Filling machine buyer workbench
Filling Machine RFQ Checklist: Prepare a Quote-Ready Brief
Prepare a filling machine RFQ with product and bottle data, sample requirements, output by SKU, line interfaces and open questions before requesting a China quote.
Download a reusable project brief
The worksheet is a plain-text file that can be edited in any text editor and attached to an inquiry. It contains blank fields, a per-SKU record, scope categories and an acceptance section.
Resolve the missing inputs before the quotation becomes a commitment
A useful equipment inquiry can start before every detail is fixed. Separate confirmed facts, working assumptions and decisions awaiting a trial. Ask each supplier to identify which unresolved items could change configuration, price or delivery timing.
Can I ask for a quote without a viscosity measurement?
Yes, for an initial review. Describe the product at filling temperature, provide a flow video and explain foam, settling, strings or particles. Mark viscosity as unmeasured instead of assigning a guessed number. Ask what sample and measurement conditions the manufacturer needs before selecting the pump, valves and nozzles.
What if the final bottle or cap is not selected?
Send the candidate drawings and label each revision. Include the smallest opening, tallest container, least stable base and closure alternatives. A photograph helps discussion but does not establish dimensional tolerances. Keep guides, cap tooling and change parts provisional until the agreed production-intent packaging is checked.
How should one RFQ describe several products and fill sizes?
Use one row for each product-and-package combination, with fill amount, required good output, batch size and change frequency. State which format drives the investment. Ask for output and change-part requirements per row; do not apply one headline speed to every liquid, bottle and dose.
Which details matter when adding a filler to an existing line?
Provide conveyor height, width and travel direction, infeed and discharge drawings, upstream supply and downstream constraints. List voltage, phase, frequency, available air and the proposed signal handoff. Assign an owner to connections and safety integration; matching machine speed alone does not prove line compatibility.
What should be agreed before sending samples for a filling trial?
Confirm the sample quantity, packaging revision, product condition and test objective with the receiving team first. Supply relevant handling and safety information, and agree return or disposal arrangements. Request recorded dose results, good output, rejects and stoppages for the agreed run; a short water demonstration cannot validate every production condition.
How do I prevent changed assumptions from invalidating competing quotes?
Issue a dated RFQ revision and an open-items list. Give each bidder the same updated inputs and request a written deviation list. Separate mandatory scope, options and buyer-supplied work. When a bottle, recipe or throughput target changes, ask whether tooling, trial results, price and schedule still apply.
Five fields for a first project email
- Product and process: liquid family, filling temperature, known behavior and measurements still needed.
- Package matrix: bottle, closure, dose and drawing revision for every intended SKU.
- Production plan: good containers per shift, available running time, batch sizes and product changes.
- Supply boundary: what enters and leaves the line, existing equipment, utilities and responsibility for interfaces.
- Decision stage: budget review or final proposal, destination, target commissioning date and unresolved inputs.
An RFQ and machine trial organize equipment decisions; they are not food-safety, shelf-life or regulatory validation. Confirm destination requirements with qualified specialists. Share only necessary technical information through an agreed channel, with confidential details handled separately.
One row per product and package
| Field | Buyer input | Supplier response |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Recipe family, temperature, viscosity or flow, foam and particles | Proposed principle, product-contact path and trial assumptions |
| Container | Material, dimensions, neck finish, fill quantity and sample revision | Handling range, guides, fixtures and change parts |
| Closure and label | Closure, liner, label drawing and finished pack | Feeding, application, inspection and consumable limits |
| Output | Good bottles per shift, planned time and SKU schedule | Nominal and sustained rates with test conditions |
| Quality | What quantity and package outcomes will be measured | Method, sample plan, agreed limits and retest procedure |
| Cleaning | Recipes, change frequency and product-recovery needs | Tasks, parts, cleaning boundary and expected downtime |
State what the line starts and ends with
Identify whether the proposal starts with prepared liquid, raw ingredients, purchased bottles or PET preforms. Identify whether it ends at a filled bottle, a closed and labeled bottle, a shipping case or a pallet. This boundary changes the project more than the word “automatic.”
Require included, optional, buyer-supplied or excluded status for each item. Match the proposals for tanks, pumps, conveyors, cap handling, inspection, coding, labels, packers, change parts, utilities, documents, spares, testing and installation. Add a named owner to every interface.
A performance clause needs a test basis
Instead of “high accuracy and high speed,” specify the package, product condition, fill quantity, run duration, good-output basis, measurement procedure and agreed acceptance limits. If a substitute product is used at a factory test, record what it can and cannot demonstrate.
A useful supplier response states deviations openly. Ask for separate records of achieved output, rejected packages, fill measurements, closure checks, stoppages and unresolved items. A video supports the record but does not replace measured results.
Attach files that reduce assumptions
- Bottle and cap drawings with revision numbers; include samples when requested for testing.
- A product data sheet and relevant safety information for the actual formulation.
- Photos or a short video showing foam, flow, stringing or particles where useful.
- A dimensioned factory plan, access route and utility availability.
