Industrial RFQ checklist: review requirements before quoting

Seven practical review steps

Use this sequence whenever the documents, commercial rules or technical assumptions are distributed across several files.

1. Confirm the scope and the latest revision

List every source document, issue date and amendment. Identify what is in scope and which items are optional. Avoid pricing against an superseded drawing or a previous schedule of quantities.

2. Extract measurable technical requirements

Record materials, dimensions, tolerances, certifications, performance conditions, units and quantities. Keep a reference back to the paragraph, drawing or spreadsheet cell where possible.

3. Flag gaps and contradictions

Look for missing operating conditions, incompatible requirements, conflicting quantities and documents that describe different versions of the same part. Prepare explicit clarification questions for the buyer.

4. Review delivery and commercial boundaries

Check batches, staged deliveries, transport, packaging, payment conditions, warranties, contractual exclusions and responsibilities for installation or commissioning. Missing scope can distort the apparent profitability of a bid.

5. Compare suppliers on a like-for-like basis

Align quotation lines and units across supplier offers. Compare certifications, technical equivalence, availability, lead times and exceptions as well as prices. Engineering must approve substitutes.

6. Apply documented cost and margin rules

Separate material, production, setup, non-recurring engineering, subcontracting and logistics. Use approved formulas and distinguish markup from margin on selling price. Make assumptions reviewable.

7. Approve the final technical and commercial offer

Ensure unresolved questions are handled, source versions are current, prices correspond to the approved scope and the document matches the required template. Record who validated key decisions.

How automation can support the checklist

A practical test is to take a recently completed RFQ and repeat the review with a structured checklist. Record where the team spends time searching for inputs, resolving version conflicts and recalculating quotes. This creates a baseline for assessing any automation project. AI tools may help classify incoming files and extract candidate requirements, but technical validation, legal interpretation and commercial sign-off must remain with people.

Not every attachment can be interpreted with equal accuracy. Scanned drawings, inconsistent units and unusual formats deserve focused testing. Keep the underlying evidence available for reviewers and avoid giving an AI model the authority to certify a product or approve a commercial contract.

Frequently asked question

Does this checklist replace engineering review? No. It is a control framework to identify what requires review; it does not establish compliance or manufacturability.