Responses to Requests for Quotations are not Offers

December 8, 2015

The RFQ mistake

Listen to Richard Lieberman discuss “The RFQ mistake” on Federal News Radio.  He explains one scenario that recently happened to a contractor.

Source: Federal News Radio, Richard Lieberman, October 14, 2015

While the use of a request for quotation (RFQ) for a procurement may not be a true “no-win” situation, it may come close to that for a government contractor. That is particularly true when the contractor misses the delivery date, as in TTF, LLC, ASBCA No. 58495. The supplier has made what is called “the RFQ mistake.”

Follow the scenario below, which is abbreviated, but is essentially what TTF faced:

  • Agency issues an RFQ for 37 aircraft fuselage fairings.
  • TTF submits a responsive quote to the agency, which negotiates the price down slightly.

What’s going on here? The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is driving the result. FAR 2.101 recognizes two types of offers: (1) responses to invitations for bids in sealed bidding are offers called bids or sealed bids; (2) responses to requests for proposals in negotiated procurement are offers called proposals. However, responses to requests for quotations are not offers but are quotations or quote.  Read More …

Do you have questions about an RFQ received from the government? Contact your nearest PTAC for assistance with your response.

 

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 For help with Government Contracting: contact your nearest Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Funded through Cooperative Agreements between the U.S. Department of Defense and state and local governments/institutions, PTACs provide free and low-cost assistance in virtually all areas of government contracting.