How to run an RFQ in 7 days (with template)

Write a one-page brief: what you are buying, quantity, delivery window, technical must-haves, and any deal-breakers. If the spec isn't clear, no amount of supplier competition will produce comparable bids.

Pin down the incumbent's current price, terms and last renegotiation date. That's your baseline — every offer will be measured against it.

More than 5 suppliers is a coordination tax, not a savings lever. Pick 3 credible incumbents-or-adjacents plus 1–2 new challengers.

For challengers, ask two references and check basic financial health before spending a full RFQ cycle on them.

Use a category-tuned template so the fields you need — pricing structure, lead time, payment terms, warranty, hidden fees — are all captured up front. SourcingHub generates the RFQ, sends it and tracks responses.

Give suppliers 3 clear days to respond. Longer windows don't produce better bids, they produce late bids.

Answer supplier questions publicly (with the same answer to everyone) so no bidder has an information advantage.

This is also when you clarify ambiguities in your own scope — most negotiation wins come from what you refuse to over-specify.

Never compare quotes in three different Excel files with three different columns. Normalize into one side-by-side view: unit price, landed cost, terms, risks. SourcingHub does this automatically and flags where quotes changed the scope on you.

Compute Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), not just unit price. Freight, payment terms and hidden fees often move the ranking.

Run a 30-minute clarification call with the top 2, share your target range without revealing competitor bids, and ask for a best-and-final within 24 hours.

Award, get the contract signed, and — critically — write down the concessions you didn't get. Those are the levers for next cycle.