Why does every FR5 quote leave me another job to price?

We've walked it through with packing. Both offers leave us filling pickup trays, but only one includes the trays themselves. That's the bit that started this.

Then why are you buying trays before anyone has priced feeding straight from the existing packing bench?

Warren, that's still an option. One supplier wanted tidy rows for its demonstration and the rows somehow became our proposed production method.

And who gets called when those tidy rows aren't tidy? Usually someone already busy.

What did packing find slow in the walkthrough? Filling pockets, fetching cartons, or changing the insert? Those observations may help decide which unknown deserves another paid visit.

I'd keep manual tray filling in the comparison. Not glamorous, but it might be decent for small orders if you can fill off-line and change a whole tray.

Off-line still needs somebody's time, Pat.

Yes, include it. I meant it needn't leave the robot waiting. At our bench a spare tray helped more than the clever feeder we'd been sketching.

Jamie, filling the narrow pockets was the slow part. Nathan, neither quote names a second shift for training. Thanks for that one; I'm the late person and would rather not become the whole support plan.

I would keep the packing team's tray-filling result visible even if a different feeder is proposed. You will need another comparison, not a quiet deletion of the first one

Aaron's distinction helps. I've taken feeding out of contingency and marked it undecided. Supplier has offered a separate layout visit, but we haven't agreed its scope or price yet.

Have them bring a sketch of both feeding options to that discussion. If the visit is only to measure the tray arrangement they already prefer, you won't learn much about the other one.