What We Ask Before We Open a Supply Request
Before a GPU supply request goes to any supplier or OEM channel, we ask for information at two levels. Level 1 is ten facts about the buyer, the end user, the site, the configuration, the use case and the target date. It is enough for a preliminary feasibility assessment. Level 2 is the documentation a supplier, OEM or exporter may require before reviewing the order. Work starts with qualification, not with an offer: nothing upstream can be checked until level 1 is complete.
Why does a supply request begin with questions?
An order for data-center GPUs is reviewed as a deployment, not as a quantity. The party that commits supply wants to know who will use the hardware, where, for what, and whether the site can run it. A model, a quantity, a target price and a date answer none of that. The factors reviewers weigh are set out in what decides whether an allocation request is approved.
Preliminary qualification precedes detailed procurement work. Detailed supplier engagement is activated after project qualification and acceptance of the engagement terms.
We first qualify the project and prepare the technical and end-user package. Once the engagement is activated, we manage architecture, procurement strategy, allocation coordination, supplier validation and the process through executable supply and PO.
Level 1: what is needed for a preliminary assessment?
Facts, not documents. Most of them are already known to a buyer with a real project.
| Item | Why it is asked | A usable answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buyer's full legal name | The contracting party is screened; the name must later match the contract, invoice and payment | The registered name, not a trading name or group brand |
| 2. Registration details | Lets the entity be found in its public register | Registration number and issuing register |
| 3. Corporate website | A first check that the business exists as described | A working site consistent with the use case |
| 4. Country of registration | Reviewed separately from the installation country | Where the buying entity is registered |
| 5. End user | The review covers who will operate the hardware, not only who pays | A named legal entity and its link to the buyer. "To be confirmed later" can't be assessed |
| 6. Installation country and address | Export treatment and deployability both depend on it | The street address of a facility, not a city |
| 7. Data center or hosting provider | Shows who operates the site and whether the end user has space there | Operator name; capacity contracted, in negotiation or not yet sought |
| 8. Configuration and quantity | Defines the supply paths and what the site must power and cool | System configuration and count, derived from the workload; whether phasing is possible |
| 9. Use case | End use drives export rules and vendor policy | Training, inference, research or hosted service, and for whom. "AI" is too vague |
| 10. Desired delivery window | Tested against the supply path and site readiness | A window and what it depends on, such as the hall's energisation date |
Without an end user and a site (items 5–7), nothing else in the request can be checked.
What does the preliminary assessment check?
Whether the request, as described, can become executable supply. Eight things are checked together: supply path · configuration · geography · end user · use case · deployment site · power and cooling · target delivery window.
| Outcome | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Feasible | A supply path can be pursued as described |
| Feasible with prerequisites | It can proceed once named gaps are closed, such as an unsigned site agreement |
| Not currently feasible | It can't proceed in its present form |
The assessment is not an allocation and not a commitment of supply. Before an engagement is activated, it doesn't include detailed engineering, a formal allocation or extended negotiation with suppliers.
If the requested configuration can't be supplied, the alternatives are a different supply batch, a different approved OEM, a changed quantity or phased delivery, a different GPU architecture, or a different delivery geography, the last only where it fully complies with the applicable export and end-user rules.
Level 2: what is needed before the supplier or OEM channel?
Documentation for submission to the supplier or OEM channel. It is collected as required; not every item applies to every order.
| Area | Document or information |
|---|---|
| Company | Certificate of Incorporation or Commercial Registration · tax and registration numbers · registered legal address · authorised signatory · ultimate beneficial ownership, where KYB/KYC requires it |
| End use | End User Statement or End User Certificate · description of the workload and intended use · confirmation of the installation country and address |
| Site | Contract or letter of intent for data-center capacity · site parameters: power, rack density, cooling, network |
| Logistics | Importer of Record · shipping and customs contact |
| Funding | Confirmation of source of funds or financing readiness |
End-user documents must describe the real end user and the real installation address (see the stop list below). Site documents matter because delivery isn't deployment: supply is not committed to hardware with nowhere to run.
Confidential details? If a buyer doesn't want to disclose sensitive information at the first stage, an NDA comes first. It changes who sees the information, not what the request needs.
Hardware that already exists? End-user and destination screening applies to every route, including stock. The routes differ in timing and proof, not in screening; see allocation vs stock vs executable supply.
What stops a request?
- No fictitious end users.
- No substitution of the destination country.
- No transit arrangements designed to get around restrictions.
- The final installation address must be known.
- The applicable export requirements are determined by the exporter or supplier.
- Where needed, a customs broker and export-control counsel are brought in.
- We may stop a project if its documents contradict each other, or if the end user and destination are not transparent.
Which project types clear most easily is covered in the allocation guide.
What is never promised?
A complete package makes a request assessable, not approved. So none of the following is promised:
- a guaranteed NVIDIA allocation;
- a specific lead time before the supplier channel has been checked;
- a fixed price before an executable offer has been received;
- any way around export controls, end-user review or other manufacturer or regulatory requirements;
- that NVIDIA takes part in every transaction;
- that a given number of systems is available, until there is written confirmation;
- that NVIDIA has approved anything, until the party concerned confirms it in writing.
More on why: NVIDIA GPU lead times and how to verify a GPU supplier.
Who doesn't need this?
- Pilots and short runs: renting cloud capacity avoids procurement altogether (cloud vs private AI).
- Budget benchmarking: this process doesn't produce price comparisons; the AI infrastructure cost guide is the better start.
- Requests without an end user or a site: they can't be assessed. Settle those two facts first.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the end user needed before any terms are discussed?
The supplier, OEM or exporter reviews the party that will operate the hardware. Without a named end user there is nothing to review, so any terms would rest on nothing.
Are all level-2 documents needed to start?
No. A preliminary assessment needs only the ten level-1 items. Level-2 documents are collected later, as the channel requires them.
Does a complete package mean the request will be approved?
No. It makes the request assessable. Final allocation and availability are decided upstream, and a well-documented request can still be declined or changed.
What happens after level 1 is submitted?
A preliminary feasibility assessment with one of three outcomes: feasible, feasible with prerequisites, or not currently feasible. Detailed supplier engagement starts only after project qualification and acceptance of the engagement terms.
With the ten level-1 items in hand: Preliminary feasibility →
Final allocation and hardware availability remain subject to manufacturer/OEM/supplier approval, applicable compliance requirements and supply availability.
This page describes the information requested before a supply request is opened. It is not legal advice and does not state availability, lead times or prices for any product or order.