Comparing RFQ Responses

After you send an RFQ, suppliers respond through the supplier portal or you enter their quotes manually. This guide covers how to review those responses and decide which supplier to go with.

How Suppliers Respond

When you send an RFQ, each supplier receives an email with a unique link to the supplier portal. The portal lets them:

  • Enter a unit price and total price for each line item
  • Specify lead times (in days) and minimum order quantities
  • Add notes per line item or for the overall response
  • Set payment terms, delivery terms, and a validity date
  • Upload their own quote document (PDF or other file) as an alternative to filling in prices line by line
  • Add notes or comments about availability, alternatives, or conditions

Suppliers do not need a Forge MRP account. The portal link is all they need. Once they submit, you'll see their response appear on the RFQ detail page.

Viewing Responses

Open the RFQ from Purchasing > RFQs and scroll to the Suppliers section. Each supplier row shows:

  • Status -- whether the supplier has responded, is pending, or hasn't been sent the RFQ yet
  • Total amount -- the supplier's quoted total (if they provided one)
  • Lead time -- the longest lead time across all their line items

Click a supplier's row to expand it and see the full response details.

Response Details

When you expand a supplier that has responded, you'll see:

  • Submitted date -- when the response came in
  • Valid until -- how long the pricing is good for
  • Payment terms and delivery terms -- the supplier's stated terms
  • Attached quote file -- if the supplier uploaded a document, you can download it here
  • Line-by-line breakdown -- a table showing the requested quantity, unit price, total price, lead time, and minimum quantity for each item

Status Indicators

Each supplier in the list shows a status badge:

  • Not Sent -- the RFQ hasn't been sent to this supplier yet
  • Pending -- sent, but no response received
  • Responded -- the supplier submitted a response through the portal
  • Manual Response -- you entered the supplier's response manually
  • Responded Late -- the supplier responded after the due date
  • Expired -- the due date passed with no response

Comparing Multiple Suppliers

With multiple responses in, you can compare them directly on the RFQ detail page. Each supplier's row shows the total amount and lead time at a glance.

To compare in more detail:

  1. Expand each supplier's response.
  2. Compare the unit prices and lead times for each line item.
  3. Note any differences in payment terms, minimum quantities, or conditions mentioned in their notes.

If you need a side-by-side view, open the Responses tab from the RFQ detail page. This page lists all responses with a supplier selector on the left and the selected response's full details on the right.

Applying Prices to Your Quote

If the RFQ lines are linked to quote parts (materials, operations, or purchased items), you can push a supplier's prices back into your quote:

  1. Expand the supplier's response.
  2. Click Apply to Quote.
  3. Forge updates the material costs in the original quote with the supplier's unit prices.

This saves you from manually re-entering pricing. If prices change later, you can re-apply from a different response.

Converting a Response to a Purchase Order

Once you've chosen a supplier:

  1. Expand the winning supplier's response.
  2. Click Convert to PO.
  3. A modal appears showing the response's line items. Select which lines to include in the purchase order.
  4. Optionally check Mark RFQ as awarded to update the RFQ status to "Awarded."
  5. Click Convert to PO.

Forge creates a new purchase order pre-filled with the supplier, line items, quantities, and pricing from the response. A link to the new PO appears next to that supplier's name on the RFQ.

You can convert multiple responses to separate POs if you want to split the order across suppliers. For example, buy materials from one supplier and outside operations from another.

Editing or Adding Responses

You can update a supplier's response at any time:

  • Edit Response -- opens the response form with the existing values pre-filled. Make your changes and save.
  • Add Response -- if a supplier sends a revised quote, add a second response. Both responses are tracked independently.

Related Articles

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