How to handle questions during a competitive RFQ
Set a written deadline for questions before quotations are due. Share anonymised questions and approved answers with every bidder, protecting confidential proposals. When requirements change, issue revised documents and give everyone time to reprice against the same submission deadline. You can ask Cambridge China Bridge to coordinate this process.
Set the question timetable before inviting quotes
For a private business purchase, use the following as a practical process. State where suppliers should send questions, the clarification deadline, when you intend to circulate answers and the quotation submission deadline. Specify the time zone. Leave room between answers and submission for factories to check materials, packaging and costs.
Start with a dated product specification. Nominate a buyer contact to collect questions and approve answers. Ask colleagues and sourcing staff to route supplier queries through that contact so calls and factory visits do not create separate versions of the brief.
Share answers without exposing a bidder's proposal
Keep a question register showing the date received, relevant document, question, approved answer and circulation status. Remove supplier names, contact details and identifying references before sharing. Circulate questions about the common requirements, and their answers, to every bidder together, including bidders who have asked nothing.
Do not circulate a supplier's prices, drawings or proposed manufacturing method. If a question combines confidential details with a common ambiguity, rewrite the common issue neutrally and answer that. Discuss the remaining supplier-specific detail privately. Ask suppliers to flag confidential material when submitting questions, then review it before circulation.
Separate an explanation from a changed requirement
An explanation confirms what the existing brief means. A change alters what suppliers must quote or how you will assess their offers. For example, changing bulk cartons to individual retail boxes changes the packaging requirement. Issue a dated amendment identifying what changed, replace affected files and say which earlier documents it supersedes.
Check whether suppliers need fresh material quotes, drawings, samples or subcontractor input. When the change affects their preparation, revise the submission deadline for everyone and allow further questions about the amendment. If the scope has changed enough to need a different supplier pool, consider restarting the invitation.
Handle late questions and revised submissions consistently
State in the invitation how you will handle late questions. A late query may still expose an error affecting every quotation. If you answer it, circulate the common clarification to everyone and review the remaining preparation time. Avoid giving a private answer that helps a bidder interpret a requirement differently.
Send the revised documents and timetable to every bidder through the agreed channel. Request acknowledgement and confirmation that each quotation uses the current brief. Tell suppliers how to replace an already submitted quotation and record which submission is current. Do not disclose competing prices while requesting revisions.
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Close the clarification record before comparing offers
Keep the final brief, shared answers, amendments, acknowledgements and current quotations together. Ask bidders to identify outstanding assumptions and deviations explicitly. Use the guide to recording unanswered questions and supplier exceptions for unresolved points, then compare supplier quotes against the final common scope.
Give Cambridge China Bridge the approved clarification register and document pack if its staff in China are coordinating factory responses. Ask them to record any translation ambiguity or verbal factory question for your approval before circulating an answer or changing the brief.
Frequently asked questions
When should the RFQ clarification deadline be?
Set it before the quotation deadline, leaving time to approve and circulate answers and for suppliers to check their costs. Allow more preparation time when questions lead to changed requirements.
Should I share supplier questions with all bidders?
Share anonymised questions and answers about the common requirements with every bidder. Remove identifying details and keep prices, proprietary drawings and supplier-specific proposals confidential.
Should I extend the RFQ deadline if the specification changes?
If suppliers need to reprice or obtain fresh technical input, issue revised documents and a common new deadline. Ask already submitted bidders to confirm or replace their quotations against the revised brief.
Can I answer an RFQ question after the clarification deadline?
Follow the approach stated in your invitation. If a late question reveals a common error, circulate the answer to everyone and review the submission deadline so suppliers can take it into account.