What makes an industrial RFQ worth responding to (from a seller's view)

We sat down with the operations leads of our ten highest-volume suppliers and asked the same question: what makes you respond to an RFQ in 24 hours vs. archive it?

1. A specific use case

Sellers told us that 'I need 200 of these' almost always goes unanswered, while 'I run a fabrication shop in Ludhiana and I need 200 of these for a Q3 order of tractor axle housings' gets a response in hours. The use case is what tells the seller whether the buyer will accept a substitute, a longer lead time, or a customisation.

2. A real quantity range, not a round number

'I want 1000 pieces' looks fabricated. '200–400 per month, ramping to 800 by Q4' tells the seller this is a real procurement plan and they're not negotiating a fishing-expedition quote.

3. The deadline

An RFQ with no timeline gets answered when the seller has nothing better to do. 'I need delivery by 30 September' gets answered today.

4. Whether the buyer has signed in

On Splendx, signed-in buyers get a verified-business badge on the RFQ. Sellers told us they filter the queue by badge first and only respond to verified buyers. The 90-second sign-up pays for itself on the first RFQ.