RFI and RFP (request for information, request for proposal)

An RFI asks vendors what they can do; an RFP asks a shortlist for a full proposal with approach, team and price, compared against set criteria.

The usual order is RFI, then RFP, sometimes with an RFQ when only price is open. In public procurement the same thing is a tender. Vendors read every RFP for signs the winner is already chosen; a vendor invited only to make up the required number of bids calls itself column fodder, and many decline RFPs they did not help shape.

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Related terms

RFQ automation (quote automation): An agent that reads requests for quotation, asks suppliers for prices and drafts a quote for a person to approve.
Paid discovery (phase 0, inception): A short, separately priced project before the build: workshops, a technical feasibility check and a scoped plan with a quote you can take to any vendor.
Fixed price: A contract where scope and price are agreed up front and the vendor carries the risk.
MSA and SOW (master services agreement, statement of work): The master services agreement sets the legal terms once; each statement of work adds one project: scope, deliverables, timeline and price.

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