Anonymised buyer case study
A Completed Cold Storage RFQ, Three Quotations and the Final Outcome
A frozen-food distributor needed 2,400 pallet positions at −24 °C. This page shows the finished RFQ they issued, the three supplier quotations it produced, every project stage from brief to commissioning, and what the buyer actually decided — and why the cheapest offer was not the one they awarded.
Project
2,400-pallet distribution freezer, −24 °C
Sector
Frozen food distribution, Southern Europe
Scope
Insulated envelope, refrigeration plant, controls, installation
Budget band
USD 1.8–2.4 million (buyer's own estimate at kick-off)
Timeline
Brief to commissioning: 11 months
ColdMatch role
Brief review, RFQ structuring, supplier research, managed introductions
Client, site and supplier identities are withheld under confidentiality. Capital cost is shown as a relative index, not a price. No figure on this page is a quotation or a price guarantee for your project.
The completed RFQ
This is the structure of the RFQ package that went to suppliers, after the brief review closed the gaps in the buyer's original request.
- Commodity & packaging
- Palletised frozen ready meals and ice cream, EUR pallets, shrink-wrapped cartons
- Storage temperature
- −24 °C ±1.5 K, no humidity control requirement
- Incoming product temperature
- −18 °C from inbound trailers; no in-house freezing duty
- Capacity
- 2,400 pallet positions, 5 levels, mobile racking
- Daily throughput
- 180 pallets in / 210 pallets out, single shift, peak factor 1.6
- Door traffic
- 4 dock doors + 1 personnel door, high-speed doors with air curtains required
- Envelope
- PIR panels, U-value target stated, vapour barrier detail and floor heating in scope
- Refrigeration concept
- Open for supplier proposal: NH₃ low-charge packaged plant or transcritical CO₂
- Power & controls
- Available supply stated in kVA; BMS integration and remote monitoring required
- Redundancy
- N+1 on compressors, 24 h hold-over on loss of one circuit
- Exclusions
- Civil works, racking supply, sprinkler system, permits — by the buyer
- Commercial
- Incoterms, payment milestones, FAT/SAT, 24-month warranty, spare parts list, energy guarantee
Build the same structure for your own project with the RFQ Builder or the planning checklist tool.
The quotations received
Three qualified suppliers quoted the same normalised scope. Capex is indexed to the awarded offer at 100.
| Offer | Technology | Capex index | Modelled energy | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | Low-charge NH₃ packaged plant | Index 100 (reference) | Lowest modelled annual kWh | 26 weeks |
| Supplier B | Transcritical CO₂ | Index 108 | +6% vs Supplier A in this climate zone | 22 weeks |
| Supplier C | HFC condensing units | Index 84 | +21% vs Supplier A | 16 weeks |
- Supplier A: Complete scope, energy figures backed by a load calculation, full FAT/SAT and training included.
- Supplier B: Strong controls package; floor heating and air curtains initially excluded, added at re-quote.
- Supplier C: Cheapest headline price, but no redundancy, lighter panel spec and refrigerant phase-down exposure.
Project stages
Stage 1 — Brief review (weeks 1–3)
The buyer arrived with a room sketch and a target price. ColdMatch reviewed the request and sent back the gaps: no throughput figure, no peak factor, no redundancy requirement, no exclusions list. Three working sessions turned that into a written design basis the buyer's own operations manager signed off.
Stage 2 — RFQ package (weeks 4–5)
The design basis became a structured RFQ: technical requirement, scope and exclusions, commercial terms and a fixed response format so every offer could be read line by line. The buyer attached their site drawings and power availability letter.
Stage 3 — Supplier research and managed introductions (weeks 6–12)
Only after the brief was complete did supplier work begin. ColdMatch researched candidates against technology, project size and regional service capability, then introduced three qualified companies with the full brief. One shortlisted supplier was dropped before introduction for lack of local service coverage.
Stage 4 — Quotation review and normalisation (weeks 13–17)
Two offers came back with scope deviations. Each supplier was asked to re-quote the identical scope, and the comparison was rebuilt on capex plus modelled ten-year energy and maintenance cost rather than headline price.
Stage 5 — Clarification and award (weeks 18–22)
The buyer negotiated directly with the two remaining suppliers. ColdMatch stayed neutral, helping the buyer read the technical differences. Award went to Supplier A on lifecycle cost, redundancy and service coverage — not the lowest capex.
Stage 6 — Delivery and commissioning (months 6–11)
Manufacture, installation, FAT and SAT ran to the contract milestones. Commissioning included a documented pull-down test and handover of the O&M and spare-parts documentation specified in the RFQ.
Outcome
- All three offers became directly comparable after normalisation — the initial spread of 24% on headline price narrowed to 9% on like-for-like scope.
- The cheapest quotation was 21% more expensive to run; over ten years the modelled difference exceeded the capex saving.
- Two items the buyer had originally left out — floor heating and air curtains — were caught in the brief review, not as a variation order on site.
- Redundancy written into the RFQ meant a compressor failure in month 9 of operation did not stop storage.
- No re-tender round was needed; the award happened inside the buyer's original 22-week procurement window.
Supplier and manufacturer listings are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. ColdMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every cold chain project request is reviewed manually by David / ColdMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real project?
It is a real ColdMatch procurement pattern, anonymised. Client name, site and exact figures are withheld under confidentiality; capex is shown as an index rather than a price, and dates are relative. The structure, sequence and decision logic are as they happened.
Why is the quotation comparison shown as an index instead of prices?
Supplier pricing is commercially confidential and highly project-specific. An index shows the relationship between the offers — which is the part that transfers to your project — without publishing any supplier's numbers or implying a price you should expect.
How long does a project like this take?
In this case, 22 weeks from first contact to award and 11 months to commissioning. Brief preparation was three weeks; skipping it is the most common reason projects need a second tender round.
Did ColdMatch supply the equipment?
No. ColdMatch Group is the industrial refrigeration and cold-chain procurement platform of Global B2B Group — an independent intermediary. The buyer contracted directly with the supplier they selected. ColdMatch does not manufacture, design, install or certify refrigeration systems.
What size project does this apply to?
Commercial and industrial cold-chain projects generally starting around USD 250,000. The same sequence — brief, RFQ, managed supplier research, normalised comparison — applies at any scale above that.
Next steps
Take this to a structured cold storage RFQ
Suppliers quote accurately only when capacity, temperature bands, throughput and site conditions are defined. Use the qualification guidance first, then issue one comparable RFQ.
Supplier-neutral. Free for buyers and project owners. Best suited to commercial projects from USD $250,000.