What Is an RFQ? Meaning, Contents and an Example

What is an RFQ? An RFQ, or request for quotation, is a document a buyer sends to several suppliers to get prices for a clearly defined product or service. Every supplier quotes on the same specification, so the answers can be compared side by side. In B2B purchasing, the RFQ sits between knowing what you need and choosing who will make it.

If you have searched for what is an RFQ because a colleague or supplier used the term, this guide covers the RFQ meaning, how it differs from an RFI and an RFP, what a good request contains, a worked example for printed boxes and how to compare the quotes that come back.

What is an RFQ, and when do you use one?

In short, an RFQ is the right tool when you already know what you want and mainly need a price. Procurement guidance describes the request for quotation as a method for buying readily available goods or services in an established, competitive market, where suppliers can quote against a fixed description.

For packaging, printing, signage, exhibition displays and promotional products, that is usually the case. A box, a banner or a batch of printed bags can be described in quantities, sizes, materials, finishes and delivery terms. Once that description is fixed, the only open questions for the supplier are price, lead time and terms.

Typical situations for an RFQ

Buyers in packaging and print tend to reach for an RFQ in a few recurring situations:

• You reorder a product and want to check that the current price is still competitive.
• You have a new design with a finished specification and need a supplier to produce it.
• You need a one-off job, such as roll-ups for a trade fair, and want several prices quickly.
• Your company rules require more than one quote above a certain order value.

RFQ meaning: RFQ vs RFP vs RFI

The three abbreviations are often mixed up, but each one asks suppliers for something different. The RFQ meaning is easiest to see next to the other two, and a common way to separate them is by how fixed your requirement already is.

That split matches how many purchasing guides describe it: the RFI to gauge the market, the RFP to collect solutions and the RFQ to get pricing for a clearly defined product. In practice the steps can follow each other. You might send an RFI to find packaging suppliers, an RFP to get design ideas for a new box and finally an RFQ to price the chosen design.

Is a quote the same as an RFQ?

No. In everyday use the RFQ meaning is the buyer's question; the quotation is the supplier's answer. A good quotation repeats the specification it prices, so you can see straight away whether the supplier quoted what you asked for.

What is an RFQ made of? The contents

Suppliers quote what you write, not what you meant. A good request answers the questions a supplier would otherwise have to ask, and every gap you leave is a place where quotes start to differ.

The product specification

• Product and dimensions: for boxes, the inner size in millimetres and the box style, for example a FEFCO code such as 0201 or 0427.
• Material: board grade, paper weight, fabric or substrate.
• Print and finishing: number of colours, print sides, coatings, lamination, cutting.
• Files and drawings: artwork, technical drawings or a sample photo.
• Quantity: the exact number, plus price breaks if you want them, for example 500, 1,000 and 2,000 pieces.

Delivery and commercial terms

• Delivery place and date: the address or at least the city and country, and the date you need the goods.
• Delivery term: the Incoterm and place. Under DAP, the seller pays carriage to the named place and carries the risk until the goods are ready for unloading there, which gives you a delivered price.
• Quote deadline: the last day suppliers can answer.
• Currency, payment terms and validity: how you will pay and how long the price must hold.

Requirements and documents

List any certificates you need, such as FSC-certified board or ISO 14001, and ask for the certificate code rather than a logo. FSC codes can be checked in the FSC public certificate search. Say whether you need samples or a proof before production.

An RFQ example for printed mailer boxes

Request for quotation: 1,000 printed corrugated mailer boxes, FEFCO 0427, inner size 300 x 200 x 100 mm, E flute, white outside, one-colour print on the lid, FSC-certified board. Price breaks at 1,000 and 2,500. Delivery DAP Stockholm, needed by 15 March. Prices excluding VAT, in euros, valid for 30 days. Please answer by 20 February and include the lead time from proof approval.

Every supplier who reads this can price the same box. That is what makes the answers comparable, and it is the practical answer to what is an RFQ for: one description, many comparable prices. If a supplier wants to suggest a cheaper board or a different size, ask them to show it as an option next to the requested specification, not instead of it.

How to compare the quotes

Once the answers are in, compare the total cost, not only the unit price. An RFQ is only as useful as the comparison that follows it. Add freight if it is not included, plus plates, cutting dies, tooling and setup fees. Check the lead time against your deadline, how long each quote is valid and the payment terms.

Then look at how each supplier answered your request. Did they ask sensible questions, point out a problem in your files or quote exactly what you asked for? Those signs often say a lot about how the order will be handled. Our guide on how to compare supplier quotes goes through this step by step.

Free RFQ template and sending an RFQ on Flobid

Our guide How to Write a Good RFQ includes a one-page checklist you can reuse for every request. If you buy print regularly, the Printing Buyer Resource Pack adds a ready-made template for print jobs.

On Flobid you can also send a request for quotation directly. You describe the need once, the request goes to suppliers in the matching category who deliver to your country, and the quotes come back side by side on a DAP basis by default. For buyers, sending a request through Flobid is free.

Sources

1. Request for Quotation, Cayman Islands Procurement Office
2. RFI vs. RFP vs. RFQ: The Clear Difference & When to Use Each One, simple system
3. FEFCO ESBO code, FEFCO
4. Incoterms 2020: DPU or DAP?, ICC Academy
5. FSC Public Certificate Search, Forest Stewardship Council