Requests for Quotes (RFQs) are formal documents sent to vendors by organizations looking secure bids on future products or services. These documents are a common part of the procurement process for many organizations and are generally used to compare prices between vendors or to assure that selected vendors can meet an organization’s needs.

While these documents can sometimes be simple requests for pricing, they often will include requests for a vendor’s terms of payment, product or service details and specifications, as well as any and all costs associated with the potential project.

RFQ automation software is designed to help streamline and automate the workflows of anyone who regularly receive RFQs. Qvidian’s RFQ automation software helps teams respond to RFQs faster with automatic answering, suggested content, customizable workflows, and tools for storing and templatizing approved content.

Companies who regularly receive and respond to RFQs benefit from automation software. Top financial services, technology and communications, and healthcare companies all benefit from a robust RFP, RFQ, and proposal automation software. By automating the tedious and mundane parts of RFQ responses, organizations can respond 30% faster to requests, growing their business and winning more deals.

RFPs, or requests for proposals, are broader documents that cover a wide range of topics related to a vendor. When organizations send RFPs they’re looking for further information about a potential vendor’s pricing, security, competitive differentiators, history, technology, and more. RFPs are dense documents that can take a significant amount of an organization’s time and energy to produce.

RFQs are generally specifically targeting pricing concerns and estimates. These documents are highly structured and focused primarily on a vendor’s deliverables. An RFQ response should show a clear understanding of a company’s needs as well as provide a clear info on everything needed to deliver the requested product or service.