Request for Quotation (RFQ)

An RFQ, which stands for request for quotation or request for quote, is a competitive bid document where a company or government agency asks a set of potential suppliers to submit price quotes on specific pre-defined products/services. An RFQ outlines information about the required products and services – such as quantity, quality and delivery requirements – enabling sellers to provide their quotations. The use of RFQ documents is especially important to businesses that need a consistent supply of standardized, high-volume and low-value items.  

For suppliers, receiving an RFQ means that the buyer expects them to provide a competitive quotation to, hopefully, win the business. Upon receiving the request for quotation, suppliers review the requirements and assess if they have the stock and resources to meet the buyer’s needs. If yes, they need to prepare a quote – aiming to be as detailed and accurate as possible – and submit their bid by a set date and time to be considered.  

After receiving quotations from the shortlisted sellers, it’s time for the buyer to evaluate them and decide from which seller they will buy the requested goods/services. 

Standardize your quotation to answer accurately at a moment’s notice 

Since RFQs typically involve standardized products and services, it only makes sense to standardize the replies as well. Step one is to keep track of your inventory and pricing in your CRM so that you can rely on your data whenever you need access. This will enable you to pull all required data such as pricing, quantities, delivery dates, product descriptions and images etc. into a branded template document.  

With this in place, you then need to ensure that everyone who needs to sign off on the quote prior to submission is made aware on time and, equally important, make sure that your representatives know who to request these approvals from. A quotation can be legally binding, after all. 

This combination of requirements enables you to respond almost instantly – setting you up as a professional and reliable partner who can deliver on time with efficiency. 

Documill enables sell-side teams that rely on Salesforce to formalize and automate their quotation process. Standardize and speed up how you respond to RFQs by translating and digitizing each step of the way; from document generation to multi-party editing, approvals and – where required – signing.  

And the same Documill tools can be used by the buy-side to put together a concise RFQ that has both the input and approval from everyone required. A quote can only be as good as the request that preceded it, after all. 

  • Use Documill Dynamo to quickly and accurately generate your RFQ responses based on Salesforce data 
  • Use Documill Leap to request formal approvals from the required people and to collaboratively edit your (request for) quote with the relevant departments or even 3rd party stakeholders.  
  • Use both to create winning bids that are on brand and address even the most demanding RFQs

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