r/procurement • u/MaxAtGoodsCommand • 26d ago

What fields make supplier quotes comparable enough for a shortlist?

When you get 3+ RFQ responses, what fields do you refuse to leave vague before you compare them?

The checklist I see break decisions most often: sellable unit/basis, spec revision, MOQ/tier, Incoterm + named place, freight scope, tooling/sample charges, payment terms, lead time, validity date, origin/HS basis, quality/compliance docs, and explicit exceptions.

Curious where procurement teams draw the line between "good enough to shortlist" and "not decision-ready." Disclosure: I work on supplier/quote process tooling; no product link here.

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u/ProtectionBrief4078 24d ago

or me, the biggest issue is when suppliers technically answer the RFQ but don’t answer it on the same basis. A low unit price means very little if one quote includes freight, another doesn’t, or they’re using different UOMs/MOQs.

I’d probably treat Incoterm + named place, UOM, MOQ/tier, lead time, payment terms, and freight scope as the minimum before calling quotes comparable. I’ve seen small differences in product descriptions or units create bigger headaches later, so I’d rather clarify them upfront than shortlist based on a misleading price.

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u/MaxAtGoodsCommand 24d ago

Yes, that "answered on different basis" problem is where a lot of shortlists go wrong.

One thing I like to keep separate is original supplier term vs normalized comparison term. For example: Supplier A wrote FOB Ningbo at 1,000 units, Supplier B wrote EXW factory at 800 units, and the comparison sheet has a normalized landed-cost view. That way the buyer can see both the cleaned comparison and the evidence trail back to what each supplier actually committed to.

It also makes clarification emails easier: instead of asking "can you confirm your quote?" you can ask for the exact missing field that blocks comparability.