How to get quotes from several suppliers for a one-off part, fast
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The short answer
Send one written request to the three to five suppliers most likely to reply. Make it easy to answer:
- Put each part on its own numbered line, with a quantity.
- Give a firm deadline.
- Ask for a price on every line, not one total.
The quotes then come back in the same shape, so you can compare them line by line.
This guide is about stock parts you buy from your own suppliers: fasteners, fittings, electrical parts, consumables and the like. It isn't about custom or machined parts made to your drawing. Those go to a manufacturing service, which is a different job.
You're a distributor, a reseller or a buying agent. Your customer emails you about a part they need today. You don't hold it, so you have to find it in your supplier network, get prices back, add your margin and quote your customer before they go somewhere else.
Most advice on spot buying is written for a company buying for itself, and it's mostly about following purchasing policy. Your problem is speed. You might do this ten times a week, and each request lands on top of everything else. The steps below work in plain email. Further down there's an email template you can copy and an example of how to lay out the quotes when they come back.
If you buy for your own company and just need a one-off part quickly, the same steps apply.
Most slow quotes start with a vague request. A supplier who has to email you back with a question has just cost you half a day. Before you write to anyone, make sure you know:
- The exact part, with a part number or a full description (size, material, finish, standard).
- The quantity, and the unit (pieces, boxes, lengths, rolls).
- Whether an equivalent brand is acceptable, or only the one named.
- The date your customer needs it and where it has to be delivered.
If your customer's email doesn't answer these, ask them now. It's one quick reply to your customer instead of five confused replies from suppliers.
Put every part on its own numbered line, with the quantity and unit next to it. Even a single-part request benefits from this, because it tells suppliers exactly what to price.
Keep the lines in the same order and with the same wording for every supplier. That's what makes the quotes comparable later. If one supplier gets "M8 bolts, 500" and another gets "500 x M8 hex bolts, galvanized", you'll get back two different answers to two different questions.
For a one-off part, three to five suppliers is usually enough. More than that and you spend the afternoon chasing.
Choose them on what you actually know:
- Who carries this kind of part.
- Who quoted on something similar recently, and who won.
- Who you've asked several times and who has never answered.
That last group is the one people forget. Every request you send to a supplier who never replies is a quote you're waiting on that will never come. Keep a simple note of who replies and who doesn't, and stop sending to the ones who don't.
If you're short on suppliers for a part, add one or two new ones. Just don't let new names replace the people who reliably answer.
Example
Your customer wants a price by, say, 4 pm. You need time to compare, add your margin and write the quote. So the supplier deadline is 2 pm, not "end of day".
Put the deadline in the subject line and in the first sentence of the email. Give the time zone. A clear, short deadline gets faster replies than a polite open-ended one.
Send each supplier their own email, or use BCC. Suppliers shouldn't see who else you're asking. Everyone gets the same lines, the same deadline and the same delivery details. If a supplier asks a question that changes the request, send the answer to all of them.
One short reminder an hour or so before the deadline is enough. Something like "Just checking you got this. We need prices by 2 pm today." If a supplier hasn't replied after that, note it, and move on.
Put the quotes side by side, with your lines down the page and suppliers across the top. For each line, mark the lowest price. Then check the things that can beat a low price:
- Lead time. A cheaper part that arrives in three days doesn't help a customer who needs it tomorrow.
- Whether the supplier quoted what you asked for, or an equivalent.
- Minimum order quantities, freight and how long the price is valid.
There's an example table further down.
You don't have to give the whole order to one supplier. If one is cheapest on bolts and another on screws, you can split the award by line, as long as the extra delivery and paperwork are worth it on an order this size.
Then tell the suppliers who didn't win. One line is enough: "Thanks for quoting, we've placed this one elsewhere." Suppliers who hear back are more likely to quote quickly next time.
Copy this, replace the parts in square brackets and send it to each supplier separately.
Subject: RFQ [your reference], prices needed by [time, time zone] [day] Hi [supplier contact name], We have a customer order to fill and would like your price on the items below. We need your quote by [time, time zone] on [day]. Please price each line separately, in the same order, and tell us if you can't supply a line or are offering an equivalent instead. Line | Item | Qty | Unit 1 | [part number or full description] | [ ] | [pcs, boxes...] 2 | [part number or full description] | [ ] | [ ] 3 | [part number or full description] | [ ] | [ ] Delivery to: [city, state or full address] Needed by: [date] Equivalents: [accepted / named brand only] For each line, please include: - Unit price in [USD] - Lead time to the delivery address - Brand or manufacturer if it's an equivalent - Minimum order quantity, if there is one Please also tell us your freight cost and how long your prices are valid. Thanks, [Your name] [Company] [Phone]
A few notes on using it:
- Keep the reference the same in every email for this request, so you can find all the replies in one search.
