The deadline is part of the spec (vendors price it that way)
Buyers treat the due date like admin. Suppliers don’t. The deadline tells them how much effort you expect, how organized you are, and how much risk you’re pushing onto them. When the date is unrealistic, you don’t get “faster quotes.” You get higher prices, more exclusions, or a polite decline.
The underrated part: deadline length changes quote behavior even when your requirements don’t. Short deadlines push suppliers to quote defensively (buffered pricing, longer lead times, “subject to change” language). Long deadlines tell them this might not be real, so your RFQ slips behind live orders and urgent customers.
Practical benchmarks that work in real inboxes
Use a rule of thumb, then adjust for complexity and how “clean” your RFQ package is (drawings, volumes, ship-to, Incoterms, payment terms, approved alternates). If you’re missing key inputs, adding days won’t fix it—you’ll just get more questions later.
Stock items / catalog parts: 5–10 business days. Closer to 5 if you provide exact part numbers, quantities, ship-to, and required delivery date; closer to 10 if substitutions are allowed or you want tiered pricing.
Simple services (standard scope, known site conditions): about 10 business days. If a site visit is required, add time for scheduling.
Complex services, engineered items, or custom work: 2+ weeks. If design input, prototypes, or multiple stakeholders are involved, 3–4 weeks is often more realistic.
Multi-lot RFQs (many SKUs, many lanes, many sites): add days for internal supplier coordination—especially if you expect a single consolidated quote.
If you’re tempted to set a three-day deadline “to keep pressure on,” ask yourself what you’re really buying: speed or accuracy. A rushed quote is usually a placeholder. You’ll pay for it later in change orders, expediting fees, or “we assumed…” arguments.
Too short vs too long: what actually breaks
When the deadline is too short
Suppliers triage. Your RFQ competes with current customers and internal approvals. If they can’t do a proper cost build, they either no-bid or protect themselves: higher unit prices, conservative lead times, minimum order quantities, or exclusions like “pricing valid for 7 days” and “subject to material availability.” You may still get quotes, but they’ll be less comparable because everyone is guessing differently.
When the deadline is too long
Long windows reduce urgency. Quotes come in late and staggered, your stakeholders lose attention, and suppliers treat it as speculative. You also risk pricing drift: raw materials, freight, and labor assumptions change, so vendors add validity limits or re-quote anyway. The process feels “safe,” but it quietly extends cycle time.
Make the timeline explicit: due date, Q&A cutoff, and how to submit
A deadline without a Q&A plan is how you end up extending the deadline. Vendors need a fair window to ask questions and a predictable way to receive answers. If you answer ad hoc, you create information asymmetry—some suppliers price with better info than others.
Publish three timestamps: RFQ issue date/time, Q&A deadline, and quote submission deadline (include time zone).
Set the Q&A cutoff at roughly 40–60% of the total RFQ window (e.g., day 3–4 of a 7–8 business-day RFQ; end of week 1 on a two-week RFQ).
Commit to an answer cadence (for example: “Responses posted daily at 4pm” or “All answers released on Friday”).
Specify the submission format: one Excel pricing sheet, one PDF for terms/assumptions, and a named email subject line or portal upload path.
State what happens if they miss the deadline (accepted late or not). If you’ll accept late quotes, say so—otherwise your “deadline” isn’t a deadline.
One small detail that saves hours: tell suppliers exactly what “complete” means. Example: “Quote must include unit price, lead time, freight terms, quote validity, and any deviations to the spec.” Vendors are less likely to send a half-quote at the last minute if they know you’ll mark it non-compliant.
Use the deadline to signal seriousness (without being unrealistic)
Suppliers can smell “shopping.” If you want sharper pricing, show that you’re running a tight process: a reasonable deadline, a structured Q&A window, and a clear next step. Add one line that makes the RFQ feel real: “Award decision targeted for [date].” It changes how vendors prioritize you.
If you truly need speed, don’t pretend it’s a normal RFQ. Say it’s expedited and narrow the scope: fewer line items, no alternates, no optional pricing tiers. Speed comes from reducing work, not just shrinking the calendar.