Home > Answers > What does Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Information twa1302293118

Zach

These three are often confused. An RFQ, or request for quotation, is when a buyer has a project and wants to see how much it will cost to complete, so they send out an RFQ to their vendors to request a pricing quotation. An RFI is different: it's a request for information. In this case, it's when a buyer is interested --or is sourcing-- new potential vendors, and would like more information about them before they are considered for the next round of qualification, which is the RFP process, or request for proposal. In an RFI, a buyer will pose a bunch of different questions regarding almost every aspect of a potential supplier's business, and if the vendor wants to be considered, then they have to respond. RFPs are similar to RFIs (in fact, many buyers treat them as the same thing), but they're generally a lot more in depth and, of course, significantly longer. Hope that makes sense!

21:43, 11 April 2011