RFQ - Supplier Selection and Approval Flow

Source file: 2026-06-08-user-manual-rfq-supplier-selection.html

User Manual

Field	Value
Document Type	User Manual
Portal	GRINEA – Internal Operations Portal
Module	Request for Quotation (RFQ) – Supplier Selection and Approval Flow
Version Number	1.0
Document Date	May 27, 2026
Prepared by	Christian Canlubo

Version History

Version Number	Version Details	Author	Date Published
1.0	Initial Version	Christian Canlubo	May 27, 2026

1.0 Introduction

This section provides an overview of the purpose, scope, and intended audience of this document. Platform users are encouraged to review this document in full before proceeding to other manuals to ensure they understand how this document applies to their roles and responsibilities within the organization and within the platform.

1.1 Purpose of the Document

This document serves as the official user manual for the RFQ – Supplier Selection and Approval Flow module of the GRINEA Internal Operations Portal. It provides clear, step-by-step guidance on how authorized personnel evaluate submitted quotations, select suppliers per line item, route selections through the appropriate approval chain, and track progress through to Purchase Order generation.

The RFQ Supplier Selection and Approval Flow module is the analytical and governance layer of the RFQ lifecycle. It sits between quotation collection and Purchase Order creation. Once suppliers have submitted quotations against a published RFQ, the Buyer uses the Quotation Comparison view to evaluate offers, shortlist suppliers for negotiation where needed, and formally recommend one supplier per line item. That recommendation is then routed through a structured approval chain — configured dynamically by offer amount and PR type, or by a fixed sequence for Indirect CAPEX purchases — culminating in automatic Purchase Order generation once all approvals are complete.

This document is intended to complement, not replace, any organization-specific procurement policies, project governance frameworks, or system administration guidelines.

1.2 Scope of the Document

This document covers the Quotation Comparison, Supplier Selection, and Approval Flow functionality of the RFQ module. It does not cover RFQ staging, setup, or publication, which are addressed in the RFQ – Setup and Publishing manual. Specifically, this document covers:

• Navigating to the Quotation Comparison tab on a Published RFQ
• Understanding the Summary and RFQ Details header cards
• Using the Quotation Comparison tables to evaluate submitted offers across suppliers
• Using the Table Settings filter to control which supplier columns are visible
• Adding Internal Notes accessible to all users with RFQ access
• Shortlisting suppliers for negotiation and triggering negotiation emails
• Recommending one supplier per line item through single-stepper and three-stepper submission flows
• Understanding when the three-stepper modal is triggered and completing the justification fields
• Reviewing the Supplier Selection tab after submission
• Understanding tab visibility rules for buyers, approvers, and future approvers
• Understanding dynamic approval routing by offer amount for Project PRs and Indirect OPEX PRs
• Understanding fixed approval routing for Indirect CAPEX PRs
• Following the approval chain step-by-step as each approver role acts
• Understanding Project Director mapping by project formula
• Understanding Budget Owner mapping by PR creator's division for Indirect PRs
• Multi-supplier independent approval chains and their behavior
• RFQ status transitions from For WZA Validation through For Acceptance to Selected
• Automatic Purchase Order generation on final approval
• Supplier quotation statuses across the full lifecycle

The following areas are out of scope:

• RFQ staging, draft creation, and setup — covered in the RFQ – Setup and Publishing manual
• Supplier quotation creation and submission — covered in the Supplier Portal manual
• Purchase Order lifecycle management after auto-generation — covered in the Purchase Orders manual
• Purchase Requisition creation and approval workflows — covered in the Purchase Requisitions manual
• User account provisioning and RBAC role assignment — covered in the User Management and RBAC manuals
• ERP integration with Impuls and system-to-system synchronization

1.3 Intended Audience

This manual is intended for all users who participate in the supplier evaluation, selection, and approval process within the RFQ module.

Buyer

The Buyer is the primary operator of the Quotation Comparison and Supplier Selection workflow. The Buyer evaluates all submitted quotations, shortlists suppliers for negotiation when appropriate, recommends one supplier per line item, submits the recommendation for approval, and tracks the progress of each supplier approval chain through to completion. The Buyer receives a notification when the final approver has approved each supplier and monitors the RFQ through to the Selected status and automatic Purchase Order generation.

