Water Treatment Equipment Procurement Guide: 4 Tips to Avoid Costly Mistakes
It Pays to Know the Difference between Apples and Lemon
4 tips to avoid getting left with a Lemon or a Donkey and not Apples or a Horse!
I like “Apple” iPhone and iPad. I love Apple that I eat! But I hate the idiom “Apples to Apples”. Most of the procurement managers start with “Apples” in mind at the start of equipment procurement process! Because he/she wants to do a Apples to Apples comparison! Little realizing he is not buying Apples and the vendor is not selling “Apples”. Many a time I wonder as to how this term “Apples to Apples” came into practice!
I'll help explain the origin and significance of the "Apples to Apples" comparison in procurement processes.
The Origin and Importance of "Apples to Apples" in Procurement - The term "Apples to Apples" is widely used in procurement processes to describe fair and equal comparisons between competing vendor proposals. Let me explain its origin and why it has become so important in procurement.
Origin of the "Apples to Apples" Idiom - The phrase "apples to apples" is an idiom that means comparing things that can reasonably be compared, as opposed to "apples to oranges," which represents comparing dissimilar items. While there are different theories about its origin:
1. Some believe the phrase came from a party-based game introduced by Hasbro and later published by Mattel. However, this is likely incorrect as the idiom predates the game.
2. The more likely explanation is that it evolved naturally in language as a simple metaphor - comparing the same type of fruit (apples with apples) makes logical sense, while comparing different fruits (apples with oranges) does not provide a fair comparison.
In business language, "apples to apples" means "to hold all things equal." When comparing two things, you try to keep all variables the same to ensure a fair evaluation. Adoption in Procurement Processes the term has become particularly important in procurement for several reasons:
1.Fair Bid Evaluation:In the sourcing process, procurement professionals must decide which bid evaluation model to use to compare supplier proposals fairly and effectively. When proposals have differing specifications, timeframes, or pricing structures, it becomes difficult to determine the best value.
2.Standardization in RFP Processes:The Request for Proposal (RFP) process has adopted this terminology to describe how structured procurement allows buyers to engage in "apples-to-apples" comparisons of vendor offerings. This ensures that all vendors are responding to the same requirements and are evaluated on the same criteria.
3.Objective Decision-Making:It helps eliminate bias and subjectivity in the procurement evaluation process by ensuring all suppliers are assessed against identical criteria and specifications
Why It's Widely Used? The concept has become standard in procurement for these key reasons:.
1.Transparency:It promotes transparent decision-making, making it easier to justify procurement decisions to stakeholders and auditors.
2.Risk Reduction:By ensuring all vendors are evaluated on equal terms, organizations reduce the risk of selecting inappropriate vendors or solutions.
3.Value Optimization:It helps procurement professionals identify the true best value by eliminating variables that might skew comparisons.
4.Fairness to Vendors:Suppliers appreciate knowing they are being evaluated on a level playing field with their competitors.
5.Regulatory Compliance:Many government and institutional procurement regulations require demonstrable fairness in vendor selection, making "apples to apples" comparison methodologies essential for compliance.
In modern professional procurement process, this approach is typically implemented through structured bid templates, standardized evaluation criteria, and weighted scoring systems that ensure all vendors are measured by the same yardstick, regardless of how they present their offerings.
The phrase has transcended its origins as a simple idiom to become a fundamental concept in procurement best practices, emphasizing the importance of fair comparison in vendor selection processes.
When you don’t strictly follow or could not follow due to improper specifications, evaluation methods the idiom “Apples to Apples” as explained above becomes meaningless. Thus when you start with “Apple” or “Horse” in your mind you get a “Lemon” or “Donkey” in your hand! Even Apples come in different varieties and so choosing an apple also becomes difficult sometimes!
These days’ vendors of all sorts of capital equipment are all too ready to just take your money and run, there is no longer any accountability. We are seeing it more and more; that you, the end users get left with equipment that does not meet your technical requirements due to a vendor that has sales target to achieve and no longer cares for technology, design, engineering, performance, efficiency, reliability, consistency, quality, etc.!
It sounds bad, and obviously not all capital equipment vendors are like this, but there are enough of these companies out there and you’re spending enough money to make it worth your while putting a few things in place to avoid becoming their next victim.
We have been in the capital equipment business for the past 30 years helping customers solve their water and waste water treatment problems. Time and time again we work on jobs where customers are crying poor. When we ask them why they have very little budget, they tell us this is the second (or sometimes third or fourth) system they have had to buy in few months/years because, they spent all their money on the first attempt andit didn’t work!
