PAPERBOAT / BEFORE ESTIMATING
Industrial RFQ Completeness Worksheet
The package arrived. The requirement may still be moving.
Separate supplied information, missing answers and document conflicts before they disappear into a price. Build a buyer-supplier clarification list with source references and responsible roles.
By Robert Urban. Free, local and downloadable.
A folder full of files can still leave one important question unanswered.
The drawing says revision C. The model filename says revision B. The email asks for “the updated part.” Every person can open the package and still be estimating a different requirement.
This worksheet gives that disagreement a place to stay visible. Record the request’s purpose, identify the stage, and work through ten topics with the people who own the answers. It produces the supplied information followed by a clarification list. You can take that list back to the buyer, estimator, engineer or quality lead without pretending the worksheet is the controlling specification.
It is also a useful conversation before a request is issued. A buyer can use the same prompts to discover where quantities, inspection records or delivery definitions still depend on an internal decision.
Follow the fictional bracket through three questions.
Which version governs? The example records the revision conflict as “supplied, but needs clarification.” The source references remain attached. The next action is for the buyer’s engineering owner to identify the controlling package, not for the estimator to choose whichever file looks newer.
What does twenty mean? The example asks for twenty pieces in an initial fit-check batch. That does not establish a production release schedule. Keeping the purpose with the quantity prevents a possible later order from silently becoming the economic basis of the current quote.
Where does the one-time work belong? The fixture and setup terms are not supplied. The worksheet asks who supplies, pays for, owns and maintains the relevant tooling or programming. The answer may affect the quote structure even when the part specification is unchanged.
Prepare the clarification list
Record references to the controlling files rather than uploading drawings. A supplied answer can still need clarification.
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Use the four states precisely.
Not established means the worksheet has no dependable answer yet. It produces the topic’s question and keeps any partial notes you entered.
Supplied information means you have recorded wording from a source. It does not mean the requirement is feasible, mutually agreed or adequate. A missing source reference is still listed as a question.
Supplied, but needs clarification keeps the available wording while explicitly asking for resolution. Use it for conflicting revisions, ambiguous units, an unexplained deadline or other uncertainty the team has already identified.
Declared not applicable requires a reason. It stays visible as a decision to confirm with the responsible owner. “No separate fixture is needed” is a technical or commercial conclusion someone should own; an empty field cannot establish it.
The useful output is a shorter, better conversation.
Give questions to the role that can answer them. Engineering may resolve the controlling revision. Quality may clarify inspection evidence. Purchasing may confirm payment terms or a release pattern. A single contact can coordinate those responses without being expected to invent all of them.
When an answer changes, keep the updated source and issue clear. If several suppliers are quoting, confirm how the revised requirement reaches each of them. Otherwise the comparison may reward a different assumption rather than a better offer.
The worksheet has no completion percentage. Ten filled rows could still contain an important contradiction, and a clearly documented exception may be more useful than a falsely complete field. Review the actual package and make the quote decision with the relevant technical and commercial people.
For the broader commercial question, read Before the RFQ: How Manufacturers Earn the Shortlist. That article examines which opportunities deserve estimating time and how manufacturers become useful before the request arrives.
Before you forward the package
Does this verify that an RFQ is complete or a part is manufacturable?
No. It organizes the information and questions you enter. Engineering, quality and commercial owners still need to review the controlling documents and decide what can be quoted.
Can I use it for a repeat order?
Yes. Select the repeat-order stage. Its opening question asks what changed in revisions, quantities, delivery conditions or commercial terms from the previous order.
Do I upload drawings or customer files?
No. The worksheet accepts text notes and source references. It does not upload files, contact suppliers or send the completed output.
Make technical usefulness visible.
If your team repeatedly answers the same pre-quote questions, that knowledge may belong in the way buyers discover and assess your business. Tell me where the right inquiries get stuck, which packages waste estimating time and what buyers still misunderstand.