Requests for Quotes (RFQs)
An RFQ is how you request pricing from your suppliers in ChemCloud. Select a product, choose which suppliers to send to, and ChemCloud sends the request on your behalf. Quotes come back into the system — either entered by suppliers directly, forwarded by email to the AI, or added manually.Creating a Request
Start a request from the home page search bar or from a product page. You’ll be asked for:
Before submitting, you can review the email that will be sent to each supplier.
Request Types
Spot Purchase
A one-off order for a specific quantity. You need the material now (or soon) and want competitive pricing.Blanket Order
A longer-term agreement covering multiple deliveries over a period. Useful for locking in pricing on materials you order regularly. You can specify the total volume and delivery schedule.What Happens After You Send
- Suppliers receive an email with your request details
- Quotes come back — suppliers can respond via the ChemCloud portal, or you can forward their email responses to ChemCloud AI (see AI Sourcing Assistant)
- You compare and select — review quotes side by side (see Compare Quotes)
- Proceed to purchase — select a winning quote and go through the purchase steps
Managing Requests
From the Requests page you can see all your active and completed requests:- Open requests — waiting for quotes to come back
- Quoted — quotes received, ready for review
- Ordered — a quote has been selected and purchased
- Closed — request completed or cancelled
Adding Quotes to a Request
Quotes can be added in three ways:- AI Sourcing Assistant — forward supplier quote emails to your ChemCloud AI email address and the agent extracts and files them automatically
- Manual entry — add a quote directly in ChemCloud with pricing, lead time, and terms
- Supplier portal — suppliers on the ChemCloud network can respond directly