Request for Quote (RFQ) Processes

Q29: Are Vendors required to respond to an RFQ?

A29: No.  Vendors are not obliged to quote for work.

Q30: Is there an opportunity within the RFQ to have a 2-phased approach to evaluating and minimising the number of Vendor responses?

A30: Yes.  Evaluation of Vendor responses to RFQs occurs outside the scope of the eProjects Panel Portal.  Discussions, presentations and other methods of evaluation of Vendor responses should occur outside of the Portal.

Q31: Does the Agency user that sent the original RFQ receive the automatic email notifications?

A31: Yes.  These details can be updated if necessary for each project.

Q32: Once an email is sent to the successful Vendor, will notifications be sent to the unsuccessful Vendors?  Will unsuccessful Vendors receive feedback as to why they were unsuccessful?

A32: When an Agency Buyer accepts a bid for work, an email is automatically sent to successful and unsuccessful Vendors.

Agencies are encouraged to provide a briefing to unsuccessful Vendors.  There is no formal process in the eProjects Panel (or Portal) for this to occur.

Q33: Can Agencies see each other’s RFQs?

A33: Agencies are able to view RFQs and learnings for closed projects.  Solution Responses are only viewable by the Agency that raised the project and system administrators.

Q34: How does a Vendor inform an Agency buyer it is not interested in bidding for work against an RFQ?

A34: Vendors are not obliged to respond to invitations to provide a quote. However, the Portal should not be the only form of communication between Vendors and Agencies.  Vendors and Agencies are encouraged to communicate as necessary outside the bounds of the Portal.

Q35: Will the Contract Authority be monitoring changes to the RFQ ie if an Agency sends out an RFQ and appoints a successful Vendor and then the scope changes?

A35: It is expected as part of a project that there would be changes to scope of projects during the project life-cycle.

The Contract Authority will be monitoring the thresholds of the Panel to ensure Agencies do not exceed them.

Q36: Will email notifications be sent to Vendors if Agencies make changes to RFQs?

A36: The Portal notifies invited Vendors every time the Agency uploads a document during the RFQ process.  It should be noted, however, that the Portal is not a full workflow solution