A Seller can provide a Request For Quote option on any product / service that they add to their shop (set in their Product Inventory)
The request for quote button may be the only option available, or it may be displayed in addition to the price and the Add to cart option.
Buyer Submits Product RFQ
If a Buyer clicks on the request for proposal button it opens up the product level RFQ form. The Buyer is asked to complete some details about their pricing request. The Buyer then submits this form.
The Buyer will get a confirmation message and a link to the RFQ.
The RFQ can also be found on the Buyer Dashboard, under Orders/Request for quotes.
Seller Receives Product RFQ
The seller will get an email notification telling them an RFQ has been assigned.
The RFQ details can be found on the Seller Dashboard/Sales/Request for quotes.
There are two action buttons. The eye icon allows the seller to see summary data on the RFQ.
Warning: Sellers need to take note of the Payment Gateway selected by the Buyer. Only Sellers on paid subscription plans can use the Bank Transfer payment gateway, whereas all Sellers can use the Stripe Connect payment gateway.
Clicking on the list icon opens the RFQ response page.
Clicking on respond opens up the RFQ offer form.
The RFQ offer form has some mandatory fields (marked by red *) and some optional fields that can be completed. The offer quantity cannot be changed since this was set by the buyer. The seller has the option to overwrite the system shipping charges and add a custom shipping charge for this RFQ.
The Seller can also select whether or not the Buyer is able to negotiate and counter offer.
Note: The offer cost price per field does not get seen by the Buyer. It is viewed by the Seller only.
Once the Save button is pressed the offer is submitted to the Buyer and the offer record is now shown on the offers page of the RFQ. At this point the Seller can add attachment(s) and/or message the Buyer. The Seller can also Edit the offer (since the Buyer has not yet accepted the offer) or respond again. If the Seller chooses to respond again they must offer a different number of items to make is a fresh offer. If the Seller did not select custom shipping they can check the Shipping Rates that will be applied.
Warning: Each time a Seller responds to a product RFQ it counts as an RFQ response. You need to have sufficient allowance in your subscription plan to be able to respond. If you have already used your monthly limit you will not be able to respond until the limit resets at the beginning of a new moth. Alternatively, you can upgrade your subscription.
Buyer Receives Offer
The Buyer receives an email notification saying that an offer has been made.
The Buyer can also view the offer via the Buyer Dashboard/Orders/Request for quotes. This shows the details of the offer and the Buyer can view any attachments and/or messages. Since in this example the Seller selected that the Buyer could not negotiate and counter offer then the only options are to Accept or Reject the offer. If the Seller allowed the Buyer to negotiate the the Buyer can make a counter offer.
If the Buyer accepts the offer then a Buy now button will appear but it will not be available to click since the Seller has to also accept the offer first.
Seller Receives Acceptance
The seller will receive email notification that their RFQ offer was accepted by the buyer.
On the offer page of the Seller Dashboard the Seller can approve the offer.
Buyer Completes Purchase
The buyer will receive an email notification that the Seller has confirmed the offer.
The Buy Now button is now active on the Buyers offer page. Clicking on this takes the Buyer to the checkout which will only have the Buyer nominated payment gateway available.
When the Buyer completes the transaction the RFQ becomes a placed order with the Seller. The order can be tracked on both the Seller and Buyer dashboards.