B2B Ecommerce RFQ: How to Design Request-for-Quote Workflows
How to design B2B request-for-quote workflows: when to quote, capturing requirements, sales review, quote documents, negotiation, expiry and conversion to orders.
Quick answer
A good B2B request-for-quote workflow lets buyers request pricing easily, gives sales what they need to respond quickly and turns accepted quotes into orders without re-keying. Offer RFQ where standard pricing doesn't fit, allow quote requests from product pages and the cart, capture quantities, dates, locations and specs, route requests to the right sales rep, send quotes as trackable online records with expiry dates, support revisions and convert acceptance into an order with locked prices. Measure time to quote and quote-to-order conversion.
When Quotes Make Sense
| Situation | Why quote |
|---|---|
| Large volumes | Pricing beyond standard breaks |
| Custom or configured products | Price depends on specs |
| Projects | Many items, staged delivery |
| No published price | Price depends on customer or market |
| Procurement requirement | Buyer needs a formal quote document |
The RFQ Workflow
The flow above shows the full path: build request, submit, sales review, quote issued, negotiate, accept and convert to order, with quote history and expiry kept in the buyer's account. Each step should have a clear state visible to both buyer and seller, so no quote is lost in an inbox.
| State | Buyer sees | Seller action |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Editable request | None |
| Submitted | Awaiting quote, expected response time | Assign and review |
| Quoted | Quote with prices, terms and expiry | Follow up |
| Revision requested | Comments and changes | Revise and resend |
| Accepted | Order created | Fulfil |
| Expired / declined | Option to request again | Record reason |
Capturing the Request
Let buyers request quotes from product pages (for a single item) and from the cart (for many items). Capture quantities, required delivery date and location, specifications or drawings as attachments, target price if they have one and notes. Pre-fill company and contact from the account. Keep the form short for simple requests.
Quote requests getting lost in email?
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Sales Review and Response
Route requests to the right rep or team by account, region or product. Give reps the buyer's history, account pricing and stock. Set a target response time and show buyers an expected time. Many businesses create quotes in the CRM or ERP; sync requests there and sync the quote back. See B2B CRM integration.
The Quote Itself
- Line items with quantities, prices and totals
- Delivery dates or lead times
- Payment terms and tax treatment
- Validity or expiry date
- Reference number for procurement
- Accept, request changes and decline actions
- Downloadable document for approval processes
Negotiation and Revisions
Buyers often need changes: quantities, delivery dates, alternative products. Allow comments and revision requests on the online quote, keep version history and show what changed between versions.
Converting Quotes to Orders
Acceptance should create an order or a checkout with prices locked, respecting approval rules and payment terms. If the buyer's organization requires internal approval, route it before conversion. Avoid making buyers rebuild the cart. On Shopify, draft orders are one way to prepare a quoted order for a B2B customer (Shopify Help Center).
Worked Example: Cart-to-Quote
An illustrative scenario: a buyer planning a fit-out adds 60 lines to the cart, then chooses “Request a quote”. The request captures the delivery site, a required date and a note about phased delivery. It creates an opportunity in the CRM for the account manager, who prices it using contract terms and a project discount, and sends the quote back to the portal with a 30-day validity. The buyer's colleague asks to swap two items; the rep revises and resends. The approver accepts, and the quote converts into an order with locked prices and the agreed delivery schedule. See B2B CRM integration and B2B customer portal.
Common RFQ Mistakes
- Quote requests arriving as unstructured emails
- No expected response time shown to buyers
- Quotes that must be re-keyed as orders
- No version history for revisions
- Quotes without expiry dates
- Offering RFQ where a published price would do
RFQ and Configured Products
For configurable products (dimensions, finishes, options), combine a configurator with RFQ: the configurator captures a valid specification and the quote prices it. Where rules are well defined, configure-price-quote tools can generate prices automatically. See B2B ecommerce website design and B2B product catalog.
Measuring RFQ
| Metric | Why |
|---|---|
| Time to quote | Speed often decides the deal |
| Quote-to-order rate | Commercial effectiveness |
| Revision count | Clarity of requests and quotes |
| Lost reasons | Price, lead time, product fit |
| Share of revenue via quotes | Where self-serve pricing could grow |
Ready to build a quoting workflow buyers use?
Talk to ZSpace about RFQ UX, quote and CRM integration and Shopify B2B quoting.
Conclusion
RFQ is where online and sales-led buying meet. Make requesting easy, responding fast and converting seamless, with clear states and systems integration. For pricing that avoids unnecessary quotes, see B2B ecommerce pricing.
Common questions
A request for quote: a buyer asks for pricing on specific products, quantities or configurations, and the seller responds with a quote that can be accepted and converted to an order.