Purchasing Director

The Purchasing Director is the first approver in every supplier selection approval chain, regardless of PR type or offer amount. The Purchasing Director reviews the Buyer's recommendation on the Supplier Selection tab, approves or acts on each supplier independently, and routes the chain to the next approver. The Purchasing Director's action transitions the RFQ from For WZA Validation to For Acceptance.

Budget Owner

The Budget Owner approves supplier selections for both Project PRs (Project Manager) and Indirect PRs. For Indirect PRs, the Budget Owner is determined by the division of the user who created the source PR, following the division mapping defined in section 2.5. The Budget Owner acts after the Purchasing Director in dynamic chains and after the Investment Controller in the fixed CAPEX chain. The Supplier Selection tab becomes visible to the Budget Owner when their turn in the chain arrives.

Project Director

The Project Director approves supplier selections on Project PR and Indirect OPEX chains where the Net Offer with Delivery amount exceeds 50,000 PLN. The Project Director assigned to each chain is determined by the project formula of the source project: Design Only maps to the Design Director, and both Build Only and Design & Build map to the Operations Director. This role is only relevant for Project PR and Indirect OPEX RFQs.

Investment Controller

The Investment Controller participates in the fixed approval sequence for Indirect CAPEX RFQs. The Investment Controller acts after the Budget Owner in the CAPEX chain. This role does not participate in dynamic approval chains.

Finance Director

The Finance Director approves supplier selections on chains where the Net Offer with Delivery amount exceeds 50,000 PLN. The Finance Director acts after the Project Director in dynamic chains and after the Investment Controller in the fixed CAPEX chain.

Managing Director

The Managing Director approves supplier selections on chains where the Net Offer with Delivery amount exceeds 100,000 PLN. The Managing Director acts after the Finance Director. This role is not triggered for offers below 100,000 PLN.

CEO (President of the Board)

The CEO approves supplier selections on chains where the Net Offer with Delivery amount exceeds 4,000,000 PLN, and on all Indirect CAPEX chains regardless of amount. The CEO acts as the final approver on the highest-bracket dynamic chains and as the final approver on the fixed CAPEX sequence.

Backoffice Users

Backoffice users with the appropriate RBAC permissions can view all RFQs across the platform. They can access the Quotation Comparison tab and read Internal Notes but cannot perform approval actions or modify supplier selections.

2.0 Module Overview

2.1 Description

The RFQ Supplier Selection and Approval Flow section is accessed from within any Published RFQ detail page on the GRINEA Internal Operations Portal, under Request for Quotation. It is the final operational stage of the RFQ lifecycle, beginning when at least one supplier has submitted a quotation and ending with the automatic generation of one or more Purchase Orders.

This module section receives data from the published RFQ upstream: the list of invited suppliers, their submitted quotations, and the line item structure of the RFQ. The Buyer does not re-enter line item or supplier configuration at this stage; all input is drawn from the RFQ that was set up and published in the preceding stage.

The Buyer evaluates all submissions using the Quotation Comparison view, selects one supplier per line item, and submits a formal recommendation. The recommendation initiates a structured approval chain configured automatically by the platform based on the PR type of the source PR (Project or Indirect), the spend category for Indirect PRs (OPEX or CAPEX), and the Net Offer with Delivery amount of each selected supplier. Each selected supplier has an independent approval chain; actions on one chain do not affect others. Once every selected supplier has been fully approved, the RFQ transitions to the Selected status and one Purchase Order per supplier is auto-generated.

Tab visibility on the RFQ detail page depends on the RFQ state and the user's role. For a Published or With Response RFQ, the Buyer sees the Requirements, Quotations List, Quotation Comparison, and Inbox tabs. The Supplier Selection tab is added after the Buyer submits a recommendation and is visible only to the Buyer, the Purchasing Director, and approvers whose turn in the chain has arrived or passed.

