Imported flooring quotations frequently arrive on different bases. One supplier quotes a factory price, another quotes FOB, a third quotes delivered to site. Placed side by side, the lowest number on the page is often not the lowest cost to the project.
The difference between factory price and project cost is not a fixed mark-up. It is a sequence of cost components, each of which depends on the product, the order, the route, the timing and the project. Comparing quotations properly means identifying which of those components each quotation includes, and which it leaves to the project.
Factory or ex-works price
An ex-works price is the cost of the product made available at the manufacturer's premises. It generally excludes export packing beyond standard, inland transport to the port, export clearance and everything that follows. It is the cleanest measure of manufacturing cost and the least complete measure of project cost.
FOB pricing
Free on Board pricing includes delivery of the goods onto the vessel at the named origin port. Inland transport within the origin country and export clearance are generally included; international freight and everything on the Australian side are not. Two FOB prices from different ports are not necessarily equivalent once the freight from each is considered.
International freight
Ocean freight is priced per container on a specific lane, at a specific time, and moves with market conditions independently of the product price. A quotation that blends freight into a unit rate transfers freight risk without making it visible. Separating freight allows it to be checked against a lane-specific quotation and re-priced when conditions change.
Container utilisation
Freight cost per square metre depends on how fully the container is used. Board dimensions, pack configuration, pallet arrangement, weight limits and the mix of products in the order all affect how many square metres a container carries. A product with a lower factory price but poorer packing efficiency can carry a higher freight cost per square metre. Part-container shipments are priced on a different basis again.
Insurance
Where cargo insurance applies, the basis and the insured value should be stated. A quotation that is silent on insurance has not removed the risk; it has left it unallocated.
Port and terminal charges
On arrival, terminal handling, wharf and associated local charges apply. These vary by port and by arrangement and are frequently omitted from origin-based quotations. Detention and demurrage can apply where containers are not collected or returned within the free period, which ties cost to the site's ability to receive the delivery.
Customs and biosecurity
Customs clearance, applicable duties and taxes, and biosecurity requirements apply where relevant to the product and its packaging. Timber products and timber packaging can attract specific biosecurity requirements. Documentation that is incomplete at origin becomes delay and cost at destination.
Australian transport and handling
From the port, the container must be transported, unpacked or delivered, and the material moved to storage or site. Delivery windows, site access, unloading equipment, staged deliveries and storage all carry cost, and all depend on the project rather than the product.
Currency exposure
Where the order is priced in USD or RMB, the Australian dollar cost is not fixed until payment. Deposits and balances are typically paid at different points in the cycle, so the effective exchange rate is a blend across the period between quotation and final payment. A quotation compared at one rate may be settled at another.
Project delivery requirements
Finally, the project's own requirements shape the cost: staged releases by level or building, display suite or sample deliveries, reserve or attic stock, waste allowance, and the inspection and documentation regime. A quotation that does not account for these is a quotation for a different scope.
Comparing quotations
The practical discipline is to put every quotation on the same basis before comparing it. That means stating the delivery term, separating product, freight and local costs, confirming container utilisation assumptions, identifying who carries currency exposure and when, and listing what each quotation excludes.
Once that is done, the quotations can be compared on what the project will actually pay to receive the flooring on site, in the required sequence, with the required documentation.
BETA Procurement View
BETA's position is that a factory price is a starting point, not a comparison basis. A lower factory price does not necessarily produce a lower project cost, because the components between the factory and the site are where differences in packing, route, timing, documentation and delivery accumulate.
Commercial flooring quotations should be compared on equivalent scope and on landed or project-delivered assumptions, with freight and local costs visible rather than embedded. The objective is not the lowest number on the quotation; it is the most reliable cost to the project.