The worked comparison gives A a $130 items-plus-freight subtotal and B $142 for 40 notebooks. C has $100 in items, with the delivered subtotal unknown. A local clarification scenario lets you supply C’s freight and delivery days without converting the missing baseline into a fictional supplier response.
Set one basis for all three quotations
Use a fictional private workshop buying 40 identical notebooks, priced in USD per book. Its illustrative delivery requirement is within 7 calendar days of an agreed start. The actual start, specification, taxes, payment terms and quote validity still need confirmation. Different quantities, units or item specifications require reconciliation before comparing the rows.
A quotes $3 per book, $10 freight and 5 days. B quotes $2.80, $30 freight and 10 days. C quotes $2.50 per book, with freight and delivery absent. Keep each source quote and revision reference beside the original values. A low numeric cell cannot make an incomplete row comparable by itself.
Separate the arithmetic from the decision
A's items cost 40 × $3 = $120; add $10 freight to obtain $130. B's items cost 40 × $2.80 = $112; add $30 to obtain $142. C's 40 × $2.50 = $100 is an item subtotal only. Missing freight is not quoted free freight, so its delivered subtotal remains unknown.
Against 7 days, A's 5 is Met, B's 10 is Not met, and C is Unknown. These are findings against the stated criterion, not supplier quality ratings. A has the lower known items-plus-freight subtotal of A and B, but there is no automatic winner. Actual specifications and other conditions remain separate from these calculations.
Carry the blank-aware design into Excel
Use columns A supplier, B quantity, C unit price, D freight, E delivery days, F item subtotal, G items plus freight and H delivery finding. Put the 7-day requirement in M2. Enter each formula in its labeled cell.
F2 — item subtotal:
=IF(COUNT(B2:C2)=2,B2*C2,"Unknown")
G2 — items plus quoted freight:
=IF(COUNT(B2:D2)=3,B2*C2+D2,"Unknown")
H2 — delivery criterion:
=IF(COUNT(E2)=0,"Unknown",IF(E2<=$M$2,"Met","Not met"))
Fill down through row 4.
Microsoft documents COUNT as counting numeric cells in referenced ranges, leaving empty or text cells out. These formulas use that completeness check so C's missing freight cannot become zero. Still validate the source: COUNT does not establish that a numeric value is a valid freight quote. Review nonnegative amounts, whole-day estimates and the agreed start. The HTML example models this logic; it does not create or execute an XLSX workbook.
Keep a note column for the destination and quote version rather than placing explanatory words inside numeric cells. When a clarification arrives, retain the original row and record which response supplied the replacement. That lets another reviewer distinguish a corrected supplier quotation from an amount entered only to explore a scenario.
Use a clarification scenario without rewriting the source
Enter hypothetical freight 20 and delivery 6 for C. Its modeled subtotal becomes $120 and its 7-day finding becomes Met. The original C row remains incomplete until an actual response is obtained and accepted in the maintained workbook. Negative freight or fractional delivery days are rejected instead of generating a result.
A complete calculation still needs a human decision. Ask C for destination-specific freight, a calendar-day estimate and the missing conditions. Ask B whether a revised authorized offer can meet the requirement without changing its original 10-day quote. Keep the decision owner, chosen quotation, reason and approval reference blank until the real decision happens.
Use the result
Send the specific clarification questions through your normal supplier process, then update the workbook with the response references. If the team needs to inspect C’s gap beside A and B, view the prepared comparison in NOS. Keep Excel and the original quotations as the decision record; the HTML view neither awards work nor creates a purchase order.
Copy this prompt
Create a complete original HTML example in US English for this task: Quotation evaluation template for Excel. Return one self-contained HTML file. Include all styles, data and JavaScript in the file. Use no remote dependencies. Return the working page, not an outline.
Fictional 40 identical notebooks, USD, requirement 7 calendar days. A quantity 40 unit 3 freight 10 days 5: items 120, known subtotal 130, Met. B unit 2.80 freight 30 days 10: items 112 subtotal 142, Not met. C unit 2.50: items 100, freight/days blank, subtotal/criterion Unknown. Hypothetical C freight 20 days 6 gives 120 and Met, not an actual reply.
Build a readable comparison ledger and separate C clarification scenario with freight and delivery inputs plus Apply scenario button. Keep original missing values visible. Validate nonnegative freight and whole nonnegative days, with blank inputs retaining Unknown and invalid ones rejected. Allow changing the required delivery days and recalculate all criterion findings. Use columns A supplier, B quantity, C unit price, D freight, E delivery days, F item subtotal, G items plus freight, H delivery finding. Put required days in M2, initially 7. Display these formulas and fill rows 2–4:
F2 =IF(COUNT(B2:C2)=2,B2*C2,"Unknown")
G2 =IF(COUNT(B2:D2)=3,B2*C2+D2,"Unknown")
H2 =IF(COUNT(E2)=0,"Unknown",IF(E2<=$M$2,"Met","Not met"))
Label the page HTML logic preview, not a workbook download or tested Excel file. Include this unsent clarification: "For C: please provide destination-specific freight and delivery days from the agreed start, plus specification, tax, payment terms and quote validity. For B: can an authorized revised offer meet the requirement?" State "Actual decision owner, selected quote, reason and approval: not supplied." Provide reset. Never rank automatically, treat missing freight as zero or imply a purchase/award/payment.
Use a page design suited to this particular task, readable text at least 16 px, generous spacing, visible keyboard focus and explicit labels. At 360 px, stack the content without page-level horizontal scrolling. Use type="button" click handlers for actions. Keep source facts and sample results distinct from actual observations. Leave unknown details visible rather than inventing them. Controls update only this temporary page; distinguish local changes from actual records. Provide concise task-specific feedback and a reset that clears entered answers and stale results.