To evaluate an automatic door supplier, compare the proposed configuration, included items, commercial conditions and delivery responsibilities against your project requirements. Identify who will answer technical questions, carry out site work and help resolve problems. Keep important gaps visible until you have a written answer.
For importers, distributors and contractors, the practical challenge is making different proposals comparable. Two quotations may use the same product name while covering different equipment or services. This guide follows the order from the first proposal to handover, with a checklist you can use during supplier discussions.
Clarify Who Is Responsible for Your Order
Start with the company issuing the proposal and the people who will handle the order. Ask who supplies the doors, who confirms the technical details and who coordinates the installation team. A supplier may manufacture the equipment, distribute another company's products or combine several sources. Establish the actual arrangement before judging whether it suits your project.
The company name alone does not define accountability. Identify a commercial contact for the quotation and a technical contact for drawings and configuration questions. Ask how those contacts work together when a request changes the price or delivery plan. A clear answer should explain how you receive a revised proposal, not leave you to reconcile separate messages from different teams.
For example, a contractor may buy the complete entrance from one company while a local installer prepares the opening and connects the equipment. In that arrangement, ask who confirms the interface information and who answers an installation question. This is an illustrative coordination scenario, not a statement that installation is included in every supply agreement.
Record the proposed responsibilities in your comparison notes. A manufacturer-led offer and a distributor-led offer can have different advantages, but neither label establishes what this particular order includes. If you also need to investigate factory capability or production control, conduct that review separately and bring its findings into the shortlist.
Review how to evaluate an automatic door manufacturer for the separate assessment of production experience, engineering capability and inspection evidence.
Compare the Same Door Configuration and Supply Scope
Give each shortlisted company the same project brief and ask for an itemized response. Two proposals headed automatic door may describe different purchases: a complete entrance, automation equipment for locally supplied leaves, or replacement components. Match the proposed door arrangement and supplied items before comparing the totals.
When reviewing an automatic sliding door supplier, check the door leaves, glazing, frames, operator, activation and safety devices, controls and requested interfaces. Mark each item as included, excluded or awaiting confirmation. The word complete needs a defined boundary: it should not be taken to include building work, electrical preparation or local installation unless the proposal says so.
Use the opening reference and approved drawing revision to identify each entrance. For a revolving door, confirm that the enclosure, wings, drive, detection arrangement and any separate side passage are addressed in the relevant scope. If a side door comes from another party, identify who coordinates its relationship with the entrance rather than assuming it belongs to the revolving-door package.
SEPPES prioritizes complete customized doors. Operator systems, components and accessories are generally supplied to existing customers as replacement, spare or repair parts, subject to configuration review. Large standalone requirements, such as hundreds or thousands of sets, can be discussed separately. For a replacement inquiry, provide the earlier order information and available equipment identification so the requested item can be reviewed.
Prepare the information needed for an automatic door quote so each supplier starts with the same entrance requirements and clearly identified provisional details.
Check How Technical Questions and Changes Are Handled
Ask the supplier to explain how a question moves from your site team to the person who can resolve it. Useful coordination connects the response to the opening, drawing or equipment item concerned. A quick reply can help, but it is the completeness of the answer and its place in the agreed documents that allows the project to move forward.
Consider a change to an opening width after the first quotation. Ask whether the supplier will review the door arrangement, structure, automation and packing implications, then issue an updated scope where needed. Keep the current drawing and quotation together. A verbal agreement about the size should not leave the earlier configuration circulating as the production reference.
For an access-control interface, name the local integrator and ask which connection information each party will provide. Agree on who confirms the intended operating behavior and who checks the finished installation. The supplier's statement that an interface is possible is the beginning of coordination; it does not establish compatibility with an unspecified device.
Ask how substitutions will be proposed and approved. If a quoted component changes, you need to know whether it affects the configuration, documentation, spare-parts identification or price. Record unresolved questions with an owner and a next action. This section evaluates the supplier's order communication, while the manufacturer guide covers the underlying engineering capability.
Review What the Quoted Price Actually Includes
Put automatic door suppliers on a comparable basis before judging price. Check the currency, quantity, door configuration, listed options, packing scope and stated delivery basis. Ask which charges sit outside the quoted amount and which items remain provisional. An omitted item is not automatically free, and an unanswered question should remain visible in your comparison.
As an illustrative example, one proposal might include a complete glazed entrance while another covers automation equipment only. The lower total does not establish a saving until you identify who supplies the missing door construction and coordinates it. Ask for the scope difference first; do not estimate an unsupported adjustment just to produce a single comparison number.
Review the commercial conditions alongside the technical list. Confirm quotation validity, the proposed payment milestones and what event each milestone refers to. Ask how an approved change will be priced and recorded. These are points to agree with the supplier, not universal payment terms or SEPPES commitments stated by this guide.
Keep transport, destination handling and site work visible as separate questions wherever they affect the proposal. Ask who arranges each activity and what the quoted delivery basis includes. Where the two proposals still use different assumptions, list the difference rather than calling them equivalent. The cost-factor guides explain why configurations change price; this review establishes whether the quotations describe the same purchase.
Read the automatic sliding door cost factors guide for the configuration decisions behind a sliding-door quotation.
Confirm Delivery Milestones and Handover Information
Ask what the quoted schedule measures. Production completion, readiness for collection, dispatch and arrival are different milestones. Identify the approvals or buyer information needed before the supplier can confirm its plan, and ask how a delay in those inputs would be communicated. Keep a provisional estimate separate from a written order commitment.
An automatic revolving door supplier should connect delivery preparation to the proposed entrance configuration. Ask which assemblies travel together, which items arrive separately and what the receiving team needs to identify them. The same principle applies to sliding doors, especially when a project has several openings with similar-looking but different configurations.
