Meanwhile,requests for proposals were sent out to 12 suppliers. Mr.Travis received eight responsive quotes,of which three were in the range from $29.78 to $33 per unit,and three ranged from $35.6 to $42. The last two bids were $22.14 and $24.68 Mr.Travis evaluated each supplier's cost breakdown with the others and compared each with his estimate cost. Mr.Travis was impressed with the quality of the two proposals that came in below his estimate, and was surprised that both firms had each supplied similar housings during the part year. Both companies were well-established component engineering companies with good reputations for satisfactory performance on previous contracts. The cost breakdowns for the two low proposals are reproduced in Table 9.2