RENASTwo quotations can carry the same unit price, the same currency and the same stated lead time, and still describe completely different commitments. The difference is whether the goods already exist.
Stock, allocated stock, and a production slot
Ex-stock means the supplier is holding the part now. Allocated stock means it exists but is already promised to another order and may be released. A production slot means the part will be manufactured, and the quoted lead time starts from a date that has not necessarily been confirmed yet. All three are routinely quoted with the same two-word availability line.
What to ask before the terms are agreed
Ask which warehouse the stock sits in, whether the quantity quoted is the full quantity available, and what happens to the lead time if the order is placed a week later than the quotation assumes. A supplier holding real stock answers these immediately. A supplier working from a production plan will qualify the answer — and that qualification is the information you needed.
A lead time is a claim about the future. Availability is a claim about the present. Only one of them can be verified today.
Why this shapes the rest of the plan
Route and documentation planning both depend on a realistic ready-to-ship date. Building a consolidation plan or booking freight against a production slot that later moves is one of the most common ways a well-priced order becomes an expensive one.