2.2.1 Quotation Comparison Tab

The Quotation Comparison tab is the primary analytical view for the Buyer. It displays two header cards, four header action buttons, and the comparison tables.

The two header cards are:

• Summary Card: displays percentage of suppliers who responded (submitted plus declined, divided by total invited), count of submitted quotations, count of declined-to-quote suppliers, total invited supplier count, and total line item count.
• RFQ Details Card: displays Date Published, Payment Terms, RFQ Deadline (shown in green if the deadline has not yet passed and the RFQ is in Published or With Response status; shown in orange otherwise), and the Guarantee of Proper Performance setting.

The four header action buttons are: Refresh, Table Settings, Internal Notes, and Shortlist. The Recommend action is also present in this view.

[Screenshot: Quotation Comparison Tab]

2.2.2 Comparison Tables

The comparison tables present all submitted quotation data in a structured side-by-side format. Each invited supplier who submitted a quotation is rendered as a column. The view contains two table levels:

• RFQ Summary Table (top): one table covering all line items. Rows include supplier name, all RFQ line items with each supplier's offer, Net Total Offer, Delivery Fee, Net Total Offer with Delivery, Guarantee of Proper Performance response, and Payment Terms.
• Per Line Item Tables (below): one table per RFQ line item, showing only the suppliers who submitted an offer for that specific item. Rows include supplier name, the line item with offer detail, Net Total Offer, Gross Total Offer, Quantity, Unit, Warranty Period, and Attributes. Additional detail is accessible via drawer rows for Notes, Documents and Attachments, and Delivery Details.

2.2.3 Table Settings

The Table Settings button, located in the header of the Quotation Comparison tab, opens a panel that allows the Buyer to control which supplier columns are displayed in the comparison tables. The Buyer can deselect one or more suppliers who submitted quotations, and the deselected suppliers' columns are hidden across both the RFQ Summary Table and all Per Line Item Tables. The selected state is persisted; reopening Table Settings shows the current configuration. Re-enabling a supplier column restores it immediately.

[Screenshot: Table Settings Panel]

2.2.4 Internal Notes

The Internal Notes button opens a free-text panel where any user with RFQ access can add notes related to the evaluation. Notes are saved with an author name and a timestamp. They are accessible to every user who has access to the RFQ; they are not visible to suppliers. Reopening the Internal Notes panel displays all previously saved notes.

[Screenshot: Internal Notes Panel]

2.2.5 Shortlisting Suppliers for Negotiation

The Shortlist button opens a selection view where the Buyer can mark one or more submitted-quotation suppliers as being under negotiation. On saving the shortlist:

• Each shortlisted supplier's quotation status changes from Submitted to FOR NEGOTIATION.
• Each Supplier User contact on the shortlisted suppliers receives a negotiation email with a link to their quotation on the Supplier Portal.

Note: Shortlisting does not prevent the Buyer from recommending a shortlisted or non-shortlisted supplier during the Recommend step. It is a communication tool, not a filtering mechanism.

2.2.6 Recommend — Selecting Suppliers per Line Item

The Recommend button puts the Quotation Comparison view into supplier-selection mode. In this mode, a selection control is rendered on each supplier column within every Per Line Item Table for each line item where that supplier submitted an offer. The Buyer selects exactly one supplier per line item. A supplier can be selected from either the RFQ Summary Table or the Per Line Item Table; the selection syncs across both views.

Once all selections are saved, the Recommend action converts to a Submit Recommendation action. The Buyer then submits the recommendation, which triggers one of two modal flows depending on the state of the selections.

Single-stepper modal (clean path)

Presented when every line item with a recommended supplier received at least three submitted quotation offers AND every selected supplier's offer amount is below 50,000 PLN. The modal contains one stepper (Review & Submit) showing a consolidated table of the recommendation. On Submit, the RFQ status transitions to FOR WZA VALIDATION.

