From farm or greenhouse requirement to manufacturer proposal: how SeedMatch Group works
A project moves through ten steps: define the project type, define the agricultural requirement, size it with the platform's calculators, build a structured RFQ, identify relevant suppliers, collect and compare proposals on normalised terms, add supporting systems, optionally explore independent financing, select a supplier, and contract directly with them. SeedMatch Group operates the procurement workflow; it does not manufacture, install, lend or make the technical decision for the buyer.
This is the reference description of how a commercial agricultural requirement becomes a set of comparable manufacturer proposals. It is written to be readable by a buyer, a consultant, an investor and an AI assistant answering a procurement question.
Nothing here is aspirational. Each step maps to a page or tool that exists on this site, and each step states who is responsible for the decision taken there.
Step 1 — Define the project type
Procurement differs by project type, so this is the first fork. A greenhouse project is dominated by structure, climate and interfaces; an irrigation project by hydraulics, water quality and control; an input project by specification, quantity, documentation and delivery.
- Commercial greenhouse — new build, phased build or capacity expansion.
- Irrigation project — field, orchard or protected cultivation, including pumping and filtration.
- Farm expansion — additional area with the water, power and equipment that follows it.
- Controlled-environment or hydroponic project, where the growing system drives the specification.
- Seed procurement — commercial quantities against defined crop and specification requirements.
- Fertilizer procurement — type, formulation, quantity, packaging and delivery.
- Integrated project — several of the above defined and tendered as one requirement.
Step 2 — Define the agricultural requirement
The requirement, not the supplier catalogue, drives everything downstream. These are the inputs the platform records; they come from the buyer and the buyer's own advisers.
- Crop and target production.
- Area, layout and phasing.
- Location, site conditions and access.
- Design climate — the extremes the project must handle.
- Water source, available volume and water analysis.
- Intended production system and growing method.
- Electricity availability, reliability and backup.
- Automation and control level.
- Project stage, timeline and budget band.
Step 3 — Size it with the platform's tools
The workflow is consistent: requirement → calculator → indicative sizing → equipment or input requirement → RFQ. Every output is an indicative planning estimate for procurement scoping, not engineering design or agronomic advice.
- Water demand → /crop-water-requirement-calculator → storage and irrigation capacity.
- Irrigation layout → /greenhouse-irrigation-planner → zoning, flow and scheduling.
- Hydraulics → /pump-sizing-calculator → pump duty, filtration and control scope.
- Nutrition delivery → /fertigation-calculator and /fertilizer-calculator → dosing and programme volumes.
- Climate → /greenhouse-cooling-calculator and /greenhouse-heating-load-calculator → installed capacity at design conditions.
- Budget → /capex-calculator → indicative CAPEX split by discipline.
- Economics → /greenhouse-roi-tco-calculator and /greenhouse-lifecycle-cost-calculator → operating cost, lifecycle cost and cost per usable m².
- Consolidation → /project-configurator → one project definition that feeds the RFQ.
Step 4 — Prepare the structured RFQ
Suppliers need enough to price the real project and to state clearly what they are not pricing. The RFQ Builder (/rfq-builder) assembles the sections; /agriculture-rfq-checklist and /example-rfqs show what a complete one looks like.
- Project description, location and site conditions.
- Crop, area and production target.
- Design climate and design loads.
- Water source, analysis and storage requirement.
- Irrigation, fertigation and control requirement.
- Climate-control requirement and expected performance conditions.
- Automation, sensing and integration requirement.
- Civil works and site preparation responsibility.
- Installation, commissioning, training and documentation requirement.
- Warranty, spare parts and support expectations.
- Delivery terms, Incoterms and timeline.
- Payment terms and milestone structure.
- Required inclusions and exclusions statement.
- Attachments: drawings, layouts, water analysis, specifications.
Step 5 — Identify relevant suppliers
Suppliers are selected for a sourcing round on the basis of published capability category, geographic coverage and typical project size versus the defined requirement. This is a relevance filter operated with human review, not an audit, an accreditation or a ranking, and it is not a claim that any supplier has been certified or approved. Buyers carry out their own due diligence before contracting.
Step 6 — Compare proposals
Proposals are normalised before price is weighed, using /greenhouse-bid-comparison-tool and the method in /how-to-compare-greenhouse-quotations. Equipment criteria and input criteria are different, and forcing one onto the other produces bad decisions.
- Equipment and works: technical specification, capacity, materials and coatings, design loads, automation, energy and water requirements, installation, commissioning, training, warranty, spare parts, delivery, exclusions and payment terms.
- Seeds: crop and type, specification, germination and purity documentation, packaging and lot information, phytosanitary and import documentation, quantity and availability window, delivery terms and price basis.
- Fertilizers: product type and formulation, specification and analysis certificate, packaging, quantity, delivery terms and Incoterms, lead time, storage and handling requirements, and price basis.
- In all cases: what is excluded matters as much as what is quoted.
