How to Create Alibaba RFQ to Attract Good Suppliers?
Table of Contents
What is RFQ on Alibaba?
Purchasing direct, also known as Alibaba RFQ (request for quotation), means that buyers take the initiative to fill in purchasing information and entrust Alibaba platform to find suitable sellers.
Suppliers can check purchasing requirements and quote timely according to buyer’s requirements; this function is temporarily free of charge. In this large open market, buyers will proactively announce their procurement requirements, and suppliers can independently select suitable buyers for quotations.
Alibaba RFQ Process Review
Alibaba RFQ service can greatly improve buyers’ purchasing efficiency, while helping suppliers to better complete order conversion and win more high-quality buyers.
Why do you need Alibaba RFQ?
Today I am talk about how to find the best suppliers on Alibaba using Alibaba RFQ function.
This will be a complete and newest step by step guide and I will start from talking about what’s RFQ and how does it work and then followed by a detailed instruction about how to write a good Alibaba RFQ to find the best suppliers on Alibaba.
So when you just simply do a supplier search and you applied the verified supplier and trade assurance supplier filter, yes, it’s true that Alibaba already screen the good suppliers for you. You will see pages and pages of suppliers list.
However, what you really need is to try to find the best suppliers that match your business best. Alibaba RFQ is definitely a great tool to help you in this.
The Advantages of Alibaba RFQ?
Next, before I start to show you how to use the RFQ function, there are still a few things that you want to understand first.
The 1st thing you want to understand is under what situations, using RFQ is a good option for you. Here I will give you an example of three typical situations.
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- 1ST, if you are trying to develop a new product or customize a product, RFQ is a very good option for you. Since not all suppliers are willing to spend time and effort to help you develop products, if you try to contact suppliers one by one, it will waste you a lot of time.
- 2nd, if you are looking for a very new, novel and unique product with some unique features that you are not even sure about the keywords to describe it, it will be hard for you to use key words and product search to find the right product you are looking for. In this situation, submitting a RFQ can save you tons of time and help you find the right supplier much more efficiently.
- 3rd, if you want to find the exactly same product that your competitor sells, then RFQ is a good option for you too. Since you can list out all the specifications and let the suppliers who have the same design to reach out to you.
The second thing is the engagement rules laid out by Alibaba. You need to remember two numbers, 10 and 30. Here, 1O is the maximum quotation number you can get for every single RFQ you submit. This is actually a rule that can benefit buyers, since Alibaba will automatically help you to do a first-step screening process and provide you a list of the most relevant suppliers.
While 30 is a number for the suppliers. Each supplier can only reply 30 RFQ per month for free, if they want to reply more, they will need to pay extra money. And here you can see why good suppliers will be a little picky when they select RFQs to reply.
They only choose the most serious buyers or the most professional buyers who show bigger potential for their business. Therefore, you need to write a very good Alibaba RFQ to show that you are a more attractive buyer.
Have no idea about how to write an attractive RFQ? Don’t worry, I will show you couple of different strategies in this following step by step guide on how to write a good and attractive RFQ.
How to Make an RFQ in Alibaba?
There are different ways to access the RFQ page, you can go to My Alibaba and select the “Get Quotations Now” button here, or you can access the RFQ page by just typing the URL rfq.alibaba.com and click this “submit RFQ” there.
Even if you start with product research, you can still submit a RFQ after you submit your inquiry to a specific supplier.
1. The buyer can post an Alibaba RFQ when posting an inquiry.
2. There is an Alibaba RFQ area in the Services section of the search bar on the homepage.
How to Set an RFQ on Alibaba?
OK, so now let’s start with filling out an Alibaba RFQ form from the beginning. Let’s say we are trying to find a supplier for customized tablecloths. Go to your account profile and hit the “Get Quotations Now” button and we are now here at the RFQ form page.
Alibaba RFQ Keywords
Here, we need to put a Alibaba RFQ product name, we are looking for a customized table cover, and when you put the product name, make sure you use proper keywords here to describe your products, this is important since the right key words make it easier for more suppliers to find your RFQ.
I will suggest you keep the product name as simple as possible, just need to contain the main elements.
Alibaba RFQ MOQ
And then, the quantity. You need to put an estimated purchasing quantities here, however, there are some tips here. We all know that if you put a very small quantities here, it’s unlikely that you will get a lot of suppliers who are interested to reply your Alibaba RFQ.
Alibaba RFQ Target Price
Ok, let’s move next. For the preferred unit price, this is actually another very important point. if you already did some research and have a good judgment and confidence in the wholesale price, you can directly put it here. From the supplier’s perspective, if they see your preferred price is really a very realistic price, they will also think that you are a very professional buyer.
Alibaba RFQ Form Template
So at the beginning, you want to start introducing yourself and your business background. For example, you can say ….
Submit Alibaba RFQ
Now we are ready to submit our Alibaba RFQ form. Here on the right side, you can have a quick check, it shows our completeness is fair, because we didn’t put the color, type. Length ,etc., but it’s ok, we have listed them in the details.
How to Close RFQ in Alibaba?
To close an RFQ, please follow below steps:
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Sign in My Alibaba Message Center; Click the drop down button and switch to RFQ.
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Find the RFQ you want to close;
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You may “Close” the RFQ as it showed in the screenshot. ( If it is an expired RFQ, you cannot find the Close button, the supplier will not see it either)
