Supplier Quotation Submission ERP: Move RFQs Out of Email

Three suppliers receive the same request for quotation on Tuesday.

By Friday, one supplier has replied by email, another has sent a photo of a printed quotation through WhatsApp, and the third has not responded.

Procurement now has to collect the quotations, verify the prices, compare delivery conditions, and prepare a spreadsheet for management approval.

If the selected supplier changes the price later, someone must update the comparison again.

This is where supplier quotation submission becomes a procurement control problem rather than a simple communication task.

The difficulty is not that suppliers use email; it is that pricing, supplier information, revisions, and approvals are spread across different channels.

A connected ERP brings those records into one procurement workflow.

Managerium ERP from AKIJ iBOS supports Request for Quotation (RFQ), Quotation Entry, Supplier Profile, Supplier Portal, Comparative Statement, and Purchase Order processes within its procurement functionality.

This guide explains how supplier quotation submission works in ERP, the seven stages of the process, how Managerium handles supplier responses, and what businesses should check before moving their quotation workflow away from scattered emails and spreadsheets.

What Is Supplier Quotation Submission in ERP?

Supplier quotation submission is the process through which a supplier provides prices, quantities, delivery terms, and other commercial details in response to a buyer’s Request for Quotation.

In a manual process, the supplier may send a PDF, spreadsheet, email, or printed quotation.

The buyer then records the quotation, compares it with competing offers, and forwards the information for approval.

In an ERP-based process, the quotation is captured as a structured record linked to the relevant RFQ and supplier.

A typical workflow is:

Purchase Requisition → RFQ → Supplier Invitation → Quotation Submission → Comparative Statement → Purchase Order

The important difference is not the format of the quotation.

It is the connection between the original requirement, supplier response, evaluation, and final buying decision.

For example, if procurement requests quotations for 500 units of a particular material, every supplier should be responding to the same specifications and quantity requirements.

If one supplier quotes a different grade or delivery condition, the buyer needs to identify that difference before choosing the offer.

A structured supplier quotation process makes those differences easier to review.

SAP’s official RFQ and Quotation documentation also describes managing supplier RFQs, capturing quotation prices and conditions, and comparing supplier responses within a procurement system.

Why Email-Based RFQ Management Creates Problems

Email remains a useful business communication channel.

The weakness appears when email becomes the only record of supplier quotations.

Quotations Have No Consistent Reference

A supplier sends an attachment without clearly mentioning the RFQ number.

Procurement then has to determine which request the quotation belongs to.

If several purchases are being processed at the same time, the risk of confusion increases.

Supplier Prices Arrive in Different Formats

One supplier quotes a unit price.

Another quotes a total amount.

A third includes delivery charges separately.

The buyer must standardize these offers before making a meaningful comparison.

Revised Prices Replace Previous Discussions

A supplier initially quotes one price, then revises it after negotiation.

If the quotation is updated informally, the original offer and the reason for the revision may become difficult to trace.

Follow-Up History Stays With Individual Employees

One procurement officer contacts the supplier by phone.

Another sends an email reminder.

Management may not know which supplier has responded or which quotation remains pending.

Supplier Selection Becomes Difficult to Explain

When management asks why a particular supplier was selected, procurement should be able to show the quotations, commercial conditions, and approval record.

A disconnected process makes that explanation unnecessarily difficult.

These are the problems a controlled supplier quotation submission process should address.

7 Proven Steps for Supplier Quotation Submission in ERP

The quotation process should connect supplier participation with the internal procurement workflow.

In Managerium, the relevant stages involve purchase requirements, RFQs, quotation records, supplier profiles, supplier portal access, comparative statements, and purchase orders.

Step 1: Create and Approve the Purchase Requisition

Procurement starts with a clear requirement.

A department, warehouse, factory, or project team identifies the goods or materials it needs.

The requester raises a Purchase Requisition containing the relevant details.

