How to make a correct inquiry-"trade conditions" in international trade that cannot be ignored"

"Request for quotation" is a necessary stage for the procurement personnel in the operation process. After receiving a purchase order, understanding the current inventory status and procurement budget, the most direct response is to contact the supplier immediately. If this is a regular purchase, the demand is in the form of standard parts, there is no problem for suppliers. However, when developing new products, for those parts that do not belong to the standard product, you must pay special attention to whether there is sufficient supplier information to facilitate the quotation. In order to avoid future differences in quality awareness between procurement and suppliers, the preparation of materials to be provided during the inquiry cannot be careless. Because the complete and correct RFQ documents can help suppliers to make correct and valid quotations in the shortest time. A complete RFQ document should include at least the following main parts.

I. "item name" and "item number" of the RFQ Project"
First, the "item name" and "item number" of the RFQ project are the most basic information to be compared on the inquiry ticket. The supplier must know how to call the quoted product. This is the so-called "Product Name" and the "item number" it represents ", this is also a basis for the buyer and the seller to quickly check and search for the future tracking. Because each customer has its unique representativeness, pay special attention to its correctness in terms of use. Some large companies often have more than 10 digits, including numbers and English letters. A single digit may be a different version, or even a different product. The product name should be written as much as possible. It can be seen from its literal that the product features and types are better.
Ii. "quantity" of the RFQ Project"
Generally, the supplier needs to know the buyer's demand when making a quotation, because the quantity of purchases affects the price calculation. The provision of quantity information usually includes "annual demand", "seasonal demand" or "Monthly demand", and "Demand Quantity of different levels", such as 500 K, 1 m, 3 M, etc.; about "order quantity" for each order; or "total demand for Product Life Cycle ". In addition to understanding the demand and procurement form of suppliers, suppliers can also analyze whether their own production capacity can meet the needs of buyers.
The buyer usually has a common problem during the inquiry, that is, the demand or purchase volume will be "expanded" if the amount is small and the price cannot be obtained ". At this time, although procurement can gain short-term benefits, even if the production price is obtained, if the actual purchase fails to reach the expected quantity, the supplier does not increase the price, it is to reduce the service to the customer in other aspects, or stop the supply, in the end, the loss is still worth the candle. Therefore, the demand information should be communicated with the supplier, and the procurement can also come up with market forecasts to persuade the supplier, so as to achieve long-term cooperation and continuous supply.

Iii. "specifications" of the RFQ Project"
The spec sheet is a tool used to describe the quality of purchased products. It shall include all the information of the most "new version" engineering drawing surface, test specifications, material specifications, samples, color plates, etc. that will help suppliers make quotations. The drawing surface must be the latest version. If the drawing can only be used for evaluation, it should also be noted at the time of inquiry. For international procurement, if the original engineering drawing is in a language other than English, such as German, French, and Japanese, the translation of the English language of the general international language should also be attached, in bilingual (Bilingual) the form is presented to facilitate communication. If the engineering drawing surface can be provided using electronic files, you must ask the supplier about the degree of acceptance, when providing images, make sure that you use international file formats such as DWG, IGES, DXF, Pro/E to facilitate supplier conversion. However, it is best to provide a clear drawing surface while transmitting the file via email, so as to avoid possible material loss during file transfer.
Iv. "quality" requirements of the RFQ Project
There are many ways to express the quality requirements of an inquiry project, which can be presented in the following ways. It is difficult for purchasers to use a separate method to fully express the quality requirements for products or services. They should use several methods according to different features of products or services.
A. brand or trade names, at the same time, it can also reduce the quality inspection procedures, because you only need to confirm the product labeling. However, the prices of products with brands are usually relatively high, and the purchase of a small number of products using the brand method is more advantageous.
B. or similar products ("or equal"): It means products with the same function can be achieved, decide whether to allow the use of alternative similar products quotation should also be noted in the inquiry, the confirmed use of similar products must be accepted by the user unit.
C. Commercial Standards: commercial standards have a complete description of product dimensions, materials, chemical composition, manufacturing methods, and so on. Standard parts, such as screws, nuts, and electronic components, can be used to avoid misunderstanding of quality.
D. Material and manufacturing method specification (material or method-of-manufacture specification): when there are specific requirements for materials or manufacturing methods, the applicable standards must be noted. If the requirements are specified as DIN European rules, it is best to indicate the corresponding CNS or JIS specifications.
E. performance or Function Specification: This type of specification is usually used when purchasing high-tech products and early supplier participation (early supplier involvement, ESI. The supplier is only notified of the performance or functions required by the product, and the details of how to make the product to meet the requirements are left to the supplier for solution.
F. Engineering Drawing surface (Engineering Drawing): the engineering drawing surface is the most suitable for describing the required product quality. Its content must be clear and Its Accuracy of dimensional tolerances cannot be ignored.
G. market grade: it is usually used for quality requirements of commodities, such as timber, agricultural products, tobacco, and food. Due to the fact that the division of market grades cannot be clearly recognized by ordinary people, A purchaser is usually required to determine the level at which the purchased product belongs.
H. sample, especially for the color, printing, and market level requirements.
I. statement of Work (SOW): Mainly used in procurement service projects, such as central security, building cleaning, waste disposal, and Project outsourcing, in addition to being simple and clear, a complete sow should also standardize the performance evaluation of the desired quality of work in a quantitative manner. The content of the sow must ensure that the buyer can obtain satisfactory services, and at the same time retain sufficient flexibility to allow suppliers to exert the added value in their work.

