The short answer
RFI: “Who can do this, and how?” You learn the market. No prices are binding.
RFQ: “What is your price for exactly this?” The spec, quantity and terms are fixed; suppliers compete on price, lead time and terms.
RFP: “How would you solve this, and for how much?” The need is known but the solution is open; you score approach, capability and price.
IFB (invitation for bid): a formal, sealed RFQ used mostly in public purchasing. Bids open at a set time and the lowest responsive, responsible bidder wins.
RFI vs RFQ vs RFP vs IFB compared
Question it asks
RFI: Who can do this?
RFQ: What does this exact item cost?
RFP: How would you solve this?
IFB / RFT: What is your sealed price for this exact spec?
Use it when
RFI: You do not know the suppliers or the options
RFQ: The spec, drawing and quantity are settled
RFP: The outcome is clear but the method is not
IFB / RFT: Public or regulated buying that requires sealed bids
What you send
RFI: A short description and questions
RFQ: Drawing or spec, quantity, delivery, terms, due date
RFP: Problem statement, requirements, evaluation criteria
IFB / RFT: Full spec, bid form, terms, bid opening date
What comes back
RFI: Capabilities, references, rough ideas
RFQ: Unit price, tooling, lead time, MOQ, freight terms
RFP: A proposal: approach, team, timeline, price
IFB / RFT: A sealed bid with a price
How you pick
RFI: Shortlist for the next step
RFQ: Lowest landed cost that meets spec and date
RFP: Weighted scorecard (fit, risk, price)
IFB / RFT: Lowest responsive, responsible bid
Binding?
RFI: No
RFQ: A quote is usually an offer the buyer can accept with a PO
RFP: Leads to negotiation and a contract
IFB / RFT: Yes, once awarded
Typical length
RFI: Days
RFQ: Days to two weeks
RFP: Weeks to months
IFB / RFT: Weeks, on a fixed calendar
In US federal buying, FAR 13.004 says a quotation is not an offer and the government’s order is the offer; in private B2B trade a quote is normally treated as an offer the buyer accepts with a PO. Check your own terms.
What RFQ means
RFQ stands for request for quote (or request for quotation). It is a document, usually an email with a drawing or a spreadsheet attached, that asks two or more suppliers to price the same item on the same terms so the answers can be compared line for line. A sales team calls the same document an incoming RFQ, and its answer is a quote. Both sides of that exchange have free tools here: the RFQ template for buyers and the quote template for sellers.
When to use which: plant and distribution examples
Situation | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
A machined bracket with a released drawing, 25,000 a year | RFQ | The part is defined; you want price, tooling and lead time from three shops |
Zinc plating for that bracket | RFQ | Spec (finish, thickness, salt spray hours) is fixed; platers price per piece or per pound |
MRO supplies for two plants for a year | RFQ (often with a price list) | Items are known; you compare unit prices, fill rate and delivery |
Picking a new ERP or MES | RFI, then RFP | Many ways to solve it; you score fit, implementation and cost |
Choosing a 3PL or a contract manufacturer | RFP | Capability, capacity and service levels matter as much as price |
A part you have never sourced and no drawing yet | RFI | Find who can make it before you spend time on a full spec |
A public works or government supply contract | IFB | Rules require sealed bids and a public opening |
What to put in each document
RFQ checklist
RFQ number, your company, the buyer’s name and how to reply
Each line: part number and revision, description, material, finish, quantity, unit of measure, annual usage and quantity breaks
Drawings and specs attached, with the revision called out
Required delivery date, ship-to address and freight terms (Incoterm or FOB point)
What to quote: unit price, tooling or setup, lead time, minimum order, freight, validity
Payment terms, certifications needed (CoC, material certs, PPAP level) and packaging
Due date for quotes and how you will choose
RFP checklist
Background and the problem to solve
Requirements: must-haves and nice-to-haves
Scope, volumes, sites and timeline
Questions each supplier must answer, in a fixed format
Evaluation criteria and their weights
Pricing format, contract terms and the calendar (questions deadline, demos, award)
RFI checklist
What you are trying to do, in a paragraph
Questions on capabilities, capacity, certifications, locations and references
A reply date and whether an RFQ or RFP will follow
How suppliers respond
To an RFQ, a supplier sends a quote: a priced line for each item with lead time, validity, freight terms and any tooling or setup charge. Good quotes restate the buyer’s part number and revision so nothing gets lost, and list exclusions. To an RFP, the supplier writes a proposal that answers each question in order, then prices it. To an RFI, a short capabilities reply is enough. A seller who answers RFQs often keeps a standard template and a cost build-up (material, machine time, outside processing such as plating, packing and freight) so each quote is consistent.
Compare RFQ answers on landed cost, not unit price
The cheapest unit price is often not the cheapest part. Landed cost adds everything it takes to get the part to your dock: unit price, tooling spread over the volume, freight, duty and tariffs, brokerage and packaging. An import at $14.20 can land at $19.00 once freight, a 25% tariff and brokerage are added, which can lose to a domestic quote at $17.50. Put every quote on the same quantity and the same Incoterm before comparing. The bid comparison template does this side by side, and the tariff calculator gives the duty piece.
The sourcing event, start to finish
Define the need (and run an RFI if you do not know the market).
Write the RFQ or RFP and pick at least three suppliers.
Send it, answer questions, and chase the ones who have not replied by the due date.
Level the answers: same quantity, same terms, landed cost.
Negotiate with the top one or two; check capacity and quality history.
Award with a PO (RFQ) or a contract (RFP), and tell the others.
Track delivery and price against the quote on the first orders.
Common mistakes
Sending an RFQ when the spec is not ready. Suppliers quote different things and the answers cannot be compared.
Leaving quantity or Incoterm open. A price at 500 pieces FOB origin and one at 5,000 delivered are not the same offer.
Comparing unit price only. Tooling, freight, duty and MOQ change the winner.
Using an RFP to get prices. It slows everyone down; if only price matters, use an RFQ.
No due date or no chase. Half the replies arrive late or never, and the decision slips.
Forgetting the losers. Tell them; you will need them next time.
The modern way: Morsa answers the RFQ and chases the quotes
Most plants and distributors still run RFQs by hand: an estimator digs through old jobs and price files, emails platers and waits, builds a landed-cost spreadsheet, then retypes it all into the quote template. Buyers do the mirror image, sending the same RFQ to five suppliers and chasing each reply.
Morsa does that work. When a customer RFQ arrives with a drawing, Morsa reads it, pulls the similar past job, the routing, the machine rate and today’s material price, asks three platers for a price, reads the two replies, and works out the landed cost: $1.18 a piece, $1.69 at the target margin, in the example from our demo. The quote is drafted in your own template; the estimator changes one line and sends it from their own Outlook. On the buying side, Morsa sends the RFQ from the buyer’s own mailbox, chases each supplier in their language and time zone, reads the answers and levels them by landed cost, so the buyer picks instead of typing.
