Wet Pet Food Canning Equipment: An RFQ Checklist

A wet pet food canning equipment RFQ is easier to compare when every supplier receives the same product, package and project information. A short request that says only “automatic line” usually leaves important questions unanswered: what the product is like at filling, what can is required, where the line starts and how output will be evaluated.

Build the RFQ around six information groups

1. Product: describe the food form, visible pieces, liquid additions and intended finished presentation. Identify each recipe or SKU in scope.
2. Container: attach can-body and end drawings, dimensions, material information supplied by the pack vendor, target net content and any proposed variants.
3. Production plan: state planned operating pattern, product sequence, changeovers and how the factory defines acceptable output.
4. Site: provide an available layout, line location, access constraints and known utility information. Mark assumptions clearly.
5. Supply boundary: show existing preparation equipment and the required start and end points for the quotation.
6. Evidence and support: request the applicable drawings, operating documents, trial scope, acceptance records and support terms.

Ask suppliers to answer in the same format

Request a process-flow drawing and a section-by-section equipment list. Ask the supplier to mark included and excluded items, connecting conveyors, controls, site work and any factory-provided equipment. For unresolved details, request an assumption and the information needed to close it.

Use representative product and packaging samples to define any proposed trial. State what will be observed and recorded. Avoid treating a catalogue rate or a test on a different product as guaranteed line output.

For a supplier response, ask for a matrix that repeats each RFQ requirement and gives the proposed equipment, evidence supporting the response, any deviation and the next decision needed. This makes exceptions easier to locate during bid review and helps the factory distinguish a quoted feature from a recommendation that still needs a sample test or drawing review.

Keep the first request factual

Do not add target values that have not been agreed with the product or process team. If a requirement is undecided, label it as open and ask what evidence is needed to finalize it. This gives suppliers a clear path to ask follow-up questions without converting assumptions into specifications.

The HSYL wet pet food canning page lists product, recipe, can, output and site inputs for configuration. Send an RFQ with those inputs and ask for the proposed boundary in writing.

Before sending

• Check that every file has a revision or date.
• Remove confidential recipe details that are not necessary for the first review.
• Tell suppliers how questions and revised drawings will be handled.
• Keep a copy of the same RFQ package sent to each bidder.

Keep a submission register with the recipient, date, document revisions and questions returned. If the RFQ changes, issue a revised package to every bidder and identify what changed. This prevents one supplier from quoting against an older can drawing or process boundary.

A consistent RFQ creates a more useful comparison: it shows where suppliers agree, where scope differs and which decisions still need product or site evidence.