1. Price Guarantee
   Is the price guaranteed for the life of the contract? If not, how will the price be adjusted?

 

2. Minimum Commitment
   Do design changes affect it? If you buy one billion forms over five years, does the minimum count go to zero for each form change?

 

3. Quality Assurance
   Has the consumable been certified for my technology? By whom? Always buy a product certified for the device to be used.

 

4. Product Tolerance
   What tolerances are in your specification? Will you assume any service level penalties caused by the sub-standard shipment?

 

5. Product Availability
   Where do you warehouse the item? Is it kept at optimal environmental levels? How much stock do you keep within one hour's trucking? Are the trucks environmentally controlled?

 

6. Business Continuity
   Do you have more than one source for key ingredients? If not, how many months of stock do you keep for key ingredients? Do you have multiple manufacturing plants producing the product?

 

7. References
   How many other users of the specific product do you have within one hour of my facilities?

 

8. Environmental Impact: Paper
   Is the paper FSC-certified, and which type? Alkaline or acid-based? Dust generated per million impressions?

 

9. Environmental Impact: Toner/Ink
   What levels of airborne particulates are generated? Removable with current filtration processes? Are they attracted to electrical equipment? Are they flammable?

 

10. Automated Fulfillment
    Can you order online? Can you set up an automated schedule? How long will it take for information to be updated and acted upon?

 

WILLIAM BRODDY [william.broddy@imergeconsult.com] M-EDP, is principal consultant for transactional documents at IMERGE Consulting. Mr. Broddy also developed and teaches the Transaction Document Best Practices certificate course at www.acadami.org.