Wholesale research

Start with the service you need to deliver, the customers it is meant for and the conditions under which you would accept the work. Then ask each supplier to quote the same requirements. A low initial offer can turn into a different arrangement once a monthly minimum, a separate player charge or a narrow support window appears. A useful purchase decision keeps those details beside the price and documents what happens if the service or relationship changes.

Use the supplier pages here to identify the correct website and build an enquiry. The guide below follows a business purchase from scope through quote, evaluation, acceptance and handover. The bids and incidents are fictional. They illustrate what to ask and what to record, without assigning any of the example terms to a listed provider. Browse provider records · Read the review evidence method

Describe the service a supplier needs to deliver

Write a short description a second person can use to request the same offer. Start with the customer type, intended markets and proposed service. Add the screens, player platforms and viewing patterns the supplier needs to support. Name the priority programmes or categories in enough detail to test them. If support depends on a regional feed, describe that feed and the time of day it matters. A large list of general entertainment channels gives a supplier room to answer a different question from the one you need resolved.

Decide which commitments are essential to the purchase. A company buying for one team may only need service within a single market and a small list of devices. A business supplying many end customers has different responsibilities. Ask whether the proposed permission covers that role, who owns the customer relationship, and who corrects a service problem if the account was issued by another company. Put the territory, downstream arrangement and support boundary in the enquiry.

Give the supplier a low, expected and high demand range. Label which volumes are already committed and which depend on future sales. Keep the purchase forecast separate from the number of existing customer terms that must be honored. If the two lists overlap, show when the demand reaches the supplier, such as at initial activation or on later renewal dates. This timeline helps the supplier quote capacity you can actually use. Wholesale research directory · Distributor research

Verify who can make the offer and who performs it

Trace the offer from the public website or established contact to the proposed contracting party, invoicing entity, service operator and support team. For a straightforward agreement these names may match. When they differ, ask the supplier to describe each party’s role and what authorizes it. A buyer needs a way to contact the company taking the money and a way to reach the team that can fix the service. Record both routes before a pilot or deposit.

Take the seller name from the document that actually makes the offer. Check its domain and business details against a known source appropriate for that business. A registered company record can help identify an entity, while the service and rights questions need their own documents. Keep the response if the salesperson uses an affiliated company to bill or an upstream supplier to issue accounts. Request written authorization for any representative who signs or supplies commercial instructions on another business’s behalf. NIST supplier due diligence guide

If a supplier replaces a payment destination, use an established contact to confirm the change. Keep the previous and proposed billing details in your private procurement file with the date and the written confirmation. Apply the same care when a new support channel asks for an existing account export or customer list. Confirm the party and purpose before sharing data. The person who introduced a new channel cannot independently confirm its authority.

Check rights as a specific scope question. Ask what the supplier can provide for the territory, period and audience in your brief, and what you are permitted to promise your customers. A reference to a brand or a screenshot of a channel list can start that conversation. Ask for the upstream authorization or documented arrangement that supports the proposed use. For an important event, check the organizer’s official information for the relevant territory. The Premier League, for example, publishes different broadcast partners by territory. Its public information helps identify the broadcaster. The supplier still needs to explain how its specific offer fits the intended use. Premier League rights by territory · Verify a specific live fixture

If the important rights or roles cannot be established, describe the gap in plain language and hold the affected scope. A buyer can exclude a programme category with uncertain access and ask suppliers to quote the narrower service if that still meets the brief. If the unavailable evidence is central to the business purchase, keep that requirement open in the decision file. Record who would need to confirm it and what document would answer the question.

Ask every supplier to price the same scope

Send the same brief with the same response deadline. Ask for a line-by-line answer, including any assumptions. A supplier may quote a fixed inventory allocation, a monthly commitment or an activation charge with a minimum. Define one comparable service unit in the brief, such as one authorized account for three months in a specified market with agreed support and a documented device route. Ask each supplier to show how its pricing converts to that deliverable. A rate per credit becomes relevant after its unit and use are known. Credit terminology and term-cost examples

Ask the supplier to separate what must be paid at signing from what is due later. Identify fees for account setup, a player licence, platform access, required support and exports. Note currency and tax handling exactly as written. If an item is marked optional, ask whether the service still meets your acceptance requirements without it. A separately priced support plan belongs in the comparable total if your team needs that coverage to handle customer issues.

Read the conditions attached to a lower rate. One bidder may want a prepayment against a fixed quantity, while another permits a smaller opening order and recurring additions. If the quoted quantities expire at the end of a quarter, write that deadline on the price row. Ask how a missed minimum is billed and whether surplus purchases carry forward. The answer can change the amount paid under a quiet-month scenario even when the advertised unit rate stays the same.

