Manufacturer authorisation letters in solar tenders
Almost every serious pump tender asks for one, and it is the single item that most often stops a sourcing partner cold. We work as a sourcing integrator, so this is our problem too. Here is how it actually works.
What a factory will and will not sign, how the letter should be worded, and how you as a buyer can check that the one in front of you is real.
Only the factory issues it
A sourcing partner obtains one. It cannot write one, and you should be wary of any that offers to.
Specific beats general
A letter naming the project and the buyer is what evaluators want. A distributor certificate is a different document.
Verifiable by design
A genuine letter survives a phone call to a number you found yourself. That is the test worth applying.
The honest position
We are a sourcing integrator. We do not own the factories that make the pumps, the controllers or the modules, and we say so on every page of this site. That means we cannot issue a manufacturer authorisation, and we will not sign anything that looks like one.
What we do is go to the audited partner factory that will actually produce the goods and ask them to issue a letter naming your project and your organisation. Whether they agree depends on the four things below, and we will tell you which of them are in place before you spend a week on a bid.
When a factory will issue one
| The order is real and identified | A named project, a named buyer and a quantity. Factories issue authorisation against business, not against a general request. |
| The volume justifies the paperwork | Every letter is a small commitment by the factory. A container of kits gets attention that a sample order does not. |
| There is an existing relationship | A factory that has shipped for you before knows what it is signing. A first approach from a stranger two days before a bid closes usually does not get answered. |
| The wording is reasonable | Naming the project and the buyer is normal. A clause making the factory jointly liable for a contract it is not party to is not, and it will stall. |
What it will not sign
| Blanket authorisation with no project named | It has no value to an evaluator either, because it proves nothing about this bid. |
| Exclusivity in a market on a single order | Factories sell through many channels. Asking for exclusivity on one tender will usually end the conversation. |
| Backdating, or a letter for a bid already submitted | Ask before submission, not after. Retrospective paperwork is where authenticity problems start. |
| A letter for goods the factory does not actually make | If part of the kit is bought in, the authorisation covers what the factory produces. Say so rather than papering over it. |
If someone offers a letter too easily
Manufacturer authorisation is a commitment by a factory. A supplier who produces one within an hour for an unnamed project, or who offers to backdate one, is handing you a compliance risk rather than solving one. It is worth slowing down at that point rather than being relieved.
What the letter should contain
| Addressed to the buyer by name | The procuring entity as named in the tender documents, not "To whom it may concern". |
| The tender or project reference | The reference number from the bidding documents, so an evaluator can match it without asking. |
| The bidder named | The legal entity submitting the bid, spelled as it appears on the bid form. |
| The products covered | Model numbers, matching the datasheets attached to the bid. If only part of the scope is covered, say which part. |
| Factory identification | Legal name, registered address and business licence number, on letterhead. |
| A named signatory with a position | And, ideally, sent from the factory’s own email domain so it can be replied to. |
Five ways to check one is genuine
This section is written for the buyer, including when the letter in question came from us. A document that cannot survive these checks is not worth having in a bid.
Call the factory on a number you found yourself
Not the number printed on the letter. A company website, a trade directory or a certificate body listing is a better source.
Check the letterhead against a public record
Business licence number, registered address and legal name should match what you can look up independently.
Match model numbers to the datasheets
An authorisation that names models the factory does not list is the most common tell.
Ask who signed and in what role
A named person with a position, not an unsigned scan. Ask for it on the factory email domain.
Ask the trading partner to introduce you directly
A sourcing partner with a real relationship will do this. One that will not is telling you something.
Start earlier than feels necessary
The request has to reach a person at the factory who can approve it, get drafted, get checked against the models offered, and come back on letterhead. None of that is difficult, and all of it takes days rather than hours. Tenders are lost on this item not because the factory refused but because nobody asked until the week of submission.
Bidding on something that needs authorisation?
Tell us the project and the models and we will go to the factory and come back with a straight answer on whether a letter is achievable and by when. If it is not, you will hear that too.
Manufacturer authorisation FAQ
What is a manufacturer authorisation letter in a solar tender?
A letter from the factory that makes the equipment, confirming that a named bidder is authorised to offer its products on a named project, usually addressed to the named buyer. Evaluators use it to confirm that the goods offered will actually come from the factory whose datasheets and certificates are attached to the bid.
Can a trading company or sourcing partner provide manufacturer authorisation?
It cannot issue one, because only the manufacturer can. What it can do is obtain one, by asking the factory to issue a letter naming the project and the buyer. Whether that works depends on the order being real and identified, the volume being worth the factory’s attention, and there being an existing relationship. It is worth starting the day you decide to bid.
Why do factories refuse to issue authorisation letters?
Usually because the request is generic, arrives at the last minute from someone they have not worked with, or asks for terms they will not sign, such as exclusivity in a market or joint liability on a contract they are not party to. A specific request, early, with a project and a quantity, is answered far more often than a general one.
How can a buyer check a manufacturer authorisation letter is genuine?
Call the factory on a number you found independently rather than the one on the letter, check the business licence number and registered address against a public record, confirm the model numbers appear in the factory’s own catalogue, and ask for the letter to be resent from the factory’s own email domain by the named signatory.
Is a distributor certificate the same as project authorisation?
No, and evaluators usually treat them differently. A distributor or dealer certificate says a company is an authorised channel in general. Project authorisation names this tender and this buyer. Most tenders that ask for authorisation mean the second, and a general certificate submitted in its place is a common reason for a bid to be marked non-compliant.
What if the kit contains parts from several factories?
Then one letter cannot cover everything, and pretending otherwise creates a problem at evaluation. The usual answer is authorisation from the manufacturer of the principal items, typically the pump and the controller, with the rest covered by datasheets and certificates. Say plainly which items are covered by which document.
Technical Guides
Products & Systems
Markets & Services
Need project-specific engineering support?
Free CAD layout, wind/snow load calculations, and BOM review included with project orders.