- The SKU and campaign schedule, including the most difficult product and format.
- Existing-equipment information when the new machine must integrate into a running line.
Remove unrelated confidential information from attachments. Retain a versioned copy of the RFQ and send the same version to each bidder so later changes can be traced.
Compare quotations in two passes
First, compare technical fit. Resolve package compatibility, demonstrated duty, equipment boundary, cleaning, utilities and acceptance. Mark assumptions that still need samples or drawings.
Then compare the commercial scope. Check currency, named delivery basis, payment and delivery milestones, packing, installation, travel, training, spares, warranty and service responsibility. This guide organizes the questions; agreed contractual terms belong in the actual supplier proposal and purchase documents.
Buyer questions
Can I request a budget estimate before samples are ready?
Yes. Label it as a budget-stage request and list the assumptions that need confirmation. Final engineering and performance commitments may require representative product and packaging.
What if one supplier excludes an item another includes?
Put the item into the scope matrix and obtain its cost and responsible party before comparing totals. Do not treat a blank or vague description as an inclusion.
Does using the worksheet send my information automatically?
No. The download and printable record are local templates. You choose what to complete and how to send it through the existing contact or inquiry route.
Continue your equipment specification
Next steps for this specification
Request a configuration for your actual product
Allot Tech helps buyers define and source filling and packaging equipment from China. Send the product, container, closure, required good output and destination so the proposed scope can be checked against your application.
Turn sample testing into evidence for the filling-machine quotation
A supplier can review an application before every sample is available, but an estimated configuration and a demonstrated result are different kinds of evidence. Use the inquiry to decide what must be tested, what each sample represents and which questions remain open. Keep that record attached to the quotation instead of treating an attractive trial video as approval of every product and bottle.
Identify the product and pack before arranging a trial
Give each liquid, bottle, cap, liner and drawing a traceable reference. State whether it is production-intent material or a prototype. Describe the product condition on arrival and the intended filling condition, including temperature, foam or settling where relevant; label unmeasured properties as unknown. A bottle photograph does not establish the neck dimensions, material stiffness or closure fit. Ask which boundary combinations need separate review rather than sending only the easiest format.
Agree sample quantities by purpose, not a universal minimum
Ask the receiving team to allocate samples for setup, the agreed run, repeat measurements, stop-and-restart checks and retained references. Count product used in priming and cleaning separately from saleable fills. Confirm whether bottles or closures may be reused; a reused or already opened closure may not represent a new production closure. Agree the receiver, handling information, transport arrangements and return or disposal route before dispatch. A sample request is not permission to ship any liquid by any carrier.
Ask for a report that identifies what was actually demonstrated
Link results to the sample references, machine configuration, dosing parts, nozzle, product condition and trial method. Ask for individual measurements and the basis of accepted output, with interventions, exclusions and untested conditions identified. Separate a bench feasibility check from a complete-line acceptance test. A trial with water may show handling or basic function, but does not establish the behavior of a foaming, viscous or particle-containing product, or validate hygiene, shelf life or destination compliance.
A packaging revision that should reopen part of the quotation
Illustrative decision, not an Allot Tech project result: the bottle body remains unchanged, but the buyer changes the neck finish or cap liner after a trial. Keep the earlier result as evidence for its original sample only. Ask the supplier which feeding, holding, closing, change-part and agreed pack checks need review, then record whether configuration, price or timing changes. Do not assume that every test must be repeated, or that no review is necessary because the bottle looks similar.
Four records to keep beside the supplier response
- Sample identity
- Product lot and condition, package supplier, drawing revision and whether the material represents intended production.
- Question and limit
- The specific uncertainty the trial should resolve, its method, agreed criteria and conditions deliberately outside scope.
- Result and exception
- Measured records tied to the tested configuration, plus interventions, substitutions and items that were not demonstrated.
- Quote disposition
- Which proposal line is confirmed, remains conditional or needs revision, with the responsible person and next evidence required.
Sample questions to settle before a final filling-machine offer
How many bottles and how much liquid should I send?
There is no reliable count for every machine and trial. Ask for an allocation against the agreed setup, run, measurements, repeats and retained samples, including product needed to fill the feed path. Confirm each relevant format and whether fresh closures are required before shipping.
Can a water demonstration replace a trial with my product?
Only for the explicitly agreed questions it can represent. Ask the supplier to identify the limits of the substitute and which flow, foam, dosing, cleaning or package behaviors remain unverified. Keep these items conditional in the offer until suitable evidence is available.
Does a successful sample trial make the quoted price final?
Not automatically. Check that the quotation names the tested product and pack revisions and lists included equipment, tooling, services and outstanding conditions. A later recipe, bottle or closure change should trigger a documented impact review, not an assumed fixed price or an automatic full retest.
Allot Tech can help organize an equipment inquiry and clarify sample-review requirements with manufacturing partners in China. Availability, trial scope, fees and responsibilities must be agreed for the particular project; this guide does not claim an in-house laboratory or a universal free testing service.