- If your customer named a brand, say whether an equivalent is acceptable. Otherwise you'll get a mix of both and they won't compare.
- Ask for unit prices, not totals. Totals hide which line is expensive.
Here's an example with four lines and four suppliers. All supplier names are made up. Prices are unit prices in USD, and the lowest price on each line is in bold.
| Line | Item | Qty | Kestrelmoor Fasteners | Tarnbrook Industrial | Hollowpine Hardware | Quillfield Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galvanized M8 hex bolts | 500 pcs | 0.38 | 0.41 | 0.40 | No reply |
| 2 | Socket cap screws, 3/8 in x 1-1/2 in | 250 pcs | 0.56 | 0.51 | 0.54 | No reply |
| 3 | Threaded rod, 1/2 in x 3 ft | 60 lengths | 4.20 | 3.95 | 4.35 | No reply |
| 4 | Brass reducing bushing, 3/4 in to 1/2 in | 80 pcs | 1.85 | 1.92 | 1.78 | No reply |
| Lead time | 2 days | 1 day | 3 days |
Download this layout as a spreadsheet: Excel (.xlsx) or CSV
What the table tells you:
- Tarnbrook is lowest on lines 2 and 3, and it's the only supplier that can deliver tomorrow.
- Kestrelmoor is lowest on the bolts, and Hollowpine is lowest on the bushings, but Hollowpine needs three days.
- If your customer needs everything tomorrow, Tarnbrook's lead time decides it, either for the whole order or for everything except the bolts.
- If the bushings can wait, you could split: bolts to Kestrelmoor, screws and rod to Tarnbrook, bushings to Hollowpine.
- Quillfield didn't reply. If that keeps happening, stop asking them.
This works because every supplier priced the same four lines. If one had sent a lump-sum price for "the lot", you'd have no way to compare it line by line, and you'd have to go back and ask.
- Sending a forwarded customer email as the request. Your customer's wording is often loose, and suppliers will read it in different ways. Rewrite it as numbered lines.
- Asking ten suppliers "to be safe". You'll spend longer chasing and comparing than you saved, and suppliers notice when they never win.
- No deadline, or "ASAP". Everyone's ASAP is different. A time on a day gets answered.
- Comparing totals. A low total can hide a missing line or a high freight charge. Compare line by line, then add freight.
- Forgetting who didn't reply. It's the most useful thing you learn from each request, and it's the first thing that gets lost.
You can do all of the above in email and a spreadsheet. SourcingHQ is a sourcing assistant that does the same steps in one place, as a supplier auction. Here's what it does for each step:
- Writing the request. Forward your customer's enquiry email and you get a draft auction with the line items filled in. Or describe the purchase in a chat. The AI doesn't invent lines, and you review everything before it goes out.
- Choosing suppliers. It suggests suppliers from your own history, including the ones who never bid. It can also suggest new supplier candidates from the web based on your location.
- Sending and chasing. Invites go out in your company's name, and you can see the delivery status of each one. Suppliers bid without creating an account. Bid reminders go out before the deadline, and auctions can be scheduled.
- Comparing. Every supplier bids on the same lines, open or blind, so the bids arrive comparable. You get a comparison report and a PDF, with an AI summary you can accept, edit or discard.
- Awarding. You can award the whole auction to one supplier or split it line by line.
The AI never sends, awards or contacts suppliers on its own. You decide each of those.
There's a free plan with 3 auction events and 1 seat, and every auction can have as many suppliers as you like. See plans and pricing.
What if only one supplier replies?
Check that price against what you paid for the same part last time before you quote your customer. If it's in line, take it, because a fair price today beats a better one tomorrow for a customer who needs the part now. If it's well over, say 20% above what you usually pay, phone one of the suppliers who didn't answer. A call often gets a price in minutes when an email got nothing.
Can I go back to suppliers for a better price after the quotes come in?
Yes, as long as everyone who quoted gets the same chance. Give them all one round to revise, with one new deadline, rather than quietly asking your favorite supplier to beat the lowest number. You can tell a supplier they weren't competitive on line 2 without naming who was or what they quoted.
What's the difference between an RFQ and a reverse auction?
With an RFQ, each supplier sends one price by the deadline, and that's it. In a reverse auction, suppliers can lower their bids until it closes, so the price can keep moving while bidding is open. For an urgent one-off part, a single round of quotes is usually enough. A reverse auction earns its extra time on a bigger order, where a few rounds of bidding are worth waiting for. SourcingHQ runs auctions open or blind, and suppliers bid without needing an account.
What if my customer changes the request after it's gone out?
Send every supplier a revised request with the same reference plus "rev 2", and mark only the lines that changed. Suppliers who already quoted can then update those lines instead of starting again. If the change is big, like a new quantity on most lines, move the deadline too and tell your customer their price will be a little later.
SourcingHQ is a sourcing assistant for distributors, resellers and buyers who need quotes from their suppliers fast.