An RFQ in Magento 2 is useful when the final price or delivery promise cannot be calculated from the catalog alone. Manufacturers and wholesalers often need to check volume, freight, lead time, technical requirements, or project context before committing to an offer.
A good RFQ process does two things well: it gives sales enough information to prepare a reliable quote, and it stays easy enough for a buyer to finish.
When a standard cart is not enough
A quote is sensible when one or more of these conditions apply:
- Unit price depends on quantity, customer, project, or current purchasing cost.
- Pallets, bulky goods, hazardous materials, or remote destinations affect freight.
- Delivery depends on production capacity or supplier lead time.
- The buyer must attach a drawing, bill of materials, or specification.
- Sales needs to offer alternatives rather than one fixed basket.
- The offer includes setup, cutting, packaging, certification, or another service.
Do not force every product through RFQ. Standard items with stable price and stock should remain easy to buy.
Information worth collecting
Start with SKU, description, quantity, company, destination, requested delivery date, and buyer contact. Add one open field for context and an upload option. Ask for tax numbers, departments, cost centers, or formal purchasing data later unless they are essential for the first calculation.
The request also needs ownership. Confirm receipt immediately, show the quote in the customer account when possible, and state what sales needs next. A status such as “waiting for buyer details” is more useful than a generic “processing” label.
Pricing without guesswork
Sales may need customer prices, quantity breaks, freight, surcharges, and a validity period. SoftwareSilo B2B Quote can apply reusable pricing conditions and quote-level fees while leaving exceptional cases for manual review. The customer sees the commercial components instead of receiving one unexplained total.
Handle changes as part of the process
Manufacturing RFQs change. Quantity increases, a material is substituted, or delivery is split. Keep messages, attachments, counteroffers, and revisions on the quote. If the buyer wants two materials or delivery plans, separate alternatives can be easier to understand than one document full of conditional notes.
Before the buyer accepts
Check item configuration, quantity, price validity, delivery assumption, freight, tax, payment terms, attachments, and the person authorized to accept. Then convert the accepted values into a Magento order without asking operations to enter them again.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RFQ and “contact us”?
An RFQ carries products, quantities, commercial details, status, negotiation, and a path to order. A contact form usually creates an unstructured message.
Should RFQs be available to guests?
Often yes for new business. Require enough company and contact data to qualify the request and protect uploads with sensible limits.
Can a quote include freight and service charges?
Yes. Keeping them as visible quote components makes the offer easier to review than hiding them in unit prices.
How long should a quote remain valid?
That depends on price and supply volatility. Set an explicit date and require review after expiry.
Can one RFQ produce several offers?
Yes. Alternatives can be created by splitting or duplicating the commercial scenario while retaining the original context.
What should happen after acceptance?
The agreed data should become a Magento order, retain a reference to the quote, and enter the normal fulfillment and accounting process.
See SoftwareSilo B2B Quote for the workflow described here.