5 Tips for Writing a Better RFQ
The brief you write is the offer you get back. Concrete tolerances, real attachments, and clear payment terms triple your response rate.
Strong RFQs (Request for Quotation) are not longer — they are *clearer*. Here are the five things we see top buyers always include:
1. Tolerances in numbers. "High quality" means nothing. "±0.2mm on every dimension" means a factory can either bid it or walk away.
2. Volume per release. Total qty is one thing; monthly call-offs are another. State both.
3. Inspection plan. Step-by-step QA, end-product only, or none. Factories price inspection risk into their offer.
4. Attach the drawing. PDF + STEP if possible. We've seen RFQs without attachments get 70% fewer offers.
5. Payment terms up front. 30/70, milestone-based, net-30. Pick one and stick to it.