Pack & Freight compares alternative complete supplier orders for one exact requested specification. It calculates whole packs, applies the minimum whole packs and adds one delivery charge. Your review decides which compatible offers enter the cost comparison.
Define the request
Try the fictional example, or enter the exact specification, usable unit, quantity needed and VAT / tax basis. Choose Apply request before reviewing offers. The current preview uses GBP only. It does not convert currencies, units or tax.
Quantities use dot-decimal numbers with up to six decimal places. Prices use pounds and pence with up to two decimal places: enter 8.20, without £, commas or exponent notation. An unsupported precision is rejected rather than silently rounded.
Capture each offer
Choose Add an offer, or download CSV template, fill it in and use Import CSV. The import needs the template's exact headers, UTF-8 text and comma separators. You can add up to 200 offers in total; a CSV file can be up to 2 MB. Each row is a separate complete order, including when two rows name the same supplier.
Record the quoted specification and usable unit, units per pack, positive pack price, minimum whole packs, delivery charge and tax basis. Enter a quoted free delivery charge as 0; a blank charge is unknown. If the supplier has no larger minimum, enter 1 for minimum packs. Convert a supplier's MOQ into whole packs yourself only when the quote supports that interpretation.
The specification and unit must match the request after surrounding spaces are trimmed and Unicode text is normalised. Case differences, abbreviations and unit conversions are not inferred as equivalent. Confirm the real product information yourself rather than changing wording just to pass a check.
Pack price and delivery must use the same selected tax basis as the request. Optional lead time is quoted whole calendar days, not a promised arrival date or a ranking factor. Add the quote reference, date, validity and any exclusions in the source notes and assumptions.
Review before ranking
Use the supplier, quote-reference or specification search and the status filter to find an offer. Up to ten offers appear per page. Show all offers clears the search and filter. The summary ranks reviewed compatible offers across the complete workspace, including other pages; exports also contain every offer. Printing shows only the current view.
Enter a reviewer name, inspect the quote and confirm each complete compatible offer. Incomplete or incompatible rows remain visible but cannot rank. A complete unconfirmed row can show its calculated cost while waiting for review. The highlighted result is the lowest cost among the confirmed compatible offers; equal lowest costs remain a tie.
The calculation is:
packs to buy = greater of round-up(quantity needed ÷ units per pack) and minimum whole packs
order cost = packs to buy × pack price + one delivery charge
For a fictional request for 37 sheets on the same specification and tax basis:
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Offer | Pack | Pack price | Minimum packs | Delivery | Packs bought | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 25 sheets | £8.20 | 1 | £6.50 | 2 | £22.90 |
| B | 50 sheets | £14.75 | 1 | £2.00 | 1 | £16.75 |
| C | 10 sheets | £3.10 | 5 | £0.00 | 5 | £15.50 |
All three orders buy 50 sheets and leave 13 surplus. The lowest reviewed cost is a calculation, not a supplier recommendation or a check of quote validity.
Editing an offer removes its confirmation. Applying a changed request clears all offer confirmations. Applying an unchanged request retains them. Undo last change can return the previous workspace; check the restored request and review status. Original captured values remain visible after editing.
Export or save
Export reviewed comparison CSV includes unresolved offers and their status as well as reviewed costs. It is a report, not the input template. CSV prefixes formula-like text; use the raw JSON for literal captured values.
Export raw audit / workspace creates a portable JSON backup of the current workspace, containing original and current inputs and review records. It does not back up the in-page Undo history. Restore audit file checks its format and integrity, then recalculates from the inputs. The file limit is 8 MB. A hash does not establish authorship or authenticity.
Save locally opens an encryption dialog. Enter and confirm a long unique passphrase of at least 12 characters. Spaces, letter case and exact characters matter; you can paste from a password manager. A successful save keeps one encrypted current workspace in this browser profile, including the reviewer and review records. Later changes need saving again. The phrase/key are not stored or exported.
Restore local save needs the exact phrase. The complete saved workspace is checked and all offers are recalculated before replacement. Supported stale review records remain evidence and do not become eligible for ranking. A successful restore is one ordinary undoable workspace change; a wrong phrase, error or cancellation keeps your current work.
There is no developer recovery key. A separately kept valid raw audit / workspace file is a complete portable backup of its captured workspace and can restore it if you forget the browser-save phrase. It cannot unlock the encrypted copy. CSV and raw-audit files remain readable.
An older plaintext copy requires Open older unencrypted save. Opening leaves that stored copy unchanged. A successful encrypted save replaces the same copy; a failed save keeps it. The encrypted copy has an 8 MiB limit including encryption overhead, so some supported raw audits will not fit. No offers or notes are truncated to fit.
Saving and deleting check for changes made by another cooperating tab. If a conflict is reported, reopen the dialog and review the saved copy before trying again. A restore uses the copy captured when its dialog opened; another tab may have saved a newer one since then.
Clear workspace clears only the current tab and is undoable while history remains. Delete local save removes the separate save without needing its phrase and cannot be undone. Downloaded files, backups and shared copies remain under your control.
The preview does not calculate tax amounts, customs charges, tier discounts, free-delivery thresholds, stock availability or split-supplier baskets. Check these costs and terms before relying on a comparison. It has no ordering, checkout or subscription connection.
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