How buying works
Written for whoever has to raise the purchase order
Adding a supplier is usually more work than choosing a part. Here is who invoices you, in what currency, what arrives with the order, and exactly what your vendor file needs. If something here does not fit how your purchasing works, tell me and we will work around it.
One supplier, one invoice, no border
01
You send the requirement
A part number, or the symptom and the instrument. I come back with what fits, the price in Canadian dollars, and the lead time. If the part you asked for is the wrong one, I say so before quoting.
02
You raise a purchase order
Made out to the business name and address on the quote. Everything procurement needs to set up a supplier is on the quote itself, and the full detail is below.
03
I order, import and ship
I am the importer of record on consumables, so the customs entry, the duty and the border paperwork are mine, not yours. The part arrives from within Canada.
04
You are invoiced in Canadian dollars
One invoice, HST shown separately, from one Canadian supplier. No foreign exchange, no wire fees, no brokerage charge landing weeks later.
The point of setting me up is that you only do it once. After that the same vendor number covers detector lamps, pump spares, columns, flash cartridges and sample preparation, whoever happens to manufacture them.
The questions purchasing always asks
- Who am I actually buying from?
- From Chromkit, for both. For consumables I buy the part at wholesale, import it and resell it to you, which makes me the vendor of record and the importer. Instruments are sold the same way: Chromkit invoices you, and the configuration, software licence and warranty are written into the quote. Instruments also ship outside Canada, and export orders are quoted and invoiced in US dollars.
- Can you install and service an instrument we buy from you?
- Yes. Installation, a service contract and replacement parts are all available for instruments sold here, each quoted separately so you only pay for what you need. Ask for them with the instrument quote and they come back together.
- We already buy this from the original manufacturer. Why add a supplier?
- Sometimes you should not. If you are on a corporate contract with the instrument manufacturer and the price is fine, stay there. Where I am worth setting up is when the OEM part is several times the price of an equivalent aftermarket one, when the manufacturer will not sell you a small quantity, or when you want one Canadian supplier across lamps, columns, cartridges and sample prep rather than a new vendor for each.
- What does it take to set us up as a supplier?
- Legal name and address, business number, HST registration number and remittance details. All of it is on the quote, and I can send it as a single document for your vendor file. Ask and it comes back the same day.
- Is this an original manufacturer part?
- It depends which line, and every listing says which it is. The branded lines, SiliCycle sorbents and columns among them, are the manufacturer's own product supplied as a distributor, new and unopened, with the brand and part number on the page. The spares, lamps, seals, plungers and valves, are aftermarket, cross-referenced to the OEM number so you can match them to what is fitted. If you want the genuine manufacturer version of an aftermarket part, say so on the enquiry and I will quote that instead.
- Which manufacturer made it?
- That is stated in the quote, along with the country of origin, the rated life and the warranty, before you commit to anything. It is not printed on the catalogue because I source each order against your requirement rather than from a single brand.
- Our method is validated. Can we just swap the part?
- Not automatically, and this is the part most suppliers will not raise with you. Changing a consumable in a validated method can need a documented assessment under change control, and for some parts a short verification. Tell me what the method is used for and I will tell you honestly whether the swap is straightforward or whether it is more trouble than the saving is worth.
- What are the payment terms?
- Set on the quote. A new account normally starts on prepayment or card, and moves to terms once we have traded a few times. I would rather agree that up front than discover it at invoice stage.
- What if it arrives wrong or fails?
- If I quoted the wrong part, that is on me and I fix it. Warranty is stated per part number on the quote, because it varies by manufacturer and I will not put a number on it that I have not confirmed in writing.
Set up as a supplier
Ask for the supplier details and you get the legal name and address, business number, HST registration and remittance information in one document for your vendor file. Same day.