Preparing the published article.
RFQ Response Template: What Vendors Should Include
Buyers should specify the answer format, not just the question.
Ask for a fixed response structure
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Understanding | Restatement of the requirement and identified risks |
| Technical approach | Layout, equipment, cycle calculation, gripper concept |
| Safety | Risk assessment approach, guarding concept, standards cited |
| Schedule | Milestones from order to acceptance, with assumptions |
| Price | Itemised, with an explicit exclusions list |
| Running cost | Five-year view: maintenance, spares, software, training |
Why the format matters
Free-form proposals are impossible to compare honestly: one vendor prices a bare robot cell, another prices the same cell plus infrastructure and training. A fixed template turns a reading exercise into a comparison.
State that the lowest price is not automatically the winner. It changes how vendors bid, usually for the better.