A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a general term for formal sourcing activities in Felix. It is usually a request sent to obtain offers from vendors on specified categories/sub-categories.
RFQ configuration is also impacted by the project it is part of. Refer to Project Settings and Permissions to learn more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The RFQ process in Felix
As a generalised overview, below outlines the end to end process for how RFQs work in Felix. Your organisation may have some differences in features enabled or in configuration, they are called out within:
- Prepare, Approve (Optional) and Send - You will be guided through steps to establish RFQ details such as description and close date, add documents (either local files or those from third party document systems if enabled), establish the pricing requirements (including possibility of a detailed pricing schedule/bill of quantities), set questions and requested returnable documents, and then send the RFQ to chosen vendors. If your organisation has approval workflows enabled for RFQ release, then you may be required to prepare an approval form and wait for approvers to release the RFQ to market.
When it comes to who receives your RFQ, you can select from your organisations vendor listing, and if configured you may be able to also search the Felix Marketplace of vendors that are not in your vendor list yet.
You have the ability to Save your RFQ while you prepare it and only send when ready. And finally you can duplicate an existing Saved, Open or Closed RFQ to save time if needed.
- Messaging and Addendums - Once your RFQ is Open for your chosen vendors, you can communicate directly with vendors via messages, or formally issue addendums with documents, new pricing schedule versions, and notes. Vendors can respond with requests for information ("RFIs") and direct messages also.
- Receive quotes or declines from vendors - via the Vendors tab in the RFQ, and via emails, you will be informed of vendors responding via Felix to your RFQ. If you receive offline notifications (e.g. direct emails, outside Felix), and your organisation has enabled "Responses on behalf of vendors" feature, then you can add documents and notes on behalf if vendors into Felix.
You can also "allow quote updates" either at the RFQ setting level, or per vendor, where vendors reach out and need to revise submissions prior to the close date.
- Remind vendors, Extend and Close - as you get closer to the close date, or as circumstances change, you can remind non-responsive vendors from the RFQ view, as well as extend the close date as needed.
Some projects in Felix are configured to be "Sealed Bids" only and will only allow you to extend the RFQ close date and not bring it forward.
- Post tender Requests - once an RFQ is Closed, the original tender period is complete. Congratulations. Your team may have already started evaluations and comparisons, and if so may require rounds of additional context gathering and/or pricing negotiations with vendors. With post tender requests, you can select vendors to continue to communicate with and formally request revised pricing and documentation.
- RFQ comparisons and evaluations - You can utilise a number of comparison tools in the RFQ to compare bids in Felix. Pricing, responses to Quote Requirements (questions), vendor quote comments, and (if configured and enabled) evaluation questionnaires filled out by your evaluation team can be compared side by side. If your organisation is using the Pricing Schedule (bill of quantities) feature in Felix, then you can also normalise the quotes by adding financial adjustments and non-financial comparison notes to each vendor's bid.
- Recording a Result - Once an RFQ is closed, you may be prompted to record which vendor you chose and why. This is optional and in addition to any Recommendation for Award ("RFA") process your organisation may have enabled in Felix.
- Award and Engage vendor - Depending on the features enabled by your organisation, you may be able to recommend for award directly within Felix, and then store the key award details - and/or - create an engagement to send to a vendor on the basis of their submitted quotation (scope and rates).
Felix also offers an alternate, template-based, RFQ module we call "RFx". This feature is in Alpha testing phase and offers a subset of the above functionality with a different user-experience. See this article for details.
Standard and optional features of RFQs
RFQ functionality in Felix is impacted by further RFQ settings and Project settings configured by you as the RFQ Owner or the Project administrator:
- Sealed Bidding - configured at the Project level, your organisation may require that all RFQs within a project have "sealed bids" - whereby no user can view the responses of vendors until the original close date of the RFQ has passed.
- Project Branding - configured at the Project level, your organisation may require that a project brand (name and logo) are used on emails to vendors. If this setting is off, the default organisation level settings are applied.
- RFQ Owner - managed at the RFQ level, this individual can be changed to another user in Felix, and is the contact shown to vendors when they log into Felix. It is also used in some email communications for personalisation.
- RFQ Watchers - managed at the RFQ level, you can add multiple Felix users from your organisation to be informed of key activities happening on the RFQ.
