, freight, tolls, unloading, detention, handling loss and financing. Subtract only discounts that are contractually available at the actual order size.

• Base salt rate
• Packaging and custom print
• Test/inspection cost
• Freight and route charges
• Unloading and detention
• Process loss or treatment impact
• Payment/credit cost

Use live rates as a benchmark, not a forever promise

India Salt’s catalogue calculates the price for the selected product and tonnage. Record the page date and quote validity, because production, bags and transport can change. For repeat supply, agree how future price changes will be reviewed rather than silently assuming the first trial rate never moves.

A worked comparison can reverse the headline ranking

Suppose Supplier A quotes a lower ex-refinery rate but adds more freight and requires buyer-paid testing, while Supplier B includes a technically equivalent bag, a nearer dispatch point and lower unloading exposure. Multiplying the base rate alone will rank A first; adding every order-level and per-tonne cost may rank B first. The same exercise should exclude any offer that fails the mandatory specification before price is compared.

Use one quantity, destination, grade, moisture basis, packing and delivery window for every supplier. Record freight as a total and convert it back to ₹/MT. Treat testing, unloading, detention and packaging as separate fields so the reason for the result remains auditable.

• Mark technical acceptability before comparing price
• Convert all quantities to metric tonnes
• Separate per-MT and order-level charges
• Record quote validity and dispatch point
• Keep exclusions and assumptions beside the calculation

Keep the calculation with the purchase decision

Save the supplier quotation, technical clearance, freight basis and comparison output together. Record whether freight is firm or estimated, who pays detention, what weighbridge controls payment and which charges are per tonne versus per order. A screenshot of the final number without the assumptions is not an auditable comparison.

For repeat contracts, define a review mechanism: fixed period, published input trigger, fresh lane quote or mutually agreed revision. Re-run the same landed-cost structure when quantity, dispatch point, packing or delivery cadence changes.