For: dealer sales managers and staff requesting manufacturer project support
The decision: What protection has the supplier actually approved for this opportunity?
60-second answer: Record the project, models, pricing, expiry and exclusions, then obtain the supplier’s approval. Submission alone does not guarantee exclusivity, first-dealer priority or protection against direct sales.
Define the protection before claiming it
Pull the supplier’s current registration policy, dealer agreement, customer request, bid or project identifier, model schedule and expected order date. Ask what an approved registration provides: project pricing, lead recognition, territory support or another defined benefit. These are different commercial arrangements.
The cost of ambiguity often appears late, after a dealer has invested in surveys and specification work. FEX recommends matching that effort to the actual policy and recording who can approve an exception. Do not promise a customer that competing quotes are prohibited unless the applicable rules and agreement support that statement.
| Field | Required detail | Follow-up trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Project identity | Customer entity, site and bid or internal reference | Ownership or site changes |
| Protected scope | Models, quantities and included options | Specification revision or substitution |
| Approved support | Written pricing or benefit and exclusions | Unapproved scope added to the quote |
| Validity | Approval date, expiry and qualifying order event | Decision slips beyond the stated period |
| Channel exceptions | House accounts, national accounts and direct channels | A competing claim or excluded buyer appears |
| Evidence and owner | Approval reference, correspondence and responsible rep | Supplier contact changes or approval is disputed |
Make revisions visible
When the design changes, compare it with the approved registration before issuing another quote. Ask whether the original approval still applies or an amendment is needed. Keep versions so the team can explain which price and scope the customer received. Do not overwrite the approval date merely to make an expired opportunity look current.
Pull the live quote register and match each protected opportunity to its supplier record. Track days to expiry and pending extension requests using the actual program dates. There is no universal 60-to-180-day registration term, and the first timestamp does not necessarily decide a conflict.
- What evidence constitutes approval, rather than acknowledgment of submission?
- How does the supplier resolve competing registrations?
- Which account or channel exclusions apply?
- Does a delayed tender or changed model schedule require re-approval?
- What happens to approved pricing if the order is partial?
Keep the margin and delivery files connected
Use the approved product price in a complete quote that includes freight, installation, access and service obligations. Project protection does not prevent losses on omitted scope. Sales should tell purchasing when the expected order date changes so a registration extension is not confused with inventory availability.
Maintain a separate serial-level sale and service record after award. A registration usually identifies an opportunity before specific machines are allocated; it is not a substitute for the asset trail needed for recalls, warranty or transfers. The prior article mixed those records together and introduced unrelated participation statistics.
Before the next protected quote is issued
- Complete the ledger for every opportunity relying on project support.
- Resolve missing approvals and near-term expiries with the supplier.
- Reconcile the approved scope with the customer quote and assigned follow-up owner.
Continue with FEX
FEX editorial guidance: the decision tools and operating recommendations in this guide are FEX analysis. They are not manufacturer specifications, contractual entitlements or industry benchmarks.
Editorial update, October 7, 2026: Removed unsupported first-to-file and standard-duration claims, unrelated coaching statistics and the suggestion that a project registration replaces serial-level recall records.