- "Allow quote updates" - this is both an RFQ level setting and a feature you can use at an individual vendor level. If enabled at the RFQ level, vendors are able to edit their quotes right up to the close date of the RFQ. If disabled, vendors must ask for permission to update their quote once they "Submit" in Felix.
If you have disabled this at the RFQ level, you can still "allow quote updates" for specific vendors as a one-time actions as they request.
Pricing in RFQs
The options for how you can request pricing from vendors in an RFQ is significantly influenced by your organisation's Felix configuration for the different categories of service available from vendors.
Each category (or service offering) available in your vendor base has been setup with a structure of available pricing methods. A category might have one or multiple available pricing options (e.g. lump sum, hourly rate, unit rate), and/or it might be setup to require a detailed bill of quantities ("BoQ") - we call it a "pricing schedule".
- When you reach the pricing setup stage in your RFQ preparation, you will see what has been configured by your organisation.
- You can select from the available options to decide which pricing methods you need for your RFQ. You must pick at least one option.
- If there is only one option available to you, you must use this method.
- In the case of a pricing schedule (bill of quantities), you can import pricing line items from a spreadsheet, add notes, make line items optional, and request additional information like manufacturer, lead time, quantity suggestions.
Reach out to your Felix Administrator if you have any feedback or changing requirements for pricing in RFQs.
Some organisations have configured pricing fields that are informational only and don't require a response from the vendor. Your Felix administrator can share more details.
Lets get started: RFQ creation process: Step 1
The creation process for an RFQ can be broken down into five steps, which are outlined below:
- Creating the Job Summary: In this step, you are required to outline details about your project, as well as information and preferences for the RFQ.
- Uploading RFQ Documents: In this step, you are required to upload any supporting documentation for your RFQ.
- Selecting Services: In this step, you are required to select the services you wish to be quoted and set any pricing or quoting requirements for each service.
- Reviewing the RFQ and Vendors: In this step, you are required to review the RFQ, as well as the vendors that have been matched to your RFQ.
- Approval and Send Requires the Approval Workflow feature to be enabled for your organisation. : In this step, you are able to request approval from other organisation users and then send the RFQ to vendors for quoting.
Accessing the RFQ listing
The RFQ listing is a central location where you can view and search the RFQs your organisation has or is preparing to issue. The RFQ listing provides an overview of each RFQ, displaying important information such as the RFQ number, project group, job name, closing date, status, and result.
You can access the RFQ listing by navigating to Projects & Quotes > Requests for Quotation from your Felix dashboard.
Step 1: Understand the RFQ job summary
When creating an RFQ you will need to complete the Job Summary section. The table below outlines what each field in this section is asking.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Project Group | This field is used to indicate which project group this RFQ belongs to. |
| Project Name | This field is used to indicate the title of the RFQ / Project. |
| Project Location Details | This field contains details about the location the works will be taking place. |
| Project Area/Region | This field indicates the suburb or city that the works will be taking place. |
| Search Radius This field is subject to custom configuration and may not be visible to your organisation. | This field is used to indicate the preferred distance between vendors and the project location. (e.g. 50km)
Only vendors who match this search radius will automatically match with the RFQ. |
| Project Status This field is subject to custom configuration and may not be visible to your organisation. | This field is used to indicate whether the project is a Confirmed job, Tender, Pricing Schedule, or Purchase Equipment. |
| Quote Close Date | This field indicates the date the RFQ closes to vendor quoting. Vendors will not be able to submit or update quotes after the close date.
You can use this field to indicate a close date for the entire RFQ, or you can elect to choose separate closing dates for each service. |
| Start Date This field is subject to custom configuration and may not be visible to your organisation. | This field is used to indicate when the works will be taking place. |
| Close Date This field is subject to custom configuration and may not be visible to your organisation. | This field is used to indicate when the works are expected to finish. |
| Project Scope | A high-level overview of the RFQ scope of work (Usually 1-2 paragraphs). It is a good idea to include an overview of the nature of the goods, services, or works included in the RFQ package.
This field is intended to assist vendors when responding to the RFQ, as well as helping organisation users review and/or approve the RFQ.
Details entered in this field are visible to vendors, RFQ Endorsers, and Approvers. |
| Number of Vendors This field is subject to custom configuration and may not be visible to your organisation. | This field is used to nominate the number of vendors you would like to contact per service.
For example, you may use this field if you want to limit the number of responses to only five per service. |