Ask for a revised quote if the response changes the basic deliverable. For example, a quotation for one installed device is incomplete when your brief requires two permitted concurrent sessions in a specific location. Give all shortlisted suppliers the same clarification. Keep the version you reviewed and a record of the fields that changed so a later signer can see which offer the evaluation actually used. Provider comparison worksheet · Check the proposed concurrent limit

Ask bidders to show where their offer varies from your request

A quote can look complete while the assumptions section changes the work. Ask the bidder to list the requirements it accepts as written and any alternative it proposes. Compare each exception with the need that prompted it. A bidder might offer email support instead of a named contact, for example. That could still cover an enquiry that can wait until the next business day. An activation promised to customers during an evening opening may need another route.

In a fictional enquiry, the buyer lists two territories and needs a player that preserves an audio language selection. A bidder quotes a lower price for one territory and includes the second only with a separate minimum. Another quotes both territories but supports the required track on only one of two device families. Record the first bid as a change in geographic scope and the second as a device exception. Ask for equivalent revisions if both requirements are essential. If one territory or device family can wait, request a separately priced second phase so the immediate comparison still covers the same work.

Write down how the exception changes customer onboarding, support and cost. A package can be technically able to play on a connected box and still be unsuitable for customers who need the built-in television app. Add any extra equipment, a different installation appointment and the support route you would need to supply. The revised plan is worth comparing if it meets the original job after those changes. Document who agreed to the changed scope and update the acceptance test accordingly. Verify player and account scope · Device setup directory

Ask how the supplier manages changes to software it expects you to use. Record the publisher or approved distribution route, supported platforms and the contact for a compatibility issue. Ask how customers hear about a replacement or update and how the original service is supported while the change is tested. If the quote requires a particular app, check the current listing on the real device and verify who pays its licence. Keep the price and support owner beside that dependency. Verify an app publisher

Work a quiet quarter and a busy quarter before signing

Consider a fictional business comparing two suppliers for the next 90 days. Both have quoted the same usable three-month entitlement, covered market, device scope and support window. The business expects 160 customer entitlements, has a low estimate of 90 and could reach 220. All figures in this example are USD and include the applicable charges for the comparison. Capacity has no value to the buyer after the quarter in this exercise.

Bid A requires a minimum of 150 units at USD 7.00 each at signing. It charges USD 90 to set up the account and USD 60 for the required support period. The total at signing is USD 1,200. Extra units can be ordered individually at the same USD 7.00 rate. Bid B charges USD 292 for each 40-unit block, with equivalent support included. It charges USD 45 at setup, so the first block and setup cost USD 337. The buyer can add blocks during the quarter under the same rate.

In the low case, Bid A pays for 60 units it will leave unused. Bid B pays for 30 unused units. At 160, Bid B costs USD 57 less. At 220, Bid A costs USD 107 less because it adds exact units while Bid B has to buy a sixth block. The difference comes from the opening commitment and the purchase increment. A calculation based on USD 7.00 and USD 7.30 per unit alone would miss two of the three outcomes.

Now add a real business condition from the fictional brief. The buyer can approve at most USD 1,000 initially, and the demand may arrive suddenly before a weekend. Bid A cannot fit the initial cap as written. Bid B fits it, but its ability to cover the weekend depends on the lead time for another block. Ask Bid B to state the latest time at which a block can be ordered for that weekend and which contact can confirm availability. The party responsible for delivery needs that answer before promising the final group of activations.

Record payments by date, the number of purchased and used entitlements, and any expected balance at the end of the period. If one offer allows valid carryover, show the remaining eligible capacity separately. A future benefit can matter in the decision when it survives the agreement and you have a use for it. Preserve original currency and any dated assumptions for comparing another currency. For an approval memo, give the range as well as the expected number so the approver can see where the decision changes. Cost per service term

Request an acceptance sample with a defined boundary

Ask each shortlisted supplier for a permitted sample using the same product family, region, operator role and support route proposed in the quote. If the sample comes from a demonstration environment, note which functions it represents. Agree the devices, the test accounts, the number of staff and whether simultaneous checks are allowed. Use authorized test entitlements and a small representative set of programmes. Keep the sample time long enough to exercise the required workflows and short enough to be repeatable.

Write the criteria before you see the result. Suppose the brief requires an activation that staff can trace, a live programme on two defined device families and a written response to a guide issue. For each item, record the expected behavior, actual result, version, timestamp and person who checked it. Include the actual remote or accessibility task where it matters. Agree how a failure will be investigated and whether the supplier can repeat the test after a change.

