How to Prepare an Office Furniture RFQ: A Buyer's Checklist

An office furniture request for quotation, or RFQ, works best when it gives suppliers the same purchasing brief. A photograph and quantity do not define dimensions, materials, included storage, packing or delivery responsibilities. Those details determine whether two quotations describe the same order.

Use the checklist below to prepare an enquiry for office desks, workstations, meeting tables, file cabinets, reception desks, partitions and related panel-style furniture. Chairs and sofas are outside the product scope of this guide.

Identify the buying role and purpose

State whether you are enquiring as an importer, distributor or reseller. Identify whether the furniture is for showroom display, an initial assortment or resale stock. Include the target market, destination, model references, quantities and purchasing stage.

Distinguish between a requested completion date and a confirmed supplier commitment. If the office must open by a specific date, state that clearly—but request the supplier to confirm responsibilities for production, transport, and installation before considering the schedule as agreed.

Construct an RFQ table with one row per required item.

Assign each item a reference that remains identical across your floor plan, enquiry, and quotation. The table may be a spreadsheet or a clear list. Use 'please confirm' for missing facts—do not fill gaps with assumptions.

Pro gruppo stationum laboris, clarificare an numerus positiones laboris singulas vel gruppos integros significet. Pro dispositione scribanii, cistulas et mensas laterales separatim indicare, nisi venditor confirmet eas ad set definitum pertinere

Definire mobilia quae in pretio includuntur

Imago cameræ potest ostendere plura mobilia et accessoria. Signa quæ elementa vis citari et quæ tantum referentia visualia sunt. Roga suppeditatorem ut remittat listam particularum, ut omissiones et componentes addititionales appareant.

Pro schematibus mensarum, perlege 'BG's' supellectilis officii exsecutiva ut punctum initiale habeas, deinde identifica mensam et partes loculi quas desideras. Pro spatiis communibus, series stationum operarum tibi adiuvare potest ut descriptio ordinis desiderati facilius reddatur. Imagines categoriarum sunt tantum referentiae: roga BG ut confirmet modello selecto, dimensionibus, materiis et componentibus inclusis. Apparentia lignea sola non confirmat lignum solidum aut materiam tabularem subiacentem.

Adiunge planum cameræ utile

Praebeto delineationem mensuratum ubi possis. Ostende limites cameræ, fores, fenestras, columnas et loca mobilium proposita. Signa vias aditus et quoscumque puncta electrica vel data fixa quæ ad ordinem pertinent. Distingue dimensiones mensuratas a coniecturis.

Petere a suppeditatore ut dimensiones in propositione sua indicet. Confirmare magnitudinem totam mobilium, positionem, aditum ad loca recondendi et dispositionem partium adiacentium. Non legere dimensiones mobilium ex proportionibus imaginum aut numeris nominum modulorum.

Comparare specificata antequam totals comparantur

Petere ab unoquoque suppeditatore ut configurationem citatam scripto describat. Comparare tabulam superiorem, tabulas, sustentacula, loca recondendi, scuta et ferramenta quae in unaquaque offerta includuntur. Si materia, crassitudo aut finitio ad proiectum tuum pertinet, exigere conditionem et petitionem confirmationis pro modulo electo.

Separare conditiones necessarias a praefertis. Petere quae documenta modello-specifica sunt disponibilia. Enuntiatio generalis societatis non confirmat specificata aut praestantiam uniuscuiusque producti.

Tenere res non-confirmatas visibiles in tabula comparationis. Minor totus non potest aequo modo comparari cum eo qui componentes excludit quos alia quotatio includit.

Clarificare confectionem, delivationem et compositionem

Petere informationes de confectione quae ad ultimam configurationem pertinent: numerus confectionum, dimensiones confectarum, pondus et identificatio componentium. Petere instructiones de confectione quae habentur et clarificare qui accipiet, movet et conponet mobilia.

Indicare punctum dationis exacte ut possit de accessu et responsabilitate disseri. Si opus est de transportu aut aliis servitiis quotatis, ea separatim enumerare et quaerere quid includatur. Confirmare conditiones dationis applicabiles et documenta adiuvantia cum partibus responsabilibus; non proponere adressem destinationis ut pactum de datione aut installatione ibi.

Quaestiones quas emptores saepe ponunt

Possumne mittre RFQ sine dimensionibus confirmatis?

Ita. Explicare quae mensurationes desint et praebere informationes de spatio iam habito. Petere optiones idoneas et examen specificatorum. Servare quaestionem in statu provisorio donec dimensiones pertinentes confirmatae sint; photographia tantum non debet esse specificatio ordinis approbata.

Should I request a minimum order quantity or delivery time?

Ask for both as quotation-specific terms. State your required quantity and preferred schedule, then request the supplier's confirmation. Do not copy figures from another model or assume that an earlier quotation still applies.

How do I compare finishes shown on a screen?

Use images to explain your preferred appearance, then ask how the proposed finish can be identified and confirmed. Screen images do not establish the material specification. Record the agreed finish reference in the quotation or order documents.

What should change when a supplier proposes an alternative?

Ask the supplier to identify the alternative model and every relevant difference in the itemised offer. Update the comparison sheet rather than silently replacing the original request. Confirm the revised configuration before approving it.

Send one complete brief and keep its revision

Your enquiry can start with: “Please quote the attached furniture schedule for our project in [country/city]. Confirm the model, dimensions, materials, included components, packing and commercial terms for each line. List alternatives and exclusions separately.”

Name the brief and date it. When the quantity, layout or specification changes, send a revised version so everyone compares the same request. To discuss BG's panel-style furniture, contact BG Office Furniture with your item list and room plan. Ask for confirmed specifications and an itemised quotation before making your final selection.