Three-stepper modal (justification required)

Presented when at least one line item received fewer than three quotation offers OR at least one selected supplier's offer is 50,000 PLN or above. The three steppers are:

• Stepper 1 – Recommendation Overview: displays a table of each line item, the selected supplier, offer amount, and quantity.
• Stepper 2 – Supplier Justification: for every line item where the selected offer is 50,000 PLN or above, a Selection Justification field is presented. For every line item that received fewer than three quotation offers, a Reason for Fewer Than 3 Offers field is presented. All required fields must be completed before proceeding.
• Stepper 3 – Review & Submit: displays the combined content of Steppers 1 and 2. On Submit, the RFQ status transitions to FOR WZA VALIDATION.

[Screenshot: Submit Recommendation Modal]

2.2.7 Supplier Selection Tab

Once the Buyer successfully submits a recommendation, a Supplier Selection tab is added to the RFQ detail page. This tab is the governance view for all approvers involved in the chain. It displays the per-supplier approval state, showing each selected supplier, the approval steps assigned to that supplier's chain, and the status of each step.

Tab visibility is controlled by workflow position:

• Visible immediately after submission to: the Buyer and the Purchasing Director.
• Becomes visible to each subsequent approver when their turn in the chain arrives.
• Remains visible permanently to any user who has been involved in the chain, even after their step has passed.
• Not visible to future approvers whose turn has not yet arrived.

[Screenshot: Supplier Selection Tab]

2.2.8 Approval Actions on the Supplier Selection Tab

Each approver, when their turn arrives, opens the Supplier Selection tab to review the recommendation and act. The tab shows each supplier selection with their line items, offer amounts, and the full chain configured for that supplier. The approver clicks Approve to confirm their step.

On approval:

• The approval is recorded with a timestamp and the approver's user identifier.
• The system identifies the next approver in the chain and assigns the supplier to them.
• The next approver receives an email and in-app notification.
• The Supplier Selection tab becomes visible to the next approver.

When the final approver in the chain acts:

• No further forwarding occurs.
• The supplier is marked fully approved with all chain steps showing as Approved.
• The Buyer receives an in-app notification and an email confirming the supplier selection has been fully approved.

On an RFQ with multiple selected suppliers, each supplier has an independent approval chain. Approving one supplier's chain does not affect another supplier's chain. Each chain may end at a different approver level depending on its bracket.

[Screenshot: Supplier Selection Tab – Approval Actions]

2.2.9 Purchase Order Auto-Generation

When all supplier selections across all line items on the RFQ have been fully approved, the platform automatically generates one Purchase Order per supplier selection. The PO inherits the selected supplier, line items, quantities, agreed offer amounts, Payment Terms, Delivery Fee, and Guarantee of Proper Performance response. Each PO references the source RFQ and PR identifiers. On an RFQ with multiple selected suppliers, one PO is generated per supplier.

Auto-generated POs appear immediately in the Purchase Order module. The RFQ transitions to the SELECTED status at the point of auto-generation. PO lifecycle management after generation is covered in the Purchase Orders manual.

2.3 RFQ Status Lifecycle

Each RFQ progresses through the following statuses across its full lifecycle. Statuses 1–3 are set during the staging and publishing stage; statuses 4–8 progress through the Supplier Selection, Approval, and PO issuance flow documented in this manual.

#	Status	Description
1	DRAFT	RFQ created via staging but never published. Only the Buyer can edit. Set during the staging and setup stage.
2	PUBLISHED	RFQ sent to suppliers. Setup is locked. Suppliers can log in to the Supplier Portal and submit quotations. Set during the publishing step.
3	WITH RESPONSE	At least one supplier has submitted a quotation. Co-exists with the Published state; the RFQ remains open for additional quotations until the deadline passes or the Buyer proceeds to Recommend.
4	FOR WZA VALIDATION	The Buyer has submitted a supplier selection recommendation. The RFQ is pending Purchasing Director approval. The Supplier Selection tab is active.
5	FOR ACCEPTANCE	The Purchasing Director has approved and the RFQ is progressing through the dynamic approval chain. Subsequent approvers (Budget Owner, Project Director, Finance Director, Managing Director, CEO) act in sequence per the applicable routing logic.
6	SELECTED	All line items have an approved selected supplier. Set automatically when the final approver completes the last outstanding chain. Purchase Orders are auto-generated at this point. The RFQ continues to progress through PO_ISSUED and ultimately CLOSED.
7	PO ISSUED	All line items have an approved selected supplier and all generated POs must then be manually sent to their respective suppliers.
8	CLOSED	The RFQ has reached its terminal state. All generated Purchase Orders have been sent to the respective suppliers. No further changes are possible on the RFQ itself. Ongoing PO lifecycle management (delivery tracking, goods receipt) is handled in the Orders Module.

