Guide for sellers
How to respond to RFQs, RFPs and RFIs
Most guides explain these documents from the buyer’s side. This one is for the seller: the distributor or supplier who receives them and has to answer well, and fast.
| Document | What the buyer wants | Your answer |
|---|---|---|
| RFQRequest for quotation | A price for specific items: part numbers, quantities, units, delivery. | Line-by-line quote |
| RFPRequest for proposal | A proposed solution: approach, specs, timeline, terms and price. | Written proposal |
| RFIRequest for information | Facts about your company and capabilities, before any purchase. | Questionnaire answers |
Responding to an RFQ
An RFQ is the most common request a distributor receives, and the most repetitive. The buyer already knows what they want. What wins is a fast, correct quote.
- Get every line out of the document. Quantity, unit, part number and description, from the PDF, spreadsheet or email.
- Match each line to your catalog. Watch for competitor part numbers, suffix variants and the customer’s own codes.
- Check units and quantities. Feet versus reels and each versus box are where quoting errors start.
- Flag what you can’t match instead of guessing, and ask the customer.
- Price and send in the format the buyer asked for, keeping their line order and references.
Steps 1 to 3 are where most of the time goes, and they are what RFQ Inbox automates: it extracts the lines, matches them to your catalog with the evidence shown, and flags unit mismatches for your team to confirm. See how it works.
Responding to an RFP
An RFP asks you to propose how you would solve a problem, not just to price items. Answer every requirement in the order asked, explain your approach, state what is included and excluded, and give a clear price and timeline. Reuse approved answers from past proposals so every response stays consistent.
RFQ Inbox doesn’t write RFP responses. If an RFP includes a bill of materials or an item list, that part can still be processed like an RFQ.
Responding to an RFI
An RFI is how buyers shortlist suppliers. Keep answers factual and short: company details, product lines, certifications, locations, lead times and references. A ready-made company fact sheet saves time on every RFI.
Where response time is usually lost
- Retyping: copying lines out of PDFs and spreadsheets by hand.
- Lookups: finding the right SKU one line at a time.
- Rework: fixing a wrong unit or item after the quote has gone out.
On the buying side instead? RFQly explains what an RFQ is, what an RFP is, what an RFI is and how to write an RFP. Comparing tools? See the best RFQ software by use case.
Send a sample RFQ and your catalog. We’ll show you the review table on your data.