5. "Basic quotation" requirements of the RFQ project
"Basic quotation" usually includes the "currency value" and "trade condition" of the quotation. domestic trading is relatively simple, generally, transactions are made in RMB. The trade condition is not based on "ex-factory price", but on "ex-factory price" (whether the freight is included or not. International trade is complicated. Most suppliers are priced in USD. whether the price is denominated in the local currency is determined by the stability of the exchange rate.
the general trading conditions of international trade include ex-work, FOB, Fas, and CIF, under different conditions, the buyer and the seller have different responsibilities and risks. Under FOB conditions, the seller is responsible until the goods are loaded onto the ship. Therefore, the seller must bear the risk of shipment, but the buyer is responsible for shipping, sea risk and other expenses. Under CIF conditions, the seller must not only bear the risk of shipment, but also the freight and insurance required to ship the goods to the designated destination port. Therefore, in the case of the same goods, the price quoted on CIF terms is naturally higher than the price quoted on FOB terms, and the buyer must add an additional note during the inquiry.

6. Buyer's "payment conditions"
The buyer and the seller have their own company policies regarding the payment conditions, and the buyer wants the later the payment, the better. On the contrary, the seller certainly thinks that the sooner the better. The buyer is obligated to inform the seller of the standard payment conditions within the company (when purchasing the mold, there is usually a "phased payment" method, such as deposit 30%, first trial model 30%, acceptance 40% ), the seller may also make different requirements at the time of quotation. The final payment conditions shall be set by the buyer and the seller upon agreement. When the situation is in the buyer's market, the supply in the competitive market exceeds the demand, goods and/or services can be easily obtained, and the economic power of the business tends to cause the price to be close to the estimated value of procurement, the buyer can usually request the seller to cooperate with the seller based on superior payment conditions, such as "billing method (O/a)", T/t60 days or even 90 days. But in the seller's market, because the demand exceeds the supply, the opposite is true. Generally, the seller selects a short payment period to request the buyer, for example, cash on delivery, C. o. d .) "or" prepayment (T/T in advance )".
In addition, for the payment conditions, the "Payment start date" calculated by the time must be clearly stated. In international trade, domestic suppliers generally use the shipping date) invoice date or on board date to calculate the payment expiration time. At this time, if the foreign buyer determines that the arrival date or even the arrival date is the start date, there may be a month difference between them, both buyers and sellers should not be careless.

VII. Requirements for the "delivery period" of the RFQ Project
The delivery requirements include the time required by the buyer to purchase products, the time required by the seller to prepare samples, the first batch of production, and the time required to place orders during normal time. Although the supplier can cooperate with each other according to the buyer's requirements, the length of the delivery period is related to the price of the purchased product. The buyer shall make a request based on actual needs, not a taste of the pursuit of "timely supply (just in time, JIT ).

VIII. "packaging" requirements of the RFQ Project
The packaging method occupies a large proportion when the supplier estimates the price. In addition to the special or bulky customer products, suppliers have standard cartons, cartons, pallets, and other packaging materials for packaging. If no additional packaging requirements are put forward, the supplier will evaluate the price based on its standard packaging method. Sometimes, the standard packaging method is not detailed in the quotation list. If the purchase is not noticed at this time, additional packaging requirements will be added in the future, not only will the time be delayed, it also has adverse effects on price comparison operations. After understanding the buyer's packaging requirements, the supplier can also provide suggestions on whether to consider using standard packaging, or to reduce the shipping cost by means of warehouse combination.

IX. "Shipping location" and "delivery method"
The country, city, address, telephone number, and fax of the shipping location must be clearly indicated to the supplier. The delivery methods of domestic purchases and sales are usually dominated by railways and highways. The transportation location and delivery method in international procurement determine the price calculation. If the seller is requested to provide a CIF price, transport fees and insurance fees, whether by sea or by air, are of course borne by the seller. There are different billing methods based on the distance of the transportation. unless the buyer specifies the air transportation, the supplier generally quotes Based on the sea because the sea transportation is the most economical way of delivery.
10. Requirements for "after-sales service" and "Warranty Period" of the RFQ Project
Suppliers generally provide basic after-sales services and guarantee periods when purchasing certain machine and equipment, such as punch presses, plastic injection machines, testing equipment, and semiconductor packaging equipment. If there are special requirements at this time, such as a request to extend the warranty period, or change the content of after-sales services, etc., because it involves purchasing "total cost of ownership (TCO )".

11. Supplier's "Quote expiration date"
In order to facilitate the period of price comparison, suppliers should be informed of the expiration date of the quotation, and suppliers should be given sufficient time for valuation of complicated products.

Ii. Signing of the "confidentiality agreement"
In the inquiry of some new product development, due to business secrets involved, in the external inquiry, in order to prevent competitors from knowing and missing business opportunities, the supplier will be further asked to sign a "non-disclosure agreement (NDA)" document, suppliers are required not to disclose the name, purchase quantity forecast, technical requirements, specifications, drawings, and other information of the new product plan to the outside world within a standard period.

XIII. name and contact number of "procurement personnel" and "technical personnel"
Inform the supplier of the name and contact number of the "Purchaser" and "technical personnel". It is not necessary to take the initiative to imply that the supplier has any dark disk, at that time, if the project to be purchased is complex and technical, it would be better to include the name of the technician and the company's contact number for consultation to clarify the specification requirements.

The company phone number is preferred. Do not give the purchaser or technician a home or private phone number as far as possible to prevent the supplier from being personally authorized to each other. However, as technology advances, the use of mobile phones and E-mail has become increasingly common, and it is difficult for purchasers to avoid contact with suppliers separately, procurement ethics should always be vigilant.