B1. RFQ & Bids

Core Principle

Ask once, receive comparable answers, and build your complete order without juggling emails or spreadsheets. No money moves at this stage. This step defines the deal so the next step can execute payment on proof without friction or dispute.

The RFQ Process in Plain Language

You post exactly what you need: product specifications, quantity, delivery location and timing, and the evidence you'll accept at each milestone—ready for shipment, inspected, loaded and sealed, customs cleared, and received in good condition.

Verified suppliers submit their capacity and pricing. EDMA presents a clean, apples-to-apples comparison with a fill bar that climbs toward 100% as bids arrive. When you're satisfied with the supplier mix—whether one supplier or several—you click Award and the platform generates a single contract for the entire order.

No letters of credit. No phone tag. The funding step comes next in B2, where capital is set aside once and released only upon verified proof.

Creating an Effective RFQ

Buyers complete a single, comprehensive screen covering all critical details:

• Product and Quantity: Specify product name or brand, neutral specifications if applicable, total containers or pallets, and pack sizes.

• Location and Timing: Define origin options, destination port or distribution center, Incoterms (FOB, CIF, CFR), and ready-to-load windows.

• Quality and Compliance Requirements: Include brand authorization for branded goods, carton and pallet mapping, barcode and GS1 standards, certificate of analysis and quality assurance methodology, minimum shelf-life requirements. For cold chain products, specify required temperature ranges and data logger types.

• Evidence Standards: Define acceptable proof at each stage. For example: "At ready: lot list and COA. At inspection: PSI from SGS, Intertek, or Bureau Veritas. On board: bill of lading and seal photo. Customs: entry and exit documentation. Receipt: DC check-in and random quality assurance."

• Payout Structure (Draft): Outline your preferred payment slices that will govern proof-based payments in B2. Example: 10% at ready, 40% at inspection, 25% on board, 15% at customs clearance, 10% at DC receipt.

• Bidding Rules: Set bid window open and close times, enable or disable partial fills, and establish minimum lot size per bid.

Specificity at this stage eliminates ambiguous bids and accelerates decision-making.

Supplier Bidding Process

Only verified suppliers in the relevant category can view your RFQ. Each bid includes:

• Capacity and Pricing: Number of containers they can supply and unit pricing. EDMA normalizes currency and Incoterms for direct comparison.

• Logistics Details: Earliest ready date, loading port, and estimated transit time.

• Proof Commitments: Designated inspection firm, packaging and barcode standards, shelf-life documentation method. For cold chain, specified data logger brand and handoff scan protocols.

• Brand Authorization: For branded products, suppliers must provide authorization letters or distributor rights documentation.

• Supporting Documentation: Sample certificates of analysis, carton and pallet maps, representative product photos where helpful.

Suppliers cannot see competing bids. Buyers see all submissions in a unified interface.

Multi-Supplier Matching

As bids arrive, a fill bar progresses from 0% to 100%. You can accept a single supplier for the entire order or blend multiple suppliers—for example, 10 containers from Supplier A, 25 from Supplier B, and 65 from Supplier C.

EDMA maintains simplicity in both mathematics and documentation: one order, even when multiple suppliers are awarded portions.

Your decision screen displays normalized comparisons: landed cost adjusted to your Incoterms, delivery timing, compliance fit indicated by green or yellow flags, and each supplier's committed evidence plan. Non-conforming bids are clearly flagged or filtered from view.

From Quotes to Award

When the bidding window closes—or when you reach 100% capacity early—you select winning suppliers and click Award. EDMA composes a single Master Purchase Agreement with schedules for each supplier and your defined payout plan.

All RFQ data flows forward automatically: product specifications, dates, routing information, and critically, the evidence checklist that will drive automatic payments in stages B2 and B3.

You're finished with quotes. The platform transitions you to B2: Award & Contract, where funds are set aside and released only upon verified proof.

Immediate Benefits

Unified Communication: One request generates real, comparable responses. No more chasing five separate email threads for the same information.

Multi-Supplier Simplicity: Blend bids to reach 100% capacity while maintaining a single contract.

Normalized Comparison: Prices and delivery dates standardized to your terms. Brand authorization and shelf-life requirements enforced automatically.

Proof Expectations Established: What constitutes "ready," "inspected," "on board," "cleared," and "received" is agreed upon now, eliminating future disputes.

Accelerated Timeline: Move from request to contract in days, not weeks, because specifications are clear and bids are directly comparable.

Automated Enforcement

EDMA quietly handles compliance requirements you would otherwise manage manually:

• Supplier KYC, KYB, and sanctions screening

• Brand authorization verification for branded goods

• Bid validation: routing and dates must be logical; currency and Incoterms normalized; cold chain routes require temperature evidence

• Grey market, parallel import, and non-conforming bids never reach your decision screen

What You Achieve in B1

By the end of this stage, you have:

• A complete order—potentially split across multiple suppliers—ready to award with one click

• Contract-ready specifications that become your Master Purchase Agreement schedules

• A payout plan and evidence checklist that will drive "no proof, no funds" execution in subsequent stages

No proof. No token. No payment.