27 Nov 2017

Did you know #DYK: RFQ? Pricing? Drawings…. What?

by | posted in: Did You Know | 0

 

Picture this scenario… the phone rings…
a rather flustered voice comes through the phone..
Michelle!!! what’s this RFQ thingy…?
Who sent me this?
What must I price on?
Where can I find the Drawings…?
…. Specifications…? huh!?

     

 

These are just some of the questions I am asked on a daily basis. So let’s start from the beginning and break them down.

Leads 2 Business has an online pricing system, Leads 2 Quotes (L2Q), that is designed for Main Contractors to send out Request for quotes (RFQ’s) to suppliers and subcontractors (Vendors).

So you might be asking how is this going to bring in new business to my company? Once you receive an RFQ, you can download the drawings and specification from the Vendor home-page or RFQ mail. This will enable you to add your own terms and conditions, attachments and any important information the Contractor would need. The RFQ can be priced online and in return increases your rating on L2Q which will work in your favour when Contractors are sending out new RFQ’s as your company will be ranked higher.

 

We provide you with the Contractors details, so if you have any of those important questions about a specific section in the bill you will already have all the tools you need to get into contact with the right people.

 

If you are not subscribed to any of L2B’s services we have amazing staff that would be more than willing to assist you. Alternatively, you can subscribe to Open Quotes for a minimal amount, this will give you access to new opportunity’s to price to Contractors without them requesting you to price.

Now that’s what I call being proactive!

With a fresh approach to pricing and retrieving what you need to price efficiently and on time. Are you as excited? I am!

   

Let’s sum it up:

  • RFQ’s are sent via L2Q directly to Preferred Vendors.
  • Documentation and Specifications or any additional information that you might need regarding the RFQ can be found either on the L2Q website or by contacting the Contractor directly.
  • You can add your terms and conditions to your RFQ.
  • The more you price online, the higher your rating on L2Q.
  • New Open Quotes feature enables you to forward your pricing to other Buyers without them even asking you for a price.

 

Happy Pricing Everybody!!!!!

 

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About Michelle Herbst

I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2014. I'm a Senior L2Q Account Executive for the Cape Town Region.

12 Oct 2016

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

Respond by Dates (RFQ’s)

95-blog-respond-by-dates

Are you familiar with these phrases?

Time is money.

No time like the present.

Take time to smell the roses.

Time will tell.

Third time’s the charm.

Time heals all wounds.

Time’s a-wasting!

 

You get the idea…

 

“Timing is everything,” A statement that is obvi to most ppl these days, but alas not everyone (SMH as I type this). We live in a fast paced world where instant messaging is not only an app but a way of life. As a Millennial myself I can attest to this. It is the norm to get a response within 5 minutes from someone and if it takes any longer something must be wrong. Possible scenarios (some involving serious injury or death) come to mind.

 

Do you know what a RBD is? It’s a crucial bit of info within a RFQ. There I go again with my acronyms… (Yes, the previous ones were intentional)

RBD is otherwise known as a Respond by Date and RFQ is also known as a Request for Quote, these terms are probably familiar to you if you subscribe to L2Q (Leads 2 Quotes) .

*For more details on how L2Q works: https://blog.l2b.co.za/l2qosis-symbiosis-through-l2q/

*For more on the in’s and out’s on RFQs: https://blog.l2b.co.za/pricing-online-rfqs/

 

Now that you are all caught up on the acronyms let’s get into why timing is so crucial to them.

When a Buyer sends out RFQ’s he specifies a date by which he requires prices back (aka the RBD). The RBD is usually prior to the Closing Date (CD) of the tender. The reason for this is because the Buyer needs to complete the Tender Document before the CD so that it can be delivered timeously to the Client to avoid being disqualified. Now I’m not going to go into depth regarding the CD as this will be covered in next week’s blog (check back same time next week if you want to know more).

Vendors are often aware of the actual Closing Date (as referred to on the tender notice) and may often advise that they will only respond closer to this date. Imagine you are a Buyer and have multiple tenders to submit, multiple prices to collate and the Vendors you have sent RFQ’s haven’t responded, you might start to stress (a lot).

In the end it’s all about communication and timing and at L2B we endeavour to facilitate this.

Here are a few tips to consider:

Buyers can take into account that Vendors require adequate time between receiving an RFQ and the RBD in order to respond positively.

Similarly Vendors need to make note of the RDB on RFQ’s and please respond to these on time.

Buyers are able to send through the relevant drawings and specs for Vendors to be able view for accurate pricing.

Vendors have the ability to register as a Vendor on L2B (this is free of charge) in order to view drawings and price online.