Keep a device list small and specific. An Amazon manufacturer page distinguishes Fire TV devices by model and platform. A test on one generation gives you evidence for that configuration. Ask the supplier which other models are represented and document the ones that need a separate trial. If playback uses HLS, variant streams can carry different encodings and linked audio tracks. For that reason, a logo and a displayed video resolution offer only part of the acceptance evidence. Check the expected programme, track and source on the chosen screen. Amazon device specifications · HTTP Live Streaming specification · Separate source resolution from output

When a required sample fails, ask for a written result tied to the proposed offer. In a fictional pilot, both devices start live playback, but one player loses the account after a normal restart. On a spare device, the same user role can sign back in and repeat the error. The supplier offers a different supported build. Record the original failure and the new version, then rerun the restart, guide and viewing checks with that version. Confirm that the quoted arrangement covers the corrected build before marking acceptance complete. Run a reproducible trial · Report an observed playback problem

Put a checkpoint between the sample and a full order

A prearranged sample gives you a starting result under controlled conditions. Set a first delivery batch small enough that your staff can check it closely. Choose a clear count or date for review and specify what must be recorded before the next order is released. This might include whether the supplier issued all the agreed accounts, the time at which the balance became usable, the first support follow-up and whether the invoice matches the quoted scope. Ask the supplier to acknowledge that checkpoint when agreeing to the first batch.

Keep the transition consistent with the commitments customers have already received. If your business starts selling across two markets, open the first batch in the market covered by the tested offer and retain the earlier route for customers who still depend on it. Confirm how the next market will be opened before setting a delivery date. If the purchase includes a quantity minimum that starts immediately, show that amount in the first commitment even if operational acceptance is staged. A small technical pilot can still come with a large commercial commitment if the terms activate on signing.

Give the batch a short acceptance record. Name the approved devices and roles, describe any incomplete tasks, and record which supplier representative agreed to correct them. Make the next purchase depend on the actions that actually protect the customer arrangement. For instance, a report formatting issue may be tracked for the next review if staff can already identify the accepted orders. A missing ability to find the account expiry can block expansion when the team needs that field to support current subscribers.

When you accept the first batch, capture the usable quantity, the setup versions and the contact path you used. Later comparisons can then distinguish the agreed service from changes introduced after the test. Plan how an operator will validate one example account during the next normal support window. That follow-up gives the buyer a record of the ordinary process after the salesperson and technical staff have moved on to other work.

Make technical and operational obligations measurable

Separate the things your team can check from the things the supplier has to operate. Ask who keeps the panel available, which party maintains the player instructions and who follows up when an upstream source changes. Define the start of a service incident in a way both sides can observe. For example, identify who can open a case, how it is timestamped and which reference ties updates to the same incident. Write down the support channel and coverage window in your own time zone.

Break “support” into the stages you rely on. An acknowledgement can say that a ticket was received. A first substantive response can confirm an account check or request evidence. A workaround can restore the affected viewing task while the cause is investigated. Recovery closes the original problem when the intended service works again. Ask the supplier which stages it commits to, when those commitments apply and who handles an unresolved case. A ticketing portal screenshot is most useful after you know which people answer the agreed route.

Consider a fictional support sample that starts at 19:10. The supplier acknowledges the case at 19:18, first asks for a device version at 19:46 and confirms a corrected activation at 21:05. The record supports an eight-minute acknowledgement, a 36-minute first substantive response and 115 minutes to the supplier’s confirmation. If your staff only retest the screen at 21:20, record the first confirmed recovery as 130 minutes after the case opened. These observations describe the sample and provide a basis for discussing the contract. A formal response commitment needs the agreed definitions and hours beside it.

Ask for the reporting process during planned maintenance as well. The buyer needs enough notice to prepare its team and explain what is affected. If the proposal includes incident reports or service credits, ask the supplier to show the evidence and deadlines used for a claim. A clear description of how a shortfall is recorded helps your staff more than a large percentage with undefined exclusions. Keep the acceptance results and the written service terms together so the person responsible for a later review can read both. NCSC supply chain security guidance

Limit who can see or change an account

List which parts of the service the supplier can access and what it expects from your team. Typical procurement questions include whether supplier staff can view customer account details, how panel roles are assigned, how a change is attributed, how support authenticates requests and whether the buyer can export records. Describe the role you need and ask the supplier to show it with a permitted test account. Arrange a sample export using fictional or approved test data. Check that each record can be traced without disclosing fields staff do not need.

