Feed procurement definition
Before you request quotes for bulk animal feed or feed ingredients
Define the product and its specification, the volume pattern, the delivery basis and the commercial terms before you request offers. That means: what you are buying (finished feed, single ingredient, additive or premix), the species and stage it serves, physical form, the nutritional or commercial specification with tolerances, certification and packaging, monthly and annual quantity with shipment size, destination port or plant with the Incoterm, and currency, payment terms, MOQ, lead time and offer validity. Offers built on different specifications and different Incoterms are not comparable, and the lowest quoted price per tonne is frequently not the lowest landed cost.
Feed and ingredient offers arrive in incompatible shapes: one FOB with a 46% protein basis, one CIF with a different moisture ceiling, one with bagging included and one without. Fixing the specification and the delivery basis before you ask is what turns three price lists into one decision.
Request comparable feed offers1. Product
- Finished compound feed, single ingredient, additive or custom premix
- For finished feed: species, stage and feed form (mash, pellet, crumble, extruded)
- For ingredients: exact commodity and grade — soybean meal, corn, wheat, DDGS, fishmeal, oils, protein meals
- For additives and premixes: active, inclusion rate, carrier and required stability
- Whether an equivalent alternative origin or grade is acceptable, and on what basis
2. Specification
- Key parameters with tolerances: protein, moisture, fat, fibre, ash, urease or other process indicators
- Contaminant and hygiene limits, and the test method that decides a dispute
- Certification: ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP+, FAMI-QS, halal, organic, non-GM as applicable
- Physical form, particle size, durability or water-stability requirements
- Packaging: bulk, big bag, 25 kg or 50 kg bags, liner, marking and pallet configuration
- Shelf life required on arrival and storage conditions
3. Volume
- Monthly quantity and annual quantity, stated separately
- Shipment size: container, part cargo, full vessel, truck
- Delivery frequency and seasonality of demand
- Whether the offer should be spot, a call-off contract or a period price
4. Delivery
- Destination: port, inland terminal or plant gate
- Incoterms 2020 term applied to every offer — the single most common source of false comparisons
- Discharge terms, free time and who pays demurrage
- Inland transport, and whether the buyer or supplier arranges it
- Required delivery window and the consequence of missing it
5. Commercial terms
- Currency and who carries exchange exposure
- Payment terms: advance, LC, CAD, open account, and any credit period requested
- Minimum order quantity and price break structure
- Lead time from order to shipment and from shipment to arrival
- Offer validity in days — required so proposals are compared in the same market window
- Documentation: invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of analysis, origin, phytosanitary/health certificate
- Inspection: who appoints the surveyor, where sampling occurs, and whose result binds
Why two offers on the same product are not the same offer
| Difference | Looks like | Actual effect |
|---|---|---|
| Incoterm | A lower price per tonne | Freight, insurance and port charges move to the buyer |
| Specification basis | Same commodity name | Different protein or moisture basis changes usable value per tonne |
| Packaging | Comparable price | Bagging, liners and palletising added later |
| Payment terms | Similar price | Advance payment carries a financing cost the other offer does not |
| MOQ and shipment size | Attractive unit price | Storage, handling and working capital tie-up at destination |
| Documentation | Not mentioned | Missing certificates cause customs delays and storage charges |
Questions buyers ask
What should a bulk feed RFQ include?
How do I compare bulk feed suppliers fairly?
Is the cheapest feed supplier always the lowest-cost supplier?
Do I need to name a preferred origin?
Continue the decision
Request comparable feed offers
Write the requirement once and send the same document to every supplier you are considering, including one you already prefer. FeedMatch sells nothing and takes no part in the contract.
Request comparable feed offersScope and neutrality
- FeedMatch Group is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. It does not manufacture, install or commission feed-processing equipment and is not an EPC contractor.
- FeedMatch does not sell feed, ingredients, premixes or additives and does not act as a trader.
- FeedMatch is not a bank, lender, credit provider or financial adviser. Financing, where relevant, is arranged by independent third parties.
- Calculator outputs and planning ranges on this site are indicative inputs for your own evaluation, not quotations, nutritional advice or performance guarantees.