Request for Tender

A formal process involving preparation of well-defined and specified documentation, but not necessarily extensive, which invites competitive offers from suppliers. The term is often shortened to RFT and this would typically be used where the potential purchase cost exceeds that of a Request for Quotation, for example, greater than £5,000.

An RFT is typically evaluated against defined criteria, which may be weighted, to arrive at an overall success factor which determines what is considered the best value for money by the client.