So, a bit about myself, I work in procurement consulting on the buyer side, so I'm pretty familiar with how RFPs get written and sent out. Now I am trying to understand better how it looks from the seller side, specifically for smaller or mid-tier suppliers who get a decent volume of these.

When an RFP comes in, what are the first things you check before deciding whether to respond or pass? Curious about the real decision-making, not the textbook version.

Things I'd assume matter:

• whether the product/category is actually something you make or supply
• certification requirements (ISO, IATF, etc.) you may or may not hold
• quantities, like whether too small to bother, or too large to fulfill
• response deadline vs. how complex the response needs to be
• whether you know the buyer or it's completely cold

But what else? Do you have an informal scoring system or is it mostly gut feel? And how do you handle it when 5 or say 10 of these land in the same week do you have any system for triaging, or does stuff just fall through the cracks?

Asking because I'm trying to understand where the real friction is. Any honest takes appreciated. Also if you could specify is there are certain elements/requirements that are specific to RPFs from different countries, that would also be very helpful

So, a bit about myself, I work in procurement consulting on the buyer side, so I'm pretty familiar with how RFPs get written and sent out. Now I am trying to understand better how it looks from the seller side, specifically for smaller or mid-tier suppliers who get a decent volume of these.

When an RFP comes in, what are the first things you check before deciding whether to respond or pass? Curious about the real decision-making, not the textbook version.

Things I'd assume matter:

• whether the product/category is actually something you make or supply
• certification requirements (ISO, IATF, etc.) you may or may not hold
• quantities, like whether too small to bother, or too large to fulfill
• response deadline vs. how complex the response needs to be
• whether you know the buyer or it's completely cold

But what else? Do you have an informal scoring system or is it mostly gut feel? And how do you handle it when 5 or say 10 of these land in the same week do you have any system for triaging, or does stuff just fall through the cracks?

Asking because I'm trying to understand where the real friction is. Any honest takes appreciated. Also if you could specify is there are certain elements/requirements that are specific to RPFs from different countries, that would also be very helpful