Buyers are encouraged to communicate with Vendors regarding receipt of their prices as well as potential use of their services.

Vendors can easily make use of the links on the RFQ to advise if they ‘intend to price’ or ‘decline’ which only takes a few seconds. This informs the Buyer accordingly which prevents unnecessary follow-ups while aiding communication.

Taking the above into account it all amounts to copious amounts of time saved and I think we can all agree that that’s one thing we can never have enough of.

Want to save time and subscribe to L2B? Comment or Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

 

Sources:

http://time.com/4373616/text-abbreviations-acronyms/

http://www.bucknell.edu/communications/bucknell-magazine/instant-gratification-and-its-dark-side.html

http://socialmarketing.org/archives/generations-xy-z-and-the-others/

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

22 Jun 2016

The On-Line Construction Directory

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Construction Events, Uncategorized | 4

79-Blog-header-Online-Construction-Directory-can-it-get-you-noticed-by-Industry-giants

 

Also known as the Leads 2 Business Platinum Directory Listing (PDL). This directory is a simple tool that has evolved into a remarkable business system which has many benefits for the vendor. As a vendor, registering on the Platinum Directory Listing, your company has the opportunity to generate new business leads with a well-defined market niche.

By registering your business on the Leads 2 Business directory :

  • Your company will gain exposure to the various Buyers from the various construction companies.
  • It stimulates on-line pricing awareness on prospective tenders.
  • There is an optional SMS notification facility, should a Request for Quotation (RfQ) be sent to you.
  • You can specify where your product/service is labour & materials or labour only. You can define your BBBEE status and indicate your CIDB grading; list all necessary company contact details and give a detailed description of your company’s products/services rendered.
  • You are improving your company’s exposure and position as you price.
  • You can broadcast items that you have priced to other buyers who may be looking for the same pricing information.
  • You can manage your listing to dictate which Requests for Quotes are appropriate to your particular trade profile.
  • You will receive award notifications on the contracts you have priced.

In addition, Leads 2 Business takes a proactive approach to support, if we receive notification of an email problem from your ISP, we will contact you to try and sort it out.

We also offer Online support via Livehelp which can be accessed anytime you may need assistance or have a query you need to raise, we are only a click or a call away.

So, now you are listed on the Leads 2 Business Platinum Directory and ready to acquire more business, more often. Here is how it works in order to expose your business to target industry listings and securing new contacts :

A Buyer/Contractor sends out Requests for Quotes (RfQs) to specific Vendors/Suppliers listed on our directory.

When a Vendor/Supplier receives the RfQ, they have the option to price it or to decline the request.

Vendors can respond to the RfQ via : Online pricing, email or fax (If the Buyer/Contractor has drawings associated with the Bill these will be available online and accessible with your Vendor/Supplier username and password).

Vendors/Suppliers who haven’t responded are contacted by the Leads 2 Business Control List Team for follow up.

Prices submitted by Vendors/Suppliers are used by the Buyer/Contractor to formulate their tender pricing.

And Platinum Directory Listed Vendors/Suppliers will receive Award notifications on RfQs received as long as they have acknowledged the RfQ.

So, can being listed on the Platinum Directory get you noticed by the Industry Giants???
Having read the above, what do you think?……

About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

15 Jun 2016

Pricing Online – RfQs

by | posted in: Construction Chat, General, Uncategorized | 0

78-Blog-Header-Pricing-Bills-of-Quantity-Online

Have you ever received one of these and wondered why?

RFQ

The reason you have received an RfQ email is because you are listed on our Directory as a Vendor. We have Buyers (main contractors) who subscribe to our Leads 2 Quotes platform who use our Directory to select Vendors to send RfQ’s to.

Basically these Buyers send us BoQ’s for each relevant contract. We (L2Q Bills staff) process these BoQ’s by formatting them and splitting each item into the relevant trades (which may sound simple but can often take many hours to decipher). The Buyers, using our Directory, select a trade and region and a list of the relevant Vendors under that Trade and Serviceable Region appear, they select who they want to send to and click ‘Send RfQ’. You (the Vendor) will then receive an RfQ email (as above).

You have received this email, now what?

Firstly you need to check if the RfQ you have received is relevant to what your company does. If not, you will need to click on the “Update my Trade Profile”.

If the items are of relevance and you would like to price you can click on “Intend to Price”. If the items are of relevance but you are unable to quote for that time period (see respond by date/start date) you can click on “Decline to Price”. This will indicate to us (L2B) and the Buyer (who’s details are listed on the top right hand corner of the email) whether you will or won’t be pricing.

You’ve decided to Price the RfQ, where to next?