2.3.1 Supplier Quotation Statuses

Each invited supplier has an individual quotation status that tracks their participation across the full RFQ lifecycle.

Status	Description
INVITED	The RFQ has been sent to the supplier. No action has been taken.
DRAFT QUOTE	The supplier has created at least one offer on the Supplier Portal but has not yet submitted the quotation formally.
SUBMITTED	The supplier has formally submitted their quotation. The quotation is visible in the Quotation Comparison view.
WITHDRAWN	The supplier submitted a quotation and subsequently withdrew it.
DECLINED TO QUOTE	The supplier explicitly declined the RFQ invitation without submitting an offer.
NO SUBMISSION	The RFQ deadline has passed and the supplier took no action.
FOR NEGOTIATION	The Buyer has shortlisted this supplier via the Shortlist action. A negotiation email has been sent.
SELECTED	At least one of this supplier's offers has been chosen by the Buyer in the Recommend step.
NOT SELECTED	The Buyer has manually marked this supplier as not selected.

2.4 Approval Flows

The approval flow for a supplier selection depends on two attributes of the source Purchase Requisition: the PR Type (Project or Non-Project) and, for Non-Project PRs, the spend category (OPEX or CAPEX). Each flow is configured automatically by the platform and cannot be modified at the RFQ level. Approval routing is evaluated per selected supplier, not per RFQ: an RFQ with multiple selected suppliers may have multiple independent chains running in parallel.

2.4.1 Dynamic Routing — Project PRs and Non-Project OPEX PRs

This routing logic applies to all RFQs sourced from a Project PR and to all RFQs sourced from a Non-Project OPEX PR. The approval chain is determined by the Net Offer with Delivery amount of each selected supplier and is assembled per supplier at the point the Buyer submits the recommendation.

Net Offer with Delivery (PLN)	Approval Chain
0 to 50,000	Purchasing Director → Budget Owner
50,000 to 100,000	Purchasing Director → Budget Owner → Project Director → Finance Director
100,000 to 4,000,000	Purchasing Director → Budget Owner → Project Director → Finance Director → Managing Director
Above 4,000,000	Purchasing Director → Budget Owner → Project Director → Finance Director → Managing Director → CEO

Note: Purchase requisitions not linked to a project do not require Project Director approval.

Role	Definition
Purchasing Director	Acts as the first approver on every chain regardless of amount. Maps to the Procurement Lead user on the platform.
Budget Owner	Determined by the division of the user who created the source PR, per the Division Mapping in section 2.5. For Project PRs, maps to the Project Manager.
Project Director	Determined by the project formula of the source project, per the mapping in section 2.4.3. Not needed for non-project PRs.
Finance Director	Maps to the Finance Director user on the platform.
Managing Director	Maps to the Managing Director user on the platform.
CEO	Maps to the President of the Board user on the platform.

2.4.2 Fixed Routing — Non-Project CAPEX PRs

For RFQs sourced from a Non-Project CAPEX PR, the approval chain follows a fixed sequence regardless of the Net Offer with Delivery amount. The Budget Owner is resolved using the Division Mapping in section 2.5.

Step	Approver
1	Buyer
2	Purchasing Director
3	Budget Owner
4	Investment Controller
5	Finance Director
6	CEO

2.4.3 Project Director Mapping by Project Formula

On chains where the Project Director role is required (Project PRs only), the platform resolves the Project Director based on the formula of the source project.

