Procurement Case Studies » Running Competitive RFQs for Project Purchases
Running Competitive RFQs for Project Purchases
· 6 min read
Representative scenario — a facilities & maintenance team
In this representative scenario, a facilities team replaced informal phone-and-email quotes with structured RFQs on Lapasar Mall for one-off project purchases. Sending the same specification to multiple suppliers produced genuinely comparable, competitive quotes and an automatic audit trail from request to award — all published platform capabilities.
This is a representative scenario illustrating how the platform's RFQ and sourcing capabilities apply to project buying — not an audited account of a named customer. Project purchases are the larger, non-catalog, one-off buys that benefit most from competitive quoting.
The challenge
For larger one-off project purchases, a facilities team gathered quotes informally by phone and email. Specifications varied from supplier to supplier, so quotes were rarely comparable, and it was hard to show later that the chosen price was competitive.
The process was slow, effort-heavy, and left no consistent record of who was asked, what they quoted, and why an award was made.
The solution
The team moved project buying onto structured RFQs on Lapasar Mall: one clear specification is sent to multiple suppliers at once, and quotes come back in a comparable format that can be evaluated side by side.
Every step — request, responses and award — is captured, so the competitive process and its outcome are documented automatically.
Implementation
Standard RFQ templates were created for the firm's common project categories so a well-formed request takes minutes rather than hours. A shortlist of relevant suppliers was set up for each category.
Buyers were trained to run project purchases as RFQs by default. For repeat items that appeared often, the team fed the winning arrangements back into catalog buying, reserving RFQs for genuinely one-off needs.
Targeted outcomes
Targeted outcomes, consistent with the platform's public ROI assumptions: more competitive pricing on project spend from genuine like-for-like comparison, a faster and less manual quoting cycle, and a complete audit trail from request to award.
Key takeaways
- One clear specification sent to several suppliers turns guesswork into comparable, competitive quotes.
- Structured RFQs create the audit trail that informal phone-and-email quoting never leaves.
- Recurring RFQ winners belong in the catalog; reserve RFQs for genuinely one-off needs.
Results at a glance
- Quote comparability: Inconsistent → like-for-like
- Suppliers per request: One or two → a shortlist
- Sourcing cycle: Slow, manual → structured
- Audit trail: None → request-to-award record
Targeted savings
Target: 3–6% on competitively-sourced project spend
Genuine like-for-like competition on one-off project buys captures savings at the rate assumed in our public ROI calculator. A target, not an audited result.
Illustrative timeline
- Weeks 1–2 — Build RFQ templates: Create standard RFQ templates and supplier shortlists for common project categories.
- Weeks 3–4 — Pilot on live buys: Run the next few project purchases as structured RFQs end to end.
- Weeks 5–8 — Make RFQ the default: Train buyers to source project spend competitively by default.
- Ongoing — Feed repeats to catalog: Move recurring winners into catalog buying; keep RFQs for one-offs.
Key takeaways
- One clear specification sent to several suppliers turns guesswork into comparable, competitive quotes.
- Structured RFQs create the audit trail that informal phone-and-email quoting never leaves.
- Recurring RFQ winners belong in the catalog; reserve RFQs for genuinely one-off needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an RFQ?
An RFQ (request for quotation) sends a single, clear specification to multiple suppliers so they quote on exactly the same basis. It makes quotes comparable, encourages competitive pricing, and documents the sourcing decision.
Is this case study based on a named customer?
No. It is a representative scenario illustrating published platform capabilities. Outcome figures are targets consistent with our public ROI model, not audited results from a named client.
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