Typical information includes:

• Requesting department or project
• Required items and specifications
• Quantity
• Unit of measure
• Required delivery date
• Estimated cost, where available
• Purpose or cost center
• Applicable approval information

For example, a manufacturing department may request 1,000 pieces of a specific spare part.

The requisition establishes what the business needs before suppliers are asked to quote.

Depending on the configured approval workflow, the request may pass through department, procurement, finance, or management approval.

This distinction matters because a requisition is not yet a supplier commitment.

It is an internal buying request.

For a detailed explanation, read Purchase Requisition vs Purchase Order: 7 Critical Differences.

The supplier quotation submission stage should work from an agreed requirement so suppliers are not quoting against different versions of the same purchase.

Step 2: Create the Request for Quotation

After the requirement has been reviewed through the applicable process, procurement creates an RFQ.

An RFQ asks suppliers to submit commercial offers for specified goods or services.

In Managerium, an RFQ can be created with reference to a Purchase Requisition or, for supported back-to-back buying scenarios, a Sales Order.

A useful RFQ should identify the required items, quantities, specifications, and relevant delivery requirements.

It should also retain a unique reference.

For example:

RFQ Reference: RFQ-2026-0148

If three suppliers receive an invitation against that RFQ, their quotations should remain associated with the same buying requirement.

This helps procurement compare the responses without rebuilding the original request for each supplier.

SAP’s Requesting Quotes from Suppliers guide similarly describes selecting one or more suppliers, creating an RFQ, and reviewing the responses through a structured buying process.

A central RFQ record is the foundation of reliable supplier quotation submission.

Step 3: Invite Suppliers Through the Relevant Channel

Once the RFQ is ready, procurement identifies the suppliers that should receive it.

This requires accurate supplier master data.

A supplier profile may contain:

• Supplier name
• Supplier code
• Contact information
• Address
• Relevant business and tax information
• Supplier status
• Applicable portal access

Managerium’s Supplier Profile functionality maintains supplier and partner master records. The uploaded product reference also describes supplier creation, updates, deactivation, bulk upload, and optional portal-user provisioning.

This is important because procurement should not have to create a new supplier identity every time the same vendor submits a quotation.

Where supplier portal access is configured, an authorized external supplier can participate in the quotation process using their account.

Other quotation collection and entry processes may also be applicable depending on the organization’s setup.

The practical benefit is consistent supplier identification.

A quotation is not merely associated with an email address; it can be linked to the supplier record used throughout the purchasing process.

Step 4: Capture Supplier Quotations in the ERP

This is the central supplier quotation submission stage.

In Managerium, Quotation Entry stores the supplier’s response against the related RFQ.

According to the product reference, the entry is organized around the RFQ, supplier, and office combination.

It can retain item-wise quotation details, supporting attachments, and negotiation history.

For procurement teams, this means a quotation can be reviewed as more than a document attached to an email.

The system can maintain structured information such as quoted items and prices alongside relevant supporting records.

Supplier Portal Quotation Entry

Managerium also includes a Supplier Portal with Quotation Entry functionality.

Authenticated suppliers with the appropriate access can submit quotations against RFQ invitations.

The product reference additionally describes supplier-facing access to purchase orders, goods-received records, and supplier ledger information.

The available functions depend on the supplier’s permissions and implementation configuration.

This helps reduce the need for procurement employees to manually re-enter information submitted through an approved portal workflow.

However, supplier portal adoption still requires accurate supplier records, user access, and onboarding.

The ERP provides the structure. Suppliers and procurement employees still need to follow the process correctly.

Step 5: Review Quotations and Negotiation History

An initial supplier quotation is not always the final offer.

The supplier may revise the price, change delivery timing, or provide a different commercial condition during negotiation.

The buying team should preserve the information necessary to explain the final offer.

In Managerium, the Quotation Entry process includes negotiation-history and attachment support according to the product reference.

This allows procurement to maintain a more structured history instead of relying only on forwarded messages.

A useful quotation review should consider more than just unit price.