RFI
Definition
A short, early-stage document a buyer issues to many vendors to gather general capability information before narrowing the field to a few for a formal RFP.
An RFI is a filter, not a competition
The buyer is not choosing a vendor yet — they are deciding who is worth asking properly. Answers are short, capability-level, and read comparatively across a long list. Treating an RFI like an RFP burns senior time on a stage where nobody wins, and treating it as junk mail forfeits a place on the shortlist.
What the RFI tells you about the deal
The questions reveal how mature the buying process is. Specific, well-scoped questions suggest someone has already done internal work and knows what they need. Broad, generic questions usually mean the requirement is still being formed — which is the best moment to influence the criteria that will appear in the RFP.
Answer for the shortlist, not the award
Cover every question, keep answers short, and spend the saved effort on one thing: establishing why you belong in the next round. Detail that nobody asked for does not improve an RFI score.
Related terms
Further reading
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