Agree on the handover information relevant to your order: the packing list, opening references, configuration documents, available installation guidance and technical contact details. Ask which records will be supplied before dispatch and which accompany the shipment. Do not assume that an example document or brochure is the final document for your particular entrance.
Also identify who receives the shipment and checks its contents against the list. Ask how visible damage, a missing package or an identification question should be reported, and what information the supplier needs to investigate. Keep packing photographs and package references where relevant. Any reporting deadlines or remedies must come from the agreed order terms, not from an assumed industry-wide rule.
Review revolving-door cost and delivery factors when assessing the scope behind a revolving entrance proposal.
Agree on Installation, Support and Problem Resolution
Confirm who will carry out local installation, adjustment and site checks before approving the supply proposal. An equipment quotation may not include those activities. Ask the supplier and local team to explain their respective roles, including who reviews a question that involves both the supplied door and the building's electrical or access-control work.
Separate remote guidance from a visit to the site. SEPPES provides remote online after-sales support, including online installation guidance and remote troubleshooting. That does not establish local installation or maintenance coverage. The project needs an identified party for physical site work, with the required scope confirmed for the actual entrance.
For future replacement requests, keep the order reference, door identification and approved configuration information accessible. SEPPES can review spare or replacement components for existing customers' earlier sliding-door orders. Ask how a replacement will be identified and checked against that configuration. A visually similar motor, controller or sensor is not enough to establish compatibility.
Discuss the process for raising a problem: the first contact, the information to send, who reviews it and how the next action is agreed. Clarify any warranty scope, exclusions, response commitments and responsibility for associated work in writing. A broad promise of after-sales service does not define those terms. If the answer is incomplete, keep it as an open point before order approval.
Use a Supplier Comparison Checklist Before Ordering
When comparing automatic sliding door suppliers, use the same opening brief and document version for both proposals. The worksheet below contains recording prompts, not ratings or claims about actual suppliers. Copy it into your project notes and replace each prompt with the company's written answer and its source.
| Review item | Supplier A | Supplier B | Clarification needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply scope | Record included items and exclusions. | Record included items and exclusions. | Are door construction, automation and accessories compared on the same basis? |
| Configuration version | Record the opening reference and document revision. | Record the opening reference and document revision. | Which drawing and equipment list will the order use? |
| Quoted charges | Record the currency, quantity and charge scope. | Record the currency, quantity and charge scope. | Which options, packing or delivery activities require separate confirmation? |
| Delivery milestones | Record the milestone and its prerequisites. | Record the milestone and its prerequisites. | Does the date mean production completion, dispatch or arrival? |
| Installation responsibility | Name the party responsible for site work. | Name the party responsible for site work. | Who handles installation, interfaces, adjustment and site checks? |
| Handover information | List the agreed documents and their delivery stage. | List the agreed documents and their delivery stage. | How will the receiving team identify each door and package? |
| After-sales contact | Record the support contact and agreed process. | Record the support contact and agreed process. | Who reviews missing items, technical questions and replacement requests? |
On smaller screens, scroll within the table to read all four columns. Supplier A and Supplier B are labels for your own comparison, not named companies.
Close the gaps before selecting the proposal
Attach a quotation reference, drawing revision or dated response to each answer. If an item is unclear, ask one specific question and name the person who will follow up. For instance, “Does this amount include the door glazing for opening E-01?” is easier to resolve than a general request to confirm that everything is included.
A lower quoted total is meaningful only when you understand the scope difference. Record missing information as requiring clarification, not as zero cost or an assumed inclusion.
Once the comparison is clear, keep the selected proposal and agreed clarifications together. If a later change affects a door, update the relevant record before approving that change. This gives the supplier, buyer and local project team a common reference when production, delivery or installation questions arise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should an automatic door quotation include?
It should identify the proposed door configuration, quantity, supplied items, exclusions, price basis and relevant commercial conditions. Ask for the drawing or configuration reference, proposed delivery milestone and support scope. Keep provisional items clearly marked until the parties confirm them.
How can I compare automatic door suppliers fairly?
Send the same project brief and compare the written responses against the same list of requirements. Separate scope differences from price differences, and record unresolved items rather than assigning them an assumed value. Compare the final clarified proposals before choosing.
Does a complete door quotation include installation?
Only when the quotation explicitly includes it. Complete door supply describes the supplied equipment boundary; it does not automatically include building preparation, electrical work, installation or commissioning. Confirm the local party responsible for each activity.
What should I confirm before approving a supplier’s proposal?
Confirm the supplied scope, document versions, excluded work, commercial conditions, delivery milestones and responsible contacts. Resolve changes that affect the configuration or price in the written proposal. Important unknowns should remain open decisions, not disappear into a general approval.
How should replacement parts and after-sales responsibilities be agreed?
Identify the supplied configuration, the support contact and the information required for a replacement or troubleshooting request. Separate remote support from physical site work. For SEPPES sliding doors, replacement components support existing customers' earlier orders and require configuration review; agree any specific warranty or service commitments separately.
Discuss a Clearly Defined Door Supply Requirement
Bring the proposed door type, opening information, quantity, destination and local installation arrangement into your next supplier conversation. If you already have a proposal, identify the scope questions that remain unresolved. You can discuss those requirements without sharing another supplier's confidential pricing or documents.
For a new SEPPES sliding-door project, the starting point is a complete customized entrance. Explore Automatic Sliding Doors or Automatic Revolving Door, then share the entrance requirements you need us to review. For spares or replacements connected to an earlier sliding-door order, include the order reference and equipment details.
We can use those inputs to discuss the relevant supply direction and clarify what needs technical confirmation. Local installation, site preparation and any specific service commitments should remain explicit parts of that conversation.