Establish the measurement and quote basis
Ask who owns tooling, which specification revision it supports, where it is stored, and what reuse, maintenance and transfer charges apply. Keep those answers attached to the offer.
Record the SKU, date, source document and unit beside the observation. Mark an estimate as provisional so it cannot be mistaken for supplier-confirmed data.
Worked purchasing example
EUR 600 tooling charged on a 10,000-piece order adds EUR 0.06/piece. If later reuse is confirmed and five equal orders are actually allocated, EUR 600 over 50,000 pieces is EUR 0.012/piece. The first order still requires the initial cash payment.
These figures are illustrative arithmetic, not market prices or a promised saving. Replace them with measurements and offers covering your actual job.
Turn the result into a decision
Do not present speculative future orders as guaranteed savings. Compare first-order cash and an explicitly evidenced multi-order allocation separately.
Use the linked calculator to check the same boundary, then include complete known order charges in comparison. Preserve unresolved items in the specification rather than replacing them with zero.
Common questions
Is tooling free when included in the unit price?
Its cost may be recovered inside the supplier price. Ask what happens on reorders and a supplier switch; avoid adding the same included charge again.
Are the example prices current supplier quotes?
No. They are illustrative values chosen to demonstrate the calculation. Enter current confirmed offers for the same specification and quantity.