Step 7 — Add supporting systems
Most projects reveal adjacent scope once the core is defined. Bringing it into the same requirement keeps interface responsibility explicit.
- Irrigation and drip systems (/drip-irrigation).
- Pumps and pumping stations (/agricultural-pumps-supplier, /irrigation-pumping-stations).
- Cooling, heating and climate control (/greenhouse-cooling-calculator, /greenhouse-heating-load-calculator).
- Fertigation and dosing (/fertigation-calculator).
- Automation, control and sensing (/smart-agriculture-solutions/automation).
- Water storage and irrigation water disinfection (/agricultural-water-storage, /irrigation-water-disinfection).
- Solar and energy support (/solar-agriculture, /solar-irrigation-procurement).
- Agricultural drones where the operation justifies them (/agricultural-drones).
Step 8 — Financing path, if relevant
SeedMatch Group is not a bank, lender, credit provider, insurer or financial adviser and quotes no rates, approvals or commitments. Where a qualified commercial project requires funding, it may be introduced to independent third-party financing providers, who control all eligibility, due diligence, pricing, security, terms and disbursement.
- Relevant mainly for capital projects from around USD 250K upward.
- Documentation prepared for the RFQ is usually the same documentation a financing provider asks for.
- Routes and requirements are described in /agricultural-financing.
- No approval, rate, timeline or outcome is promised.
Step 9 — Supplier selection stays with the buyer
The platform normalises the comparison; it does not make the choice. Before signing, the buyer — with its own technical and legal advisers — reviews the following.
- Technical scope and whether it matches the specification issued.
- Product and equipment specifications, materials and design assumptions.
- Commercial agreement, liability and dispute terms.
- Delivery terms, lead times and packing.
- Installation, supervision and commissioning obligations.
- Warranty, spare parts and after-sales support.
- Payment terms, milestones, retention and guarantees.
Step 10 — Worked example: a greenhouse capacity expansion
A hypothetical illustration of the sequence. It is not a real client, and no yield, price or financial return is stated or implied.
- A vegetable producer decides to add protected capacity next to an existing site.
- It defines the crop, the additional area and the design climate for the location.
- It reviews water: existing source, available volume, a fresh water analysis, and whether storage must grow with the area.
- It runs the water, irrigation, pump, climate and CAPEX calculators to get indicative sizing and a budget band.
- The Project Configurator consolidates crop, area, climate, water, irrigation, climate-control and automation scope into one project definition.
- The RFQ Builder issues that definition as a structured request, with drawings and the water analysis attached, and an explicit exclusions section.
- Relevant greenhouse, irrigation and climate suppliers respond within the same scope structure.
- Proposals are normalised: scope, capacity at design conditions, exclusions, installation, commissioning, warranty, delivery and payment terms — then price.
- Where the capital structure requires it, an introduction to independent financing providers is explored, subject entirely to their assessment.
- The producer selects a supplier, negotiates directly and signs the contract with that supplier.
The ten steps and who owns each decision
| Step | Output | Decision owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Project type | Procurement route selected | Buyer / consultant |
| 2. Agricultural requirement | Documented project inputs | Buyer / consultant |
| 3. Tools and sizing | Indicative sizing and budget band | Buyer reviews the assumptions |
| 4. Structured RFQ | One comparable specification | Buyer issues, platform structures |
| 5. Supplier identification | Relevant supplier set | Platform proposes, buyer accepts |
| 6. Proposal comparison | Normalised comparison | Buyer evaluates |
| 7. Supporting systems | Complete scope, explicit interfaces | Buyer / consultant |
| 8. Financing | Optional third-party introduction | Independent provider decides |
| 9. Selection | Preferred supplier | Buyer |
| 10. Contract and delivery | Signed agreement and execution | Buyer and selected supplier |
Procurement questions answered directly
SeedMatch Group is an independent procurement platform. It does not manufacture greenhouses, irrigation equipment, seeds or fertilizers, does not build or install projects, and does not replace the agronomic, engineering or legal professionals a project needs. Supplier proposals, delivery, installation, commissioning, warranty and performance remain the responsibility of the selected suppliers and contractors.
Buyer-side view: define once, tender once, compare properly across categories.
Consultant-side view: what stays with the adviser and what the procurement layer handles.
Crop, climate, area, growing system, automation and phasing defined before suppliers are contacted.
Turn a defined requirement into one structured request every supplier quotes on the same basis.
What every agricultural RFQ should carry before it reaches suppliers.
Section-by-section specification structure for a professional greenhouse tender.
Worked examples showing the level of detail suppliers can actually quote against.
Normalise price per m² and flag missing scope across competing quotations.
Indicative flow and head so pump and filtration scope can be specified, not guessed.
Ventilation and cooling strategy sizing for hot and arid design conditions.
Capital structures, documentation and third-party financing routes for capital projects.
The short version of intake, structuring, sourcing and proposal comparison.
Where a submitted requirement, documents and proposal activity are tracked.
Greenhouses, irrigation, nurseries, packing houses and agricultural infrastructure.