RFQ (Request for Quotation)
An RFQ is a procurement document asking vendors to quote prices for precisely specified goods or services. Unlike an RFP, the solution is already defined — the buyer compares price, availability, and terms rather than approaches, and award usually goes to the lowest responsive quote.
RFQs appear when specifications are settled: commodity purchases, defined service rates, or repeat buys under existing standards. The response burden is lower than an RFP's, but precision matters more — quotes must match the requested units, quantities, and terms exactly, because deviations make a quote non-responsive rather than merely weaker. Vendors still make unforced errors here: missing a delivery term, quoting the wrong unit basis, or omitting a required form. Because RFQ content is factual (rates, lead times, certifications), a maintained answer library turns most RFQ responses into assembly rather than authorship.
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