Separate access for someone approving purchases from access for someone resolving a playback issue. A support role may only need to see account status, plan and expiry. The purchasing role may need the order, invoice and balance. Your staff should be able to move an issue between those roles using a private reference. Ask about individual accounts, stronger authentication where available and the process to revoke access. Record which controls the supplier demonstrates and which it describes in writing. NIST supply chain risk management guide · Reseller panel handover

Ask where the information used for provisioning and support is handled and who can retrieve it after an incident. Describe the purposes for which you would share customer data and request a list of the fields the supplier needs for each. For example, a system might only need the service reference and intended account type to extend an existing term. A full payment record or exported customer list is a larger disclosure that needs its own purpose and permission. Set retention and deletion questions alongside this list. The European Commission’s data minimisation guidance explains limiting collection to what is needed for the purpose. European Commission data protection principles

Check the exit consequences of account roles before you authorize a larger purchase. Who can still read invoices if the main buyer account is disabled? Can another authorized contact request help for accounts already paid? Is there a process for retrieving a last export without giving a former operator new access? Have the supplier show its documented path and record the name of the contact. Permissions that only work on the first day can become a bigger issue during a handover.

Keep an audit file another person can use

Save the original brief, each bidder’s written response, final pricing assumptions, the rights evidence reviewed, the acceptance tests and the signed order record. Keep correspondence in chronological order and mark each updated offer clearly. Store sensitive attachments in your private procurement file and reference them by date and description in the comparison. A reviewer should be able to see why a line was accepted without receiving a copy of every account export.

Decide who can approve a change after signing. If a supplier revises the proposed market, player or renewal terms, record the change beside the original offer. Ask which future purchases it affects and what happens to accepted work. Where the change affects customers, identify the people who will approve a revised promise or follow up on an order. A recorded approval date keeps your team from unintentionally using a newer rule on older work.

Keep a short schedule of supplier reviews. At the end of an agreed review period, check which conditions changed, whether important issues were resolved and what demand actually used the purchased capacity. Bring one invoice, one sample customer reference and one support case to that review so the discussion stays concrete. You can adjust the record if another person finds better evidence, keeping the earlier observation available for context. Compare provider evidence · Reconcile an operating balance

Plan what happens to customers and records at exit

Ask about the three dates that can diverge at the end of a relationship. The last day to order new accounts, the last day to manage existing accounts and the last day those customers can use the service may fall on different days. Put each on a separate line. Clarify which company handles outstanding refunds or service requests, when you can retrieve records and what happens to unused capacity. If the agreement has a notice period or a final payment, record the exact clause with the date on your calendar.

Suppose a fictional buyer ends new purchases on 30 April. It has 26 active terms with recorded expiry dates across May and June. The supplier proposes closing the buyer panel on 15 May. Before accepting, ask who can see the remaining customer dates after that day and which team handles one of those accounts if the device is replaced in June. Request a test export early enough to confirm the fields and a known support route that can act on those references. An export makes sense only if it is useful to the people allowed to keep and use it.

Test the important part before you depend on it. For instance, use an approved sample account to export its original term, current status and latest change, then have someone else locate those fields using the agreed format. Ask whether identifiers will remain meaningful after account closure. If you plan to move customers to a different supplier, verify the new offer, required permissions and the new device setup from the beginning. An account reference from the previous panel can help track a support case. Any transfer of access requires a separately supported path and agreement. Device and account change guide

Write a short decision memo someone can approve

Add the decision date and the date when the quote expires to the same line. A buyer reviewing the memo next week should be able to see whether the team accepted a priced offer or approved further negotiation. If the quote changes, note the exact clause or unit cost that changed and repeat only the affected comparison. Keep the prior memo with the older quote so there is a clear reason for the decision that followed. When the next review depends on a promised sample, name the person responsible for obtaining the result and the evidence the approver will see.

Lead with the proposed scope, the amount due and the event that would authorize a larger commitment. Then document the decisive evidence, the gaps and the person who owns each next check. Link the dated quote and test record. A memo can recommend a small pilot, a narrower scope or a full purchase. Say what would cause that recommendation to change.

For the fictional 90-day comparison above, a buyer might record this decision in four sentences. “Approve one Bid B block and setup for USD 337, limited to the market and account type in the 2 November offer. The same-scope pilot confirmed the listed devices and support path. Before adding another block, confirm the supplier’s Friday order cutoff and verify the current usable capacity. If the cutoff leaves a risk to committed customers, pause new commitments while the supplier and operations lead agree a route.”

Add a short table for the person signing. Include expected cost, the quiet and busy cases, and anything the quote excludes. Assign a single owner to acceptance, vendor contact and periodic review. Give the buyer or account owner the location of the private invoice and exit terms. If the bid is conditional, carry the condition into the order and put a date next to it. A condition that only appears in meeting notes is easy for the person placing the order to miss.

If an essential condition remains unanswered, write the specific unresolved point and stop before making a commitment that assumes the answer. A buyer can still ask for a revised quote or collect the missing evidence. Share the decision with the people responsible for the purchase, activation and support so they each have the same terms when the first order arrives. Open the provider directory · Find the reseller operations guide