Tenders as a service for mid-sized manufacturers
We run the tender. You make the call.
runRFX runs your tenders for you, from the request and the search for suppliers to the final offer. For €3,000 a month, cancellable month to month.
Launching soon. We’re starting with a small number of clients.
The problem
Too often, procurement asks just one supplier.
Not for lack of will, but for lack of time. A proper tender means writing the request, finding the right suppliers, chasing answers, comparing offers, negotiating and documenting the award. Next to the day-to-day, there’s rarely time for it.
Few hands, a lot of spend
A large share of revenue goes out through procurement, handled by a few people. The day-to-day comes first.
One offer isn’t a comparison
Ask only the supplier you know and you negotiate without competition. Nobody can tell whether the price is right.
The list that never gets shorter
Every buyer knows the categories that should have gone out to tender long ago. They wait until there’s time. There rarely is.
How it works
You send us the documents. We run the tender.
Six steps, and three times you decide. In between, we keep you posted.
- 01
Prepare the documents
Send us what you have: bills of materials, drawings, specifications, past orders. We turn them into clear line items and a request suppliers understand.
Your step: You approve the request.
- 02
Find suppliers
We build a broad list of suitable suppliers (the longlist) and propose a selection from it (the shortlist). Your current suppliers can be part of it.
Your step: You approve the selection.
- 03
Run the tender
We send out the request, answer questions and chase deadlines. When one supplier asks something, all of them get the answer, without the sender’s name, so everyone quotes on the same basis.
- 04
Compare the offers
We compare line by line and turn cash discounts and payment terms into one comparable price. Next to it: quality, lead time and whatever else matters for your award.
- 05
Negotiate
In one or two rounds, each supplier learns their rank or their distance to the best offer, never the others’ names or prices, and can improve. After that, the final written offer stands.
- 06
You decide
You get the comparison and our recommendation. You accept the best offer or negotiate the final round yourself.
Your step: You award the contract.
Price
One fixed monthly price. Cancel any month.
One amount you can plan for: as many tenders as your list holds, one after another.
Flat rate
€3,000 a month, plus VAT
- As many tenders on your list as you like
- One runs at a time; the next starts once the current one is closed
- All six steps, from the request to the recommendation
- One fixed contact for your procurement team
- No new software: we work with you by e-mail, phone and video
A worked example
A year of runRFX costs €36,000. It pays for itself if your tenders save 5% on €720,000 of annual spend, or 10% on €360,000.
What’s realistic depends on the category and on when it last went out to tender. We’ll estimate it together in the intro call.
For large awards
For large volumes, an experienced negotiator can take on the final round in person with the best suppliers.
On request
All prices are net, plus statutory VAT. For businesses only.
What you get
An award your finance team can follow.
Every tender ends with more than a lower price: a decision you can explain.
The comparison, in black and white
Every offer line by line, your current price as the reference, and how we calculated.
The reasons for the award
Who wins the contract and why, so anyone can see later how the decision was made.
Savings you can check
We show what the award brings against your current price, split into cost reduction and cost avoidance. Every figure with its basis.
Knowing the market
Even if you stay with your current supplier, you now know what the market charges, and you have alternatives.
Questions
What you’ll want to know first
What happens to our prices and documents?
They stay confidential. Before we start, we sign a non-disclosure agreement and a data processing agreement with you. No supplier sees another supplier’s prices, and no other client sees your prices or suppliers. If you prefer, we send the request anonymously: it then names only your industry and region.
Where do the suppliers come from?
From our knowledge of the market and targeted research, fresh for every tender. We include your current suppliers if you like. Who is asked to quote is your decision, when you approve the selection.
Who is runRFX for?
Mid-sized manufacturers, roughly 50 to 500 employees, whose procurement team would like to put more out to tender than the day-to-day allows.
How big does a tender need to be?
There’s no minimum. Recurring needs work well: bought-in parts, packaging, logistics, services, operating supplies. But don’t put everything into one tender: tenders with a clear scope run faster and bring better offers. We’ll help you cut them.
How long does a tender take, and how much of our time?
We plan on four to eight weeks, depending on the category and the suppliers. Your part: pulling the documents together, answering questions about the requirement, and approving three times: the request, the supplier selection and the award. While a tender waits for your approval, it stays on hold.
Why only one tender at a time?
Because a good tender needs attention, yours and ours. One after the other gets done sooner than five at once. We start the next one on your list as soon as the current one is closed, and you can send us the documents for it any time.
Do we need any software?
No. We work with you by e-mail, phone and video, and you send us documents as they are. You get the comparison and the recommendation as a document you can pass on.
Who runs the tenders?
A buyer, not a platform. You have one fixed contact who gets to know your categories and suppliers and carries on with you from one tender to the next.
How do we cancel?
You can cancel any month, without giving a reason. The offers, comparisons and award documents from your tenders are yours to keep.
How does runRFX relate to sourcenet.io?
runRFX is a sourcenet.io service. sourcenet.io builds software for strategic procurement in mid-sized companies; with runRFX, we run tenders for you.
Intro call
Tell us what you’d like to put out to tender.
In about 30 minutes we work out which tenders are worth it for you and how we’d start. No obligation, by phone or video.
runRFX is launching soon. We’re starting with a small number of clients and will get back to you personally.
Prefer e-mail? Write to hello@sourcenet.io
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