A useful intake checklist does two jobs. It confirms that the team has the information needed to start, and it exposes the gaps that could change the quote later. It should not force the same fields on a pump package, a switchgear lineup and a packaging machine. Start with one shared control layer, then add the technical questions for each product family.
Build those product questions from recent RFQs that stalled, lost margin or forced rework. The failure tells you what the checklist missed. Add that item, name the owner and decide whether it is a hard stop, a warning or an assumption the bid leader may approve.
1. Control the request
Create a stable internal request ID. Do not use the email subject as the key. Buyers reuse subjects, forward old threads and send revisions from different addresses. The record should link back to each source message or portal request.
| Check | Minimum record | Owner when it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and buyer | Legal account, buyer, business unit and site | Sales or account owner |
| Request identity | Customer RFQ or project number and internal request ID | Sales operations |
| Receipt | Original channel, received time and source message or portal link | RFQ coordinator |
| Dates | Customer response deadline and internal review dates | Bid leader |
| Relationship | New request, revision or duplicate of an open request | Sales operations |
| Ownership | Named bid owner and the next person expected to act | Commercial lead |
2. List the technical source set
ASME Y14.35 covers both identification and recording of revisions. That distinction matters. Recognizing a “Rev C” drawing is not enough if the team cannot show which estimate, supplier RFQ and proposal used it.
Do not reject a package only because the file names are ugly. Reject it when the team cannot identify the governing product definition, a required source is absent or two sources impose conflicting requirements with no rule of precedence.
- List every drawing, model, specification, data sheet and customer standard.
- Record the document number, revision and date where available.
- Check that the BOM, drawing and specification refer to the same product state.
- Flag missing referenced documents and unreadable or password-protected files.
- Name the source that governs when two documents disagree; otherwise ask the customer.
3. Confirm what the equipment must do
Drawings tell only part of the story. Capture the duty, environment and acceptance criteria that determine whether the offered equipment will work. For a pump, that may include flow, head, fluid, temperature, solids, hazardous area and allowable materials. For switchgear, it may include voltage, fault rating, enclosure, protection scheme and applicable code. The checklist should use the language of the product team, not generic “technical requirements” fields.
ASME Y14.5 exists to state and interpret dimensional requirements consistently. Its value at intake is practical: if a tolerance, datum or acceptance condition drives manufacturing or inspection, it must be visible before the estimate is released.
| Requirement group | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Function | What must the equipment do, across which operating range and duty cycle? |
| Interfaces | What connects mechanically, electrically, digitally or through utilities? |
| Environment | Which temperature, pressure, contamination, seismic or hazardous-area conditions apply? |
| Compliance | Which codes, certifications, customer standards and jurisdictions govern? |
| Acceptance | Which inspections, tests, records and witness points prove compliance? |
4. Capture the inputs that move cost and lead time
NIST MEP’s Supplier Scouting Playbook asks for process, dimensions, tolerances, performance specifications, materials, certifications, regulations, volume, target price, delivery and packaging. Although the form supports supplier scouting, those categories form a solid check on whether an industrial request contains enough information to cost and schedule the work.
| Area | Minimum questions | Typical owner |
|---|---|---|
| Scope and quantity | What will the OEM supply, in which configuration and quantity? | Sales and application engineering |
| Materials | Which grades, finishes, approved makers and traceability rules apply? | Engineering and quality |
| Manufacturing | Which processes, tolerances, inspections and special qualifications apply? | Manufacturing engineering |
| Bought-out content | Which motors, controls, fabrications or services need supplier prices? | Sourcing |
| Schedule | What is the response deadline, required delivery and any outage or milestone window? | Project planning |
| Site work | Who owns freight, installation, commissioning, training and site readiness? | Projects and service |
5. Read the commercial request, not just the technical files
Record the requested currency, price basis, validity, payment terms, delivery terms, warranty, securities, penalties, insurance and proposal format. Do not wait for final approval to discover that the buyer wants a delivered price, a five-year warranty or liquidated damages.
Delivery terms need the named place and rule version, not a three-letter code copied from an old quote. The ICC Incoterms 2020 rules define how costs and risks divide between seller and buyer. “DAP” without the destination does not give estimating enough information to price freight or understand the delivery obligation.
- Customer currency and required price breakdown.
- Requested Incoterm, named place and rule year.
- Payment, retention, bond and warranty requirements.
- Delay damages, performance guarantees and other commercial exposure.
- Quote validity, escalation rules and taxes.
- Required forms, portals and submission instructions.
6. List every customer deliverable
The hardware is only part of the scope. Record the drawings, certificates, inspection plans, manuals, software, spares, packing records, data books and training the customer expects. Include the language, format, approval cycle and due date. Documentation can consume engineering and quality time even when it changes nothing in the physical product.
Also capture customer hold points and review periods. A witnessed factory test, a drawing approval or a data-book review can change both the schedule and the cash profile. The intake checklist should send those requirements to the people who can price and plan them.
7. Classify every gap
For each missing or conflicting item, record the exact question, the person who can answer it, the person responsible for getting the answer, the due date and the work it blocks. Do not send a generic “please review” task to engineering.
| Class | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hard stop | The team cannot select, cost or promise the product responsibly | No duty point, governing drawing or required certification |
| Warning | Work can start, but a named answer is required before submission | Customer has not confirmed the preferred paint system |
| Approved assumption | The bid leader chooses a stated basis and accepts the effect | Budget quote uses the standard packaging and published material index |
| Later-order item | The information does not affect the bid and has a defined downstream owner | Final shipping contact or training attendee list |
8. Release the package with one named owner
The final check is simple: can the next person act without reopening the original thread? Release the current source set, structured requirements, open questions, approved assumptions, customer deadline and internal review plan. Preserve superseded files for traceability, but remove them from the active working set.
ISO 9001 requires organizations to plan and control the processes needed to meet customer and regulatory requirements. The intake gate is one practical place to enforce that discipline. A named bid owner accepts the package, records any exceptions and decides which teams may start.
| Release question | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| Are the sources controlled? | Every active file has a source, document identity and revision status |
| Are the requirements usable? | Product-specific technical and commercial fields are complete or visibly qualified |
| Are the gaps owned? | Each material question has an owner, recipient, due date and blocked task |
| Can the team plan the response? | Customer and internal deadlines are visible, with the bid owner named |
| Can the next team work? | Estimating, engineering and sourcing can start without rebuilding the package |
Run the checklist on failed RFQs before you automate it
Take ten to twenty recent requests that arrived late, changed after costing, produced a commercial surprise or forced engineers to search for context. Run this checklist against the package as it existed on the day of receipt. Mark what the checklist would have caught and what it still misses. Add product-family rules only when a real case proves they matter.
Bourne can apply those rules when the RFQ arrives, prepare the questions and route the checked record. The RFQ intake workflow shows how the package, missing items and owners appear in the product. Your bid owner still accepts the intake gate and any assumption that lets work continue.
Arda Bulut
Arda Bulut is the co-founder and CTO of Bourne and HockeyStack. He leads engineering at Bourne, building the platform people use to create AI products, agents and automations.