The Procurement Glossary » Request for Proposal (RFP)
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Sourcing & RFx
Also known as: RFP
Definition
A sourcing document inviting suppliers to propose how they would meet a requirement, evaluated on approach and value — not price alone.
Explanation
An RFP suits complex or outcome-based purchases where the best solution is not obvious. Suppliers describe their methodology, capabilities and pricing, and the buyer scores proposals against weighted criteria such as technical fit, service level and total cost.
Example
A company runs an RFP to select a managed print services provider, scoring each proposal on uptime guarantees, sustainability and five-year total cost.
Related terms
- Request for Quotation (RFQ) — A sourcing document that asks multiple suppliers to price the same clearly-specified requirement so their bids are directly comparable.
- Request for Information (RFI) — A preliminary questionnaire used to gather information about the market and potential suppliers before running a formal RFQ or RFP.
- Evaluation Criteria — The defined factors — and their relative weights — used to score and compare supplier bids or proposals.
- Weighted Scoring — An evaluation method that multiplies each supplier's score on a criterion by that criterion's weight, then sums the results into a single comparable total.
- Sourcing — The upstream procurement activity of finding, evaluating and selecting the suppliers a business will buy from.
Related concepts
- Request for Quotation (RFQ) — The competitive sourcing document that asks multiple suppliers to quote against one clear specification so bids are directly comparable.
- Source-to-Pay (S2P) — The widest procurement cycle — sourcing and supplier selection on top of the operational procure-to-pay buying process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Request for Proposal (RFP)?
A sourcing document inviting suppliers to propose how they would meet a requirement, evaluated on approach and value — not price alone. An RFP suits complex or outcome-based purchases where the best solution is not obvious. Suppliers describe their methodology, capabilities and pricing, and the buyer scores proposals against weighted criteria such as technical fit, service level and total cost.
Can you give an example of Request for Proposal (RFP)?
A company runs an RFP to select a managed print services provider, scoring each proposal on uptime guarantees, sustainability and five-year total cost.
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