Fear not though, follow these simple tips and you can avoid all the hassle and cost of not getting it right first time.
The more you specify, the more a vendor actually needs to solve your problem and less money will get out of your pocket in the long run! Have an open mind and be clear as to what you want and how much you are ready spend. Take a“Risk based” and “Fit for Purpose” approachto specify what you want. Gain knowledge on the subject, analyze various solutions that are available. Do deep research and decide which direction you want to go. Select a technology neutral vendor who will truly guide you through the process and give the right advice and solution. Not sure? Take help from others within your organization or take the help of a good consultant. But, beware before choosing your consultant and because many a time the consultants have limited knowledge.
Tip 1: Characterize the requirement and outcome
“Begin with the end in mind” – Stephen Covey
Sales people around the world have had this statement drummed into them for years and it is time capital equipment buyers got the same message. You need to know both what will be coming into your factory, and what you want it to achieve. Let’s say you know you want your system to achieve 5mg/L TDS , that’s all you need to tell your vendor, right?
WRONG! In that situation, all a silver-tongued salesman needs to do isassumethat the inlet concentration is only 5 mg/L or somewhere near it they can sell you a heap of junk and still meet your requirement – in reality your inlet concentration could be upwards of 1,000 mg/L and their technology has no chance of achieving this, but because it wasn’t characterized and the vendor gets a sale and you’re stuck with a lemon!
Tip 2: Know what you want- Specify, Specify, Specify
So you’ve characterized the inlet and outlet parameters , you know what flow you want – now you need to make sure you communicate that to all the vendors that you have tendering for your work. The more you specify, the more a vendor actually needs to solve your problem, which is all you really want.
Don’t wait for a vendor to get the tender documents that say’s:
“Pl. quote for a water softening plant or drinking water RO system, please”and then expect them to call you to ask for details, they won’t, they will ass-u-me and you’ll get the Lemon.
Make sure all of the information you gathered in the characterisation stage is clearly stated in aScope of Worksand aData Sheet.If you find a vendor that you like or a technology that works for you then don’t be afraid to go as far as specifying a company and model of equipment you want.The jobsIonichave worked on where the end user has been truly happy at the end of the process is where they have retained full control and have guided their consultants to specifyexactlywhat they want.
Tip 3: Don’t ASS-U-ME your consultant will write a spec or scope of work for you
Often the big guys will outsource the design of their new plant and wastewater system to a consulting house. When it comes to water and wastewater we often see end users who will only go as far as telling a consulting team they need a water and waste water treatment plant and then leave the rest up to them. In the current market, that is a very expensive game to play!
Consultants need to make money the same way as everyone else, the best way for them to do this is to spend as little time on the job as possible. This means they will form-guide the hell out of things and copy and paste previous jobs as much as possible (we constantly see scope of works that reference completely different sites, clearly the last time the design was used). What this means for the end user is that unless you’re heavily involved, you get a design that takes the least time possible and is best for the consultants back pocket rather than your specific site needs.
Don’t get me wrong, there are great consultants out there and we work with a lot of them, however, at some point they hand over to builders or purchasing teams and if there isn’t a water tight specification then you can guarantee that money will talk and these middle men will attempt to buy the thing that makes them the most margin.
Ensure you get a good consultant who knows the subject and has hands-on experience. He has to have in depth knowledge and must be a subject matter expert to provide you with a “Good Advice” because a “Good advice” is half the battle won! A good consultant will not have any bias on the vendor selection or technology/equipment selection. What you need is a good technology neutral consultant who has only your interest in mind because he gets paid by you! In the context oif water and wastewater treatment projects the situation is very unique and is site and project specific. Many a time I find customers ask for a propsoal with a single line!
Tip 4: Budget properly
Never assume a budget. Have as many interaction with prospective vendor as you want in the pre procurement stage and freeze your technical requirement and allocate sufficient budget. You cannot expect supplier to give you an Apple for the cost of Lemon! Filter out the Lemon suppliers from Apple suppliers. Evaluate a supplier based on his domain expertise, experience, technical expertise, performance, product quality, project execution credentials, reputation etc.
So what have we learnt? Capital equipment is expensive and you want to make sure you get the selection right the first time. In order to do this, characterize as much as you can, then make sure that information gets into a spec, regardless of whether you write it or a consultant does. Then make sureyouget the final sign off on it before it is used in a procurement process.
Remember next time, the more you specify, the more a vendor needs to solve your problem! and finally you get what you want – The right Apple and Not a Lemon!
For your information I also play a role of a procurement manager and a consultant sometimes! So the advice is for me too!