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A second common mistake is assuming that an RFI must be a written, formalized document. In fact, asking a few informal questions in an e‐mail or over the phone might make more sense at this stage. In some cases, having suppliers come in to present their service offerings and asking key questions at that time might be the best approach. We discuss this strategy in greater detail in Chapter 4.

The format of your RFI depends largely on two factors—the process suppliers in the category typically prefer and current market conditions and timing factors. If a product or service is in high demand and suppliers have many requests from existing and new customers, taking the time to provide you with a thorough written response can cause delays in acquiring the information you need, if the supplier is willing to participate at all. Conversely, it is rare that a supplier would decline an invitation to meet face‐to‐face or over the phone to discuss their offering.