Buying for a business: seven checks before you order.

Every day brought new requisitions. Someone needed something bought, and I needed to check the details before the order moved.

That was part of my direct procurement work. I also bought lenses for very large scientific lasers, which I found fascinating and high risk. The job could move between a routine request and something that needed much closer attention.

From outside, buying looks like finding a supplier, agreeing a price and placing an order. Underneath it are decisions about what the business needs, who can provide it and what must happen before anybody can use the result.

This guide takes seven questions you can use on a purchase your organisation is making.

A purchase has a purpose beyond the item on the request. It might let a factory make a product, a team deliver a service or a business fulfil a customer order.

That purpose changes the questions you ask. A cheap item can be essential to something much more valuable. A large repeat order can be straightforward because the specification, supplier and terms are already settled.

Direct procurement generally covers the inputs used to make or deliver what a business sells. Raw materials and components are familiar examples. Category boundaries vary, so start with the dependency: what will the organisation struggle to do without this purchase?

A requisition is an internal request to buy. It may tell you the item, quantity, requested date and suggested supplier. Those fields help an order move, but they do not necessarily explain the whole need.

Check the part number, drawing revision, quantity, required date and any existing agreement. Ask how the item will be used, what evidence must accompany it and who can decide whether it is acceptable.

If the approved route is clear and the details match, get the purchase moving. If the requirement is still changing, make that visible. A supplier cannot give a reliable commitment against a requirement nobody has settled.

The wop. procurement intake guide covers how to route different requests without making everyone complete the same long process.

I remember single-source buying even where many other suppliers existed. The reason for using one supplier deserves examination. It could be a deliberate choice, a technical dependency or simply the route people have kept using.

I also inherited a supply chain with backup suppliers on the list. I called them to understand what they could actually do for us. They had not heard from the business in over a year. They were names recorded as possible sources, rather than a backup route we had kept ready.

Ask what it would take to move a real order. Does the alternative have the right drawing, tooling, capacity and approvals? What needs qualifying? A supplier name gives you someone to call. Readiness takes more work.

Imagine a fictional company planning a reusable water bottle launch. Its initial quantity is committed. A possible retailer order might arrive later.

If the supplier hears only one total number, it may make the wrong assumptions about materials or production space. If you order everything immediately, your business may be left holding stock it does not need.

Separate firm demand from a forecast. Then make sure the agreement says what, if anything, you are committing to on the strength of that forecast.

A larger minimum order might improve the unit price while increasing storage, cash and obsolescence exposure. Ask why the minimum exists and what changes if the quantity changes.

Two prices only become comparable when their assumptions are comparable. One supplier might include delivery. Another might charge separately for tooling or packaging. A lower price may depend on a larger order or a different specification.

Total cost of ownership takes the question through the whole life of the purchase:

Choose a sensible period, agree the assumptions with the people who will use the purchase, and count each cost once. Show uncertain costs separately. A precise-looking total is not useful if half of it rests on guesses nobody can explain.

You do not need a complicated model for every order. Focus on the differences that could change the decision. The wop. total cost of ownership guide gives you a structure for that conversation.

Six weeks from the order? From a deposit? From final drawing approval? From the supplier receiving a material?

In our fictional bottle example, the requested date might assume the clock starts today while the supplier is waiting for approval of the lid drawing. The number has not changed. The starting condition has.

Ask what must happen before work begins, which inputs are outstanding and who owns them. Make sure the people planning the work are using the same assumptions as the supplier.

Delivery and acceptance can be different events. An item might have arrived and still need the agreed checks. Define the expected result, how it will be checked and the person responsible for the decision.

Put intended use and any required IP rights into the requirement before seeking a commitment. If a supplier holds your moulds or drawings, make ownership, permitted use, access and the arrangements for later orders clear.

I had suppliers holding our moulds for obsolete products so they could make to specification when needed. Ownership was clear. The useful lesson is to make those arrangements explicit and manageable over time.

The wop. contract-types guide explains how scopes, orders and wider agreements fit together. Procurement coordinates the commercial questions and brings in the appropriate technical, legal or other specialists.

Put the seven checks to work. Get the free Before you order worksheet, with a printable checklist, a fictional worked example and a total-cost guide.

Choose one purchase. Find the question you cannot yet answer. Name the person who can resolve it and record the next action.

You do not need to resolve every issue yourself. Understanding the missing detail makes you more useful in the conversation, wherever you sit in the business.

For practical stories and tools on procurement, supply chain and AI, read the weekly briefing at wophq.com.

Explore the direct procurement guides for supplier readiness, specifications and technology reporting.