What Questions Should You Ask a NIR Vendor Before You Sign? Quality managers often ask me some version of the same question: "We've got three vendor quotes on the table — how do we know which one is actually going… <p>Quality managers often ask me some version of the same question: "We've got three vendor quotes on the table — how do we know which one is actually going to work for us?" And the honest answer is that the quote itself tells you almost nothing. A $45,000 instrument can become a $90,000 headache within two years if calibration support falls apart, software licenses pile up, or the vendor has never worked with your product matrix. The questions you ask before you sign are what protect your operation.</p> <p>Start with calibration support — and be specific. Don't ask "do you support calibration?" Ask: "Who builds and maintains the calibration models for my application, what does that cost annually, and what's your average RMSEP for moisture and protein in my matrix?" A vendor who can't answer that last part with real numbers is telling you something important about their depth of experience.</p> <p>Field tip: Ask if the vendor provides industry-specific calibration models. This can reduce setup time considerably and improve accuracy for your applications.</p> <h2>What Questions to Ask a NIR Vendor?</h2> <h2>What Is a Vendor Vetting Process?</h2> ← Back to NIR Spectroscopy Blog