Documentation
Request for Quotations (RFQ)
RFQ gives Purchasing one controlled requirement against which multiple suppliers can quote, preserving equal sourcing context, supplier invitation history and a clear path into quotation comparison and award.
BuyersPurchase managersTechnical evaluatorsApproversImplementation teams
What RFQ controls
RFQ defines one purchasing requirement and invites selected suppliers to respond against the same commercial and technical context. It can be created directly or seeded from an Approved Purchase Requisition.
The RFQ contains the requirement lines, supplier invitation list, submission deadline, delivery/commercial terms, internal target-price intelligence and financial dimensions used in sourcing.
Header tabs
| Tab | Purpose | Important controls |
|---|---|---|
| General | RFQ identity, summary, date, type and location. | RFQ Type and Location establish the sourcing context. |
| Terms & Delivery | Submission deadline, required delivery date, currency, payment terms, Incoterms, alternate-item policy and delivery terms. | Submission Due is a UI-required Date/Time field. Alternate policy controls whether alternates can later be offered. |
| Notes & Accounting | Technical notes, commercial notes and financial dimensions. | Separate technical and commercial context so evaluators understand requirement intent. |
| Lines | Items/services, specification, quantity, UOM, required date, brand preference, alternate permission and internal target price. | Item and Quantity are validated by the server. |
| Suppliers | Suppliers selected for invitation, RFQ contact email and invitation state. | Duplicate supplier selection is prevented. |
General tab – fields
| Field | Requirement | Meaning / significance |
|---|---|---|
| RFQ Number | System generated | Read-only sourcing document number. |
| RFQ Summary | Recommended | Short human-readable description of what is being sourced. Maximum 500 characters in the active screen. |
| RFQ Date | Operationally required | Business date of the sourcing event. |
| RFQ Type | Defaulted | Material, Service or Mixed classification. |
| Location Type | Required with Location | Operating location class for the RFQ. |
| Location | Hard server requirement | Actual operating location. RFQ save validation requires both Location Type and Location. |
RFQ Type dropdown
| Value | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| MATERIAL | Material procurement. | Use when the RFQ is for physical/inventory items. |
| SERVICE | Service procurement. | Use when suppliers are quoting for a service requirement. |
| MIXED | Contains both material and service requirements. | Use when the same sourcing event legitimately contains both classes. |
Terms & Delivery tab
| Field | Requirement | Meaning / significance |
|---|---|---|
| Submission Due | UI-required | Date and time by which supplier responses are expected. The picker uses 15-minute steps. |
| Required Delivery Date | Optional | Target delivery date for the sourcing requirement. |
| Currency | Required for comparable commercial context | Currency in which the RFQ is being framed. Supplier quotation exchange rate later supports functional comparison. |
| Payment Terms | Optional / policy driven | Expected commercial payment terms from the shared payment-terms configuration. |
| Incoterms | Optional | Delivery/responsibility term where relevant to the transaction. |
| Allow Alternate Items | Default Yes | Header-level permission for suppliers to offer alternatives. Individual RFQ lines can restrict alternates further. |
| Delivery Terms | Optional | Detailed delivery expectations or logistics conditions. |
Lines tab – requirement fields
| Field | Requirement | Meaning / significance |
|---|---|---|
| Line | System managed | RFQ requirement line number. |
| Item / Service | Mandatory | Item/service being sourced. Server validation requires the Item on every RFQ line. |
| SKU | Reference | Read-only item SKU where available. |
| Description | Optional | Requirement description. |
| Specification | Strongly recommended | Technical/specification text suppliers should quote against. |
| Qty | Mandatory | Requested quantity. Must be greater than zero. |
| UOM | Operationally mandatory | Unit against which quantity and supplier price must be interpreted. |
| Required Date | Optional line control | Line-specific required delivery date. |
| Preferred Brand | Optional | Preferred brand/manufacturer context without necessarily disallowing alternatives. |
| Alternate? | Policy control | Whether an alternate can be offered for this specific line. |
| Internal Target Price | Internal buyer intelligence | Target price used in comparison/variance analysis. It is intentionally not exposed on the Supplier Quotation screen. |
Suppliers tab and invitation status
| Invitation Status | Meaning / how it is set |
|---|---|
| PLANNED | Supplier is selected on the Draft/Approved RFQ but has not yet been opened/invited. |
| INVITED | Open to Suppliers changes planned suppliers to Invited and records invitation timing. |
| RESPONDED | Submitting a Supplier Quotation marks that supplier as Responded. |
| DECLINED | Supplier has declined to quote. |
| NO_RESPONSE | When an RFQ closes, suppliers still in Invited state are changed to No Response. |
RFQ status lifecycle
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DRAFT | Requirement and supplier list are being prepared. |
| APPROVED | RFQ is internally approved and ready to be opened to suppliers. |
| OPEN | Supplier submission window is active. |
| CLOSED | Submission period is closed and comparison can proceed. |
| EVALUATED | Commercial/technical evaluation has been saved. |
| AWARDED | Supplier award has been approved. |
| CANCELLED | RFQ was cancelled and should no longer progress. |
Actions – sourcing workflow
| Action | When | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Apply | DRAFT | Saves RFQ changes and keeps the document open. |
| Create from Approved Requisition | Before a new RFQ is saved | Seeds the RFQ from an approved Purchase Requisition instead of retyping the requirement. |
| Approve RFQ | DRAFT | Moves the RFQ into internally approved state. |
| Open to Suppliers | APPROVED | Moves RFQ to OPEN and changes planned supplier invitations to INVITED. |
| Enter Supplier Quotation | OPEN | Opens a new Supplier Quotation linked to this RFQ. |
| Close RFQ | OPEN | Closes supplier submission and converts still-invited suppliers with no response to NO_RESPONSE. |
| Compare / Award | CLOSED or EVALUATED | Starts RFQ Comparison & Award for the sourcing decision. |
| Cancel RFQ | Before final award where allowed | Stops further RFQ processing and records the cancellation reason. |
Before you Open to Suppliers
- Confirm the RFQ Summary clearly identifies the requirement.
- Verify each Item/Service, specification, quantity and UOM.
- Confirm Submission Due and required delivery dates.
- Confirm Currency, commercial terms and alternate-item policy.
- Review the full supplier list and RFQ contact emails.
- Check Internal Target Price for buyer analysis but do not copy it into supplier-facing notes.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Material, Service and Mixed RFQ?
Material is for physical/material procurement, Service is for service sourcing, and Mixed is for one RFQ containing both types.
Can a supplier see the Internal Target Price?
The Supplier Quotation screen intentionally does not expose RFQ Internal Target Price. It is buyer-side comparison intelligence.
What happens to an invited supplier who never responds?
When the RFQ is closed, a supplier still in INVITED state is changed to NO_RESPONSE.
Can suppliers offer alternates?
Only when alternates are allowed by both the RFQ header policy and the specific RFQ line.