Understanding the goods
Grades and grade names.
Some grade systems are defined in international standards and mean something specific. Most of the grade names in Indonesian offers are invented by the seller. Knowing which is which decides whether your contract says anything.
Grades that mean something.
International standard grades, where a published specification defines the measurements. Pepper and several other spices have them, and citing the standard puts a real definition in your contract.
Regulated grades, where a national authority defines the term for a market.
Scheme grades, where a certification body defines them and the certificate is verifiable.
In each case the grade is a shorthand for a set of measurements you could look up. That is the test.
Grades that mean nothing.
Super, Premium, Grade A, AA, Special. Almost every Indonesian charcoal, agricultural and craft offer uses these and nobody defines them.
The same words mean different things at two suppliers, and sometimes different things at the same supplier in different years.
They are not dishonest so much as empty. A seller uses them because buyers ask for a grade rather than for a specification.
What to write instead.
The measurements themselves. Moisture, size, defect count, ash, density, whatever the product is actually judged on.
The test method for each, because a figure without a method is not comparable between suppliers.
A sealed reference sample for anything that cannot be reduced to numbers, which covers most craft and natural products.
The grade name as well, if the supplier uses one, but as a label on your specification rather than as the specification.
How to have the conversation.
Ask what the grade means in numbers. A good supplier answers immediately because they measure it, and a reseller changes the subject.
Send your specification rather than asking for their grades, which inverts the conversation usefully.
Expect the first quotation against a real specification to be higher, because you removed the room the grade name was creating.
Questions buyers ask.
Is a supplier using Grade A being dishonest?
Usually not. They are answering the question buyers ask in the language buyers use. The fix is to ask a different question rather than to distrust the answer.
Which products have real grade standards?
Several spices and agricultural commodities have published international specifications you can cite. For craft, furniture and most processed goods there is nothing, and a reference sample does the work.
Why did the price go up when I specified properly?
Because a vague grade lets a supplier ship the cheaper end of a range. A tight specification removes that, which is exactly what you wanted and it has a price.
Read next.
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The document that decides what arrives. What belongs in it, what has to be measurable, and the words that cause disputes.
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Nine things a quotation has to say before it can be compared to another. What each line means and which absences matter.
Indonesian charcoal, explained
Three industries buy Indonesian charcoal for three incompatible reasons. Which specification belongs to which.
Negotiating without breaking the order
Six moves and four traps, about business mechanics rather than national character. What to fix before you discuss price.
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Wood, stone, shell and crops are not manufactured. How to specify variation rather than fight it.
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Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. We come back with what it involves before anyone talks about money.