IDEA: Define and measure your estimators’ response time to customer’s RFQ (requests for quotes).

Do you respond in a timely manner to customers’ requests for quote? If no, why not?

When you receive requests for bid from various customers, you should be responding within a short time frame or at least inside the window the customer set for receiving bids.  All bids are different and some are much more complex than others, but your estimating department needs to define and measure how quickly they respond.  Depending upon the industry and what is being ordered, your estimators should record the RFQ date and the due date defined by the customer’s buyer and post a report showing their success at responding within the time frames. They should be able to draw others from the company to help and assist when incoming customer bid requests are piling up.