How to correspond with vendors

During the quoting period of an RFQ, you may wish to correspond with your vendors, either directly or by sending an addendum or notice to tendering vendors.

Sending a notice to all tenderers

A notice to all tenderers allows you to send a general update to all tenderers and does not require receipt acknowledgment by the vendor.

To send a notice to all tenderers:

1. Navigate to Projects & Quotes > Requests for Quotation from your Felix dashboard.
2. Locate the RFQ for which you would like to send a Notice to All Tenderers.
3. Hover over the ‌more icon beside the relevant RFQ.
4. Select View Details from the drop-down menu.
5. Navigate to the Communications tab of the RFQ.
6. Click the New Message button.
7. Enter a message title in the field provided.
8. (Optional) Enter a reference number in the field provided.
9. Type your message in the Message Body field.
10. Click the Send button

Sending an addendum

An addendum is a formal update to the RFQ, which may include the distribution of new or updated documents. Addendums require receipt acknowledgment by the vendor.

To send an addendum to tenderers:

1. Navigate to Projects & Quotes > Requests for Quotation from your Felix dashboard
2. Locate the RFQ for which you would like to send an addendum
3. Hover over the ‌more icon beside the relevant RFQ
4. Select View Details from the drop-down menu
5. Navigate to the Communications tab of the RFQ
6. Click the New Message button
7. Click the Addendum button
8. Enter a message title in the field provided
9. (Optional) Enter a reference number in the field provided
10. Type your message in the Message Body field
11. (Optional) Upload any relevant documentation   ^‌  
12. Click the Send button

If you are uploading a revision to an original document, be sure to select the original document name from the drop-down menu. If you are uploading a new, distinct document, select New Document (Not a Revision) from the drop-down menu.

To view if a vendor has acknowledged the addendum, navigate to the Communications tab, and select the relevant addendum from the list. The status will show as Confirmed if the vendor has acknowledged receiving the addendum, or Pending if the vendor is yet to acknowledge the addendum.

Receiving correspondence from vendors

Vendors may send you a Request for Information (RFI) or reply to any notice or addendum sent during the RFQ period. The originator of the RFQ will receive email notification of correspondence from vendors.

To view and reply to an RFI:

1. Navigate to Projects & Quotes > Requests for Quotation from your Felix dashboard
2. Locate the RFQ you have received correspondence for
3. Hover over the ‌more icon beside the relevant RFQ
4. Select View Details from the drop-down menu
5. Navigate to the Communications tab of the RFQ
6. Click the RFI message to open it
7. When you are ready to respond, type your response in the Reply text field
8. Click the Send button

Your reply to an RFI will appear in a messenger-style interface. You can continue to correspond with the vendor and all messages will be shown in this thread.

Your replies will only be sent to the vendor who sent the RFI. If information needs to be available to all vendors, it is best to use the Notice to All Tenderers or Addendum features.

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Check out our blog post How Felix supports transparent vendor communication during tendering for tips on keeping vendors informed.