You will need to go ahead and work out the relevant rates required. Remember to take note of the Buyers T’s & C’s as some of these may specify whether VAT should be exclusive or inclusive and whether delivery or labour should be included. If you require Drawings in order to price you can click on the “Drawings” link in order to view or download the drawings. If there are no drawings on that link you will need to contact the Buyer. It is vital to note that we only have the information that the Buyers have provided. Any additional information required that is not available online, will have to be requested directly from the Buyer by the Vendor.

In order to use any of the L2B online features you will need your Vendor login details (Registration is Free). If you cannot remember these or have never registered as a Vendor you are welcome to contact us, via email, telephonically or via our Live Help option in order to request assistance.

Once you have all your relevant rates you can then go ahead and choose how you would like to respond to the RfQ. You could choose Fax, Email or Online Pricing, please note that Online Pricing is the quickest and easiest.

You’ve (wisely) chosen to use Online Pricing, where do you start?

You can use Online Pricing by clicking on the “Price Online Now” link which will take you to the L2B website where you will log in using your Vendor login details.

Once logged in you select the Vendor Home page on the Home drop-down. Your Active RfQ’s will now be displayed where you can click on “Submit Price” next to the relevant contract number and you will be redirected to enter your T’s & C’s, after submitting, the “Pricing” page will be displayed where you can simply enter your rates for each item which are automatically multiplied by the quantity to give a total and a grand total in red at the bottom. You are also able to interact with the other tabs as their relevance requires. Once you are happy with everything you can click on “Submit Prices”, ticking the “Send a copy to my email” box if you would like to keep a copy of the pricing you have submitted.

What do you do once you’ve submitted your prices?

Once the contract is awarded you will receive a notification via email. If the Buyer who sent you the original RfQ is awarded the contract you can now follow up with them regarding the prices you previously submitted to see if they will require your services and how competitive your prices were. If the contract is awarded to a different contractor you can still contact them and offer to send them your prices (you should have a copy if you selected to send a copy to your email) or by logging into your L2Q Vendor Profile and clicking on the relevant “Download Sent Bill” icon.

Receiving and responding to RfQ’s has never been easier with Leads 2 Business Online Pricing.

Want to know more about being a Vendor/Buyer, our Platinum Directory Listing (PDL), Leads 2 Quotes (L2Q) or any of the other Services we offer? Contact me on SashaA@L2B.co.za

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

10 Feb 2016

Understanding the Tender Process in Africa

by | posted in: Construction Chat, Frequently Asked Questions | 3

 

Leads 2 Business : Understanding the Tender Process in Africa

 

Understanding the African Tender Process is not much different from the South African Tender process (see link to previous blogs referencing SA Tender Process).

 

In general, tendering follows the following (simplified) process:

  1. A need for a service is identified.
  2. Approval is obtained from the necessary entities.
  3. Documentation (including Bid Documents, BoQ, Drawings, Specifications, etc.) is prepared and approved.
  4. Advertising of Tenders.
  5. Receipt and opening of tenders.
  6. Evaluation of Bids.
  7. Awarding of Bids

Procurement can be achieved via the following methods:

Single Source (also referred to as Direct Contracting), Requests for Quotations (RfQ’s), Two-Stage Tendering, Request for Proposals (RfP’s), Restricted Tendering, Open Tendering, Prequalified Tenders. (For an explanation of the methods, please see http://procurementclassroom.com/procurement-methods/).

Of course, each country will have its own Public Procurement Regulations, rules and laws that govern the procurement process. Furthermore, each institution may have its own policy that is applied over and above the country’s regulations. Each advertisement will identify the forms and documents that will be required for that specific bid.

Some things to bear in mind specific to understanding the African Tender Process are the following:

There might be language barriers: depending on which country is advertising the bid, it might be advertised in another language (not English). Some bids will include a copy of the bid documentation which has been translated to English, but in the cases where they do not provide translated documents, it might be necessary for a translator.

When needing to contact the specific institution, ensure that you have the right dialing code for the country you are trying to contact.

It might be easier to communicate via email and this will ensure that there is also a paper trail of any queries raised and answered, in which case, the correct email address is a necessity.

 

[tweetthis]Communication with the right people and always confirming the details is essential.[/tweetthis]

 

 

For some tips on tendering, please have a look at the following articles:

http://www.miningreview.com/tender-process/

http://www.esi-africa.com/tender-process-17196/

About Cecile Van Deventer

I joined the L2Q Team in 2006, as a L2Q Support Assistant and have been the HOD since 2010. I supervise L2Q Bills, Daily Tender Bills, Control Lists and Directory.

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