I'm looking for web sites that post RFPs (Request for Proposals) or
specifications to solicit bids on INDUSTRIAL components or parts. For
example, a large manufacturer needs to obtain 30,000 gears, motors,
springs, etc. What industrial or purchasing portal might he use to
generate competitive bids from manufacturers of these components? This
might or might not be handled in an auction setting.
 
This is a 2-part question: 
 
1. What are the leading web sites that provide this kind of service? 
 
2. What online sources report on these sites, e.g. in articles that
describe their economic value and the degree of acceptance by buyers
and sellers of industrial parts?
 
Thanks! 

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Request for Question Clarification by answerguru-ga on 06 May 2002 10:48 PDT

Hi ams, 
 
A preliminary search found that individual industries have this type
of service but there isn't any readily available source for ALL
industry RFPs. To what industry does your question apply, and are you
looking for components or offering them?
 
Regarding the second part of your question, this information really
isn't "reported on" since most of these services are simply forums
where posts are made and then the two parties contact each other
directly. The websites themselves do nothing more than connect the
parties (at least in general). 

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Clarification of Question by ams-ga on 06 May 2002 11:53 PDT

I'm offering components and looking for jobs to bid on. 
 
Products include:  screws, captive screws, standoffs (using in 
printed circuit board manufacturing), handles, etc. 
 
Markets include anything in SIC 36 (Electronics), defense, aerospace, 
medical device manufacturing, etc. 
 
Regarding the second part of my question, I'm looking for articles
online or in print that discuss this type of web site and its impact
on buyers and sellers of industrial components. It must be covered in
trade publications that focus on e-commerce, purchasing, or
manufacturing; but I don't know what it's called. I can probably
search for such articles myself if you can help define the key terms
that are used to describe this type of site. 

---

Clarification of Question by ams-ga on 07 May 2002 14:22 PDT

Although I haven't received an official "answer" yet from a paid
researcher, I've been surprised and thankful for the helpful comments
that were added already by others in this community.
 
On my own I discovered the following site, which lists a number of
online sources for this kind of service. They use RFQ (Request for
Quote) instead of RFP (Request for Proposal) which may be a more
appropriate term.
 
<a href="http://www.sourceguides.com/markets/byS/RFQ/RFQ.shtml">http://www.sourceguides.com/markets/byS/RFQ/RFQ.shtml</a> 

I located an article at this URL that compares a few RFP Portal sites.

http://webbusiness.cio.com/archive/030200_rfp_content.html

Unfortunately, only one of them seems to cover the market that you
participate in.  They are

www.rfpmarket.com

and if you follow these links on their site: see all
categories/supplies-equipment you should find a few categories to list
in.

have you tried this site? It's provided by Thomas Publishing, and is
also linked into the Thomas Regional Directories site.

http://www.mfgquote.com/

Be interested to hear your comments on this site.

If you need help, let me know and I can put you in touch with someone
there.

Antoin.

Try the search terms B2B and rfp plus the individual component or
item, enclosed in quotes if that item is more than a single word,
i.e.:  "printed circuit boards" B2B is an acronym for Business to
Business, and refers to transactions between businesses rather than
individual consumers.

http://www.onvia.com is one of the broadest portals, covering a wide
range of products.

CommunityB2B appears to have reviews and B2B whitepapers and articles
- http://www.CommunityB2B.com/

Hope this helps,

larre-ga