Project Formula	Project Director
Design Only	Design Director (Roman Marek)
Build Only	Operations Director (Tomasz Barnat)
Design & Build	Operations Director (Tomasz Barnat)

2.4.4 Forwarding Logic and Final Approver Detection

The approval chain executes step-by-step in the sequence dictated by the applicable routing logic. After each approver approves their step, the platform identifies the next approver, assigns the supplier to them, and sends an email and in-app notification. The platform detects when the current approver is the final approver for a given chain. When the final approver acts, no further forwarding occurs. The supplier selection is marked fully approved and an in-app notification and email are sent to the Buyer.

For RFQs with multiple selected suppliers, each supplier's chain is independent. A chain ending at the Budget Owner for one supplier does not trigger any action on a parallel chain that has not yet reached the Budget Owner.

2.4.5 Revalidation

When any forward approver (Budget Owner, Finance Director, or equivalent) rejects or returns a supplier selection, the record routes back to the Purchasing Director without exception. The Purchasing Director reviews the returned selection and chooses one of two paths:

• Path 1: Return to the rejecting approver. The Purchasing Director determines that the original selection stands and sends it back up the chain for the rejecting approver to reconsider. No Buyer action is required.
• Path 2: Return to the Buyer. The Purchasing Director routes the selection back to the Buyer. The Buyer either identifies a new supplier or renegotiates terms and submits a revised recommendation. This submission creates a new supplier selection record; it does not reopen or overwrite the returned record.

The original returned record remains in RETURNED status and is not reused. It remains visible to the Buyer and the Purchasing Director for audit purposes only. The new submission enters the approval chain as a separate record and follows the standard approval sequence from the beginning.

2.4.6 Supplier Selection Statuses

Status	Description
FOR APPROVAL	Submitted by the Buyer and pending review by the Purchasing Director.
FOR ACCEPTANCE	Endorsed by the Purchasing Director and pending approval by one or more forward approvers.
FOR REVISION	Returned to the Buyer by the Purchasing Director to reselect a supplier or renegotiate terms.
RETURNED	Rejected by a forward approver and pending review by the Purchasing Director.
APPROVED	Approved by all required approvers; no further action required.

2.5 Budget Owner Division Mapping

For Non-Project PRs (both OPEX and CAPEX), the Budget Owner in the supplier selection approval chain is assigned based on the division of the user who created the source Purchase Requisition. This mapping is fixed by the platform.

PR Creator's Division	Budget Owner
Board	President of the Board
Design	Design Director
Finance	Finance Director
Information Technology	Finance Director
HR	Human Resources Director
Investment Legal Support	Investment Legal Support Director
Operations	Operations Director
Purchasing	Purchasing Director
Quotation	Quotation Director

3.0 FAQs

Question	Answer
When is the three-stepper submission modal triggered instead of the single-stepper?	The three-stepper modal is triggered when at least one line item receives fewer than three submitted quotation offers, or when at least one selected supplier's offer amount is 50,000 PLN or above. If both conditions are met for all line items, the single-stepper (Review & Submit only) modal is presented. Refer to section 2.2.6.
How is the approval chain determined for a given supplier selection?	The chain depends on the source PR type and, for Non-Project PRs, the spend category. Project PRs and Non-Project OPEX PRs use dynamic routing based on the Net Offer with Delivery amount per selected supplier. Non-Project CAPEX PRs use a fixed sequence regardless of amount. Refer to section 2.4.
Who is the Budget Owner on a supplier selection approval chain?	For Non-Project PRs, the Budget Owner is resolved from the division of the user who created the source Purchase Requisition. Refer to section 2.5 for the full Division Mapping.
Does approving one supplier's chain affect another supplier's chain on the same RFQ?	No. Each selected supplier has an independent approval chain. Actions on one chain do not affect any other chain. Each chain may end at a different approver level depending on its bracket and PR type. Refer to section 2.4.4.
What happens after the final approver approves all suppliers?	Once a supplier selection is fully approved through its approval chain, a PO is automatically generated for that specific supplier. Since each supplier selection has its own independent chain, POs are generated individually as each reaches final approval. The PO inherits the supplier, line items, quantities, offer amounts, Payment Terms, Delivery Fee, and Guarantee of Proper Performance. PO management after generation is covered in the Purchase Orders manual.

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