Procurement Documents (RFI, RFP, RFQ, IFB, LOI, PO)

In addition to the Procurement Management Plan, there are some other procurement documents that are outputs of the Plan Procurement Management process. Then there are some documents that are not necessarily an output of this process but it would make total sense to study them right here.

RFI (Request For Information)

This is where the buyer seeks to understand the capabilities of the seller.

RFP (Request For Proposal)

This is where the buyer seeks to understand how seller will accomplish the job or a possible solution that the seller has to offer. This may also include seller’s company profile, experience, portfolio, key resources and price

RFQ (Request For Quote)

This is where the buyer seeks the price quote per item, hour, meter or other unit. Quotes should ideally focus only on the price. There is another term called IFQ (Invitation For Quote) which is more or less same as RFQ

IFB (Invitation For Bid)

This is where the buyer seeks price quote or bids from several sellers. Based on the bids received, the buyer may decide upon which seller to award the contract

LOI (Letter Of Intent)

This is where the buyer expresses interest in hiring the seller. Note that this is not a contract but only an indication from the buyer so that the seller can start the preparatory work

PO (Purchase Order)

This is where the buyer awards the contract (aka Purchase Order) to the seller. Check out contracts and its types for more

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