How to avoid the 3 most common mistakes when ordering building chemicals (a checklist for administrative buyers)

If you're like me—an office administrator or purchasing coordinator who handles chemical product orders for a medium-sized company—you probably didn't expect to become a semi-expert in sealants, adhesives, and coatings. But here we are.

I manage ordering for about 400 employees across 3 locations, and roughly $60,000 annually goes toward construction and maintenance chemicals. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I made some expensive mistakes. The 12-point checklist I created after my third mistake has saved us an estimated $8,000 in potential rework.

This guide is for anyone who orders Sika products—floor coatings, adhesives, sealants, traffic coatings—and needs a simple, repeatable process to get it right the first time. Here's the 3-step checklist I use for every chemical order.

Step 1: Verify the product spec — don't trust the name alone

This is the one I learned the hard way. Everything I'd read about ordering chemicals said to just match the product name to the request. In practice, I found that product names can be misleading. Sika has dozens of polyurethane adhesives, and what your maintenance team calls the 'green tube' might not be the same formulation they need for a specific substrate.

What to do:

• Get the full product code or part number from the person who requested it.
• Cross-check with the Sika product catalogue or technical datasheet — not just the website summary.
• Confirm the application substrate (wood, concrete, metal, etc.) — this is where most mismatches happen.

Checkpoint: Before you add to cart, verify the product code matches the datasheet. I once ordered SikaBond T54 for a floor repair job that actually needed SikaBond T55NF. Cost me 3 extra days and a restocking fee.

Step 2: Confirm compatibility — because 'should work' isn't good enough

I assumed 'same specifications' meant identical results across vendors. Didn't verify. Turned out each had slightly different interpretations of 'polyurethane adhesive.' Sika's polyurethane formulations might include specific curing agents or plasticizers that interact differently with certain floor coatings or sealants.

What to do:

• Check the chemical resistance chart on the Sika technical datasheet. It's not always in the product brochure (I found this out after a call with tech support).
• Verify compatibility with existing materials. For example, if you're applying a Sika floor coating over an old epoxy, you need to confirm the primer spec.
• Ask the supplier or Sika's technical team directly. I've done this 3 times, and each time they confirmed a potential issue I hadn't considered.

Checkpoint: Has anyone verified that this product won't react poorly with the substrate or existing coatings? If not, don't order yet.

Step 3: Check compliance and documentation — the part I used to skip

Honestly, I used to think compliance was just a checkbox. Then a vendor couldn't provide a proper invoice (handwritten receipt only), and finance rejected the expense. That cost me $2,400 out of the department budget. Now I verify documentation before ordering, not after.

What to do:

• Request the technical datasheet, safety data sheet (SDS), and any certifications (e.g., LEED, VOC compliance) before finalizing the order.
• Confirm the supplier's invoicing and documentation capabilities. A 30-second phone call saved me from another rejected expense.
• For regulated products (e.g., traffic coatings for public roads), ask about compliance with local standards. Sika's traffic coatings, for instance, may need to meet specific friction and durability specs for your region.

Checkpoint: Do you have the full documentation package? If not, push back until you do.

Common mistakes I still see (and made myself)

1. Ordering without the technical datasheet. I don't have hard data on industry-wide defect rates, but based on our 5 years of orders, my sense is quality issues affect about 8-12% of first deliveries when specs aren't verified. The datasheet is your insurance.

2. Assuming 'standard' means 'same.' Sika's product line includes variations for different climates, substrates, and application conditions. 'Standard' for one job might be wrong for another.

3. Skipping the compatibility check for sealants. I once ordered a Sika sealant that was incompatible with the plastic substrate. That was a $600 lesson.

4. Not asking the end user for the product code. I assumed 'the green adhesive' was specific enough. It wasn't.

5. Forgetting about lead times. 5 minutes of verification beats 5 days of correction. Rushing an order without checking specs has cost me more than I'd like to admit.

This checklist probably looks simple. That's the point. The most expensive mistakes I've made came from skipping one of these steps. If you're ordering Sika products (or any building chemicals), run through these 3 checks before you click 'buy.' Your finance team—and your maintenance team—will thank you.

Prices as of April 2025; verify current rates. Product compatibility and compliance details should be confirmed with the manufacturer or supplier for your specific application.