In this field note

Two case-packer quotes can describe different projects while appearing to offer the same machine. Reconcile the material inputs and finished-case output first, then compare installed cost and recurring costs over the same production assumptions.

Folded corrugated blanks
Flat scored corrugated blanks at a roller conveyor. Their construction and condition are inputs to the forming task.

Define which forming, grouping, loading and closure work each quote includes. Use the blank records below to compare the same project and evaluation period. Enter amounts from dated proposals or your documented operating assumptions.

Normalize the scope before the total

Use the same requirement revision for each proposal. Ask which functions are included, optional or supplied by the buyer. Wexxar’s Flex E Pack catalog separates case forming, product delivery, packing stations and sealing, with optional modifications. Brenton’s RSC solutions likewise describe different case-loading approaches. Those examples show why “case packer” alone does not define the purchased boundary.

An erected empty case
An open corrugated shipping case beside a roller conveyor. Inspect the formed output at the handoff; this sample is not an acceptance result.
Scope line Required outcome Proposal A Proposal B Unpriced difference
Case forming Accepted open case ready to load ___ ___ ___
Infeed and collation Correct product group ___ ___ ___
Loading Product inside case in agreed pattern ___ ___ ___
Closure Defined completed case ___ ___ ___
Transfers and controls Named upstream/downstream handoffs ___ ___ ___
Format tooling Listed product/case combinations ___ ___ ___
Installation and training Agreed site work and operator scope ___ ___ ___
Trial and acceptance Samples, conditions and decision rule ___ ___ ___

Write “excluded, owner ___” where appropriate. Do not insert a guessed allowance and then present it as a supplier’s price. Keep unresolved additions visible until a written revision supplies them.

Build the installed project cost

Separate one-time capital and commissioning items from production expenses. The accounting treatment belongs to your finance team; the purpose here is to prevent an omitted cost from disappearing when equipment totals are compared.

Copy these tables into your project record or download the blank ownership-cost CSV. Fill the amount columns and calculate the result rows using the formulas shown. The CSV is a manual record with the same fields and formula text.

Set the comparison basis

Field Unit or convention Proposal A Proposal B
Requirement and quote revisions References and dates ___ ___
Currency and price base date One currency; identify conversion basis ___ ___
Evaluation start and end Calendar dates ___ ___
Evaluation duration Months; same period for both proposals ___ ___
Q: Accepted output over that period Accepted cases, not produced or nominal cases ___ ___
Accounting convention Tax, overhead and financing included/excluded; undiscounted amounts ___ ___

Record one-time amounts

Enter each item once. Use zero for a confirmed exclusion with no cost in this comparison; leave an unresolved amount blank and hold the total. Record the scope owner and source beside each amount.

ID One-time input Proposal A amount Proposal B amount Dated source / included scope
I1 Equipment in the agreed base quote ___ ___ ___
I2 Approved options excluded from I1 ___ ___ ___
I3 Delivery, handling and site preparation ___ ___ ___
I4 Services and utility connections ___ ___ ___
I5 Integration, commissioning and training ___ ___ ___
I6 Initial tooling and spare parts ___ ___ ___
I7 Contingency kept separate from quotations ___ ___ ___
I Installed project total = I1 + I2 + I3 + I4 + I5 + I6 + I7 ___ ___ Calculate after all inputs are resolved

All amounts use the recorded currency. An option, spare part or controls task already inside a quote line must not be added a second time. Use a common currency/date basis and an explicit tax and financing convention if those apply. Keep a contingency separate from confirmed quotations. It reflects uncertainty rather than purchased capability.

Count recurring costs at accepted output

Choose an evaluation period and output requirement. A supplier’s nominal machine rate is not an annual accepted-case forecast. Use demonstrated operation and your own staffing, changeover, reject and schedule assumptions, each with a source or an uncertainty range.

Sealed case top seam
Tape crosses a shipping case’s top seam and continues down its end. The view shows the application path, not an adhesion or transit-test result.

Record recurring amounts for the whole period

Convert each estimate to the evaluation period before adding it. For example, record total assigned labour hours multiplied by the loaded cost per hour, or total kWh multiplied by cost per kWh. Use the source column for the quantity, rate and evidence; split categories into additional lines when rates differ. A yearly estimate needs the documented number of years or a period-specific schedule.

ID Recurring input, currency over the whole period Proposal A amount Proposal B amount Quantity × rate / evidence
R1 Assigned operating labour ___ ___ ___ hours × ___ currency/hour
R2 Cases, tape/glue and other consumables ___ ___ ___ units × ___ currency/unit; separate unlike units
R3 Maintenance, parts and service ___ ___ Dated estimate and service schedule: ___
R4 Utilities ___ ___ ___ kWh × ___ currency/kWh; list other utilities separately
R5 Other direct operating costs in the agreed scope ___ ___ Defined cost and calculation: ___
R Recurring total = R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 + R5 ___ ___ Calculate after all inputs are resolved

Use labour and consumables that include the planned changeovers and rejects. Reduce Q to the accepted output expected under those same assumptions. Do not also add a lost-production charge for those cases unless your finance team defines a separate comparison that requires it. Allocate shared labour by its assigned hours.

Calculate and retain the results

ID Input or result Unit / formula Proposal A Proposal B
V Documented residual value at evaluation end Currency; enter zero if no residual is assumed ___ ___
O Ownership cost over the evaluation period Currency; O = I + R − V ___ ___
U Cost per accepted case Currency/case; U = O / Q, only for Q greater than zero ___ ___

Leave results open while required inputs are unresolved. Zero accepted cases makes unit cost undefined. A blank field represents missing evidence, not zero cost. Keep the same currency, evaluation period and accounting convention for both proposals. This simple sum uses undiscounted amounts; use your finance team’s approved model if the decision requires discounting.

Test the assumptions that change the decision

Recalculate using credible alternative order mixes and production windows. Keep each input’s basis beside the result. If the decision reverses when changeover frequency changes, the next useful evidence is a format-transition trial, not another decimal place in the purchase price.

Record the conditions that remain open: a new case size, an unusual product orientation or a receiving interface not yet demonstrated. The cartoner and case-packer comparison helps correct packaging-layer scope before those unknowns enter a cost model.

Methods and sources

The scope examples draw on the retrieved Wexxar catalog and Brenton RSC case-packing descriptions. Cost categories and formulas are editorial accounting proposals; no market average, price, savings percentage or payback is asserted. Marketplace search results were treated as scope-limited listings rather than evidence of installed project cost. Sources were retrieved on 16 October 2026. Return to case packers for related selection records.

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