A logistics request for quotation (RFQ) for work inside Afghanistan should let every supplier price exactly the same job. It needs eight things: the scope and where it ends, what moves and how much of it, every delivery and handover point to district level, the dates and the assumptions behind them, who packs, loads, stores, inspects and distributes, who approves and who may sign for the goods, the records that must come back, and the basis the price is quoted on. Leave any of them open and each supplier fills the gap with its own assumption. The quotations then look comparable and are not.
The checklist below follows that order, and the template at the end turns it into a form you can print, take into Word or adapt. It applies to transport, storage, kitting and distribution, alone or together. Buying the goods themselves is a procurement request of its own; the procurement planning guide covers specifications and quotation comparison for goods, and the vehicle-rental guide has its own RFQ for vehicles with drivers.
Start with the scope, and where it ends
The first paragraph of the request should say what the supplier is being asked to do and, just as plainly, what it is not. Most disputes about a logistics invoice are disputes about where the scope ended.
Services in the scope
Road transport, storage, kitting or repacking, distribution to recipients, inspection, reporting, or a combination. Tick each one rather than describing the job in a sentence a supplier can read two ways.
Where the assignment starts
A supplier's gate in Kabul, your own warehouse, a provincial store or the point where imported goods are released after customs. International freight and customs clearance are separate services, often from separate providers; name the handover point between them.
Where it ends
Delivery to a district store, handover to a partner organisation at a site, or distribution to each household on a list. Each is a different price and a different set of records.
What stays with you
Recipient lists, community engagement, approvals, security decisions and any supply you provide yourself. Say so, so nobody prices it twice or not at all.
What moves: items, units and quantities
Describe the load the way it will be counted at every handover. If the waybill counts cartons, the request should count cartons; a kit counted as one line in the RFQ and as its contents on the delivery note cannot be reconciled afterwards.
For each line give the item and its specification, the unit (kit, carton, bag, pallet, tonne), the quantity, and the gross weight and volume of one unit. Vehicle choice and price depend on weight and volume together: a truck full of blankets is full long before it is heavy. Add the packaging, whether goods arrive palletised, and anything that needs particular handling, such as fragile equipment or goods that must stay dry or upright. If quantities are estimates, say so and say by how much they may change.
Every place, to district level, with a handover point
"Delivery to Badakhshan" is not an address. Name the province, the district and the site, the organisation that receives the goods there, and the role of the person who may sign for them. A delivered price to a provincial centre is a different number from a delivered price to a district two days further on, and the difference is where a vague request costs most.
Say what you know about the last part of the route as well. The Logistics Cluster's road network assessment (opens in a new tab) records that many unpaved rural roads become impassable in heavy rain or winter, so a site that needs a smaller vehicle for the last kilometres, or a transfer from a truck, should be named as one. If you do not know, say that too and ask the supplier to state its assumption for each location.
Dates, milestones and the season
Give the earliest start, the delivery window for each location and any fixed date, such as a distribution day already announced to a community. Say whether each date is firm or a target. Then list the milestones that sit between award and delivery: sample or specification approval, inspection before dispatch, dispatch, delivery, and the date the closeout records are due.
A date is only as good as the access assumption behind it. State yours (roads open, no change of season, sites accessible on the planned day) and ask each supplier to state theirs, together with how and how quickly it will tell you when one fails. Winter changes the operation for high-altitude districts; the winter pre-positioning guide shows how to plan back from the last safe delivery date.
Who does what
Every task in the movement needs one owner. The quickest way to find the gaps is a responsibility table, filled in by you before the RFQ goes out:
| Task | Usually decided by you | What the supplier should confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Packing, kitting and labelling | Usually decided by youWho does it, to which composition | What the supplier should confirmLabour, materials, labels and the count |
| Loading at origin | Usually decided by youWho loads, and who witnesses | What the supplier should confirmLoading labour and the loading record |
| Inspection before dispatch | Usually decided by youWho inspects, to what standard | What the supplier should confirmAccess for the inspector, holding time |
| Storage before or after transport | Usually decided by youWhere, for how long | What the supplier should confirmSpace, conditions, stock records |
| Transport and route | Usually decided by youDestinations, dates, restrictions | What the supplier should confirmVehicles, routes, the waybill |
| Offloading and stacking at the destination | Usually decided by youWho provides labour at the site | What the supplier should confirmWhether offloading is in the price |
| Distribution to recipients | Usually decided by youLists, verification rules, consent | What the supplier should confirmStaff, site set-up and the distribution list |
| Disposal of packaging or rejected goods | Usually decided by youThe rule your donor applies | What the supplier should confirmWho removes it, and at whose cost |
A row nobody has claimed is a cost that will appear later, usually as a waiting-time charge or an offloading fee at the site.
Approvals and the authority to sign
Name who approves a sample or a specification, who accepts an inspection result, who releases goods from a store, and who may approve a change. At the destination, name the role (and, once known, the person) who may sign the delivery note, with the stamp they will use, and what the receiver does when the delivery is short or damaged: the shortfall is written on the document before anyone signs. Goods handed to whoever happens to be present are goods whose delivery cannot be proved.
The records the price must include
Records take staff time, and staff time is priced. List every record you need, the template it comes in and when it is due:
Waybill
At dispatch, one per vehicle, with the goods by line, signed by the loader and the driver.
Goods received note
When stock enters a store, against the waybill and the order.
Delivery note
At every handover, signed by the authorised receiver, with any shortfall written on it.
Distribution list
Where the supplier distributes to recipients, in your format, with each recipient's acknowledgement.
Inspection report and photographs
Where you require them, and the rules on photographing people.
Progress and closeout reports
How often, in which template and language, and the deadline for the closeout file after the last delivery.
The proof-of-delivery templates give a waybill, a goods received note and a delivery note you can attach to the request so every supplier quotes against the same paperwork.
Commercial terms: state yours, ask for theirs
The request should say what your organisation has decided and ask suppliers for the rest. Do not guess terms on a supplier's behalf; a quotation built on your guess is a quotation you will renegotiate.
- Currency. The currency the quotation must be in, and whether one currency is required for all lines.
- Price basis. Per trip, per tonne, per kit delivered, per pallet per month or per site, line by line, so quotations can be laid side by side.
- Taxes. Ask each supplier to state which taxes its prices include and to show them on their own line, rather than assuming either way.
- Payment terms. State your organisation's standard terms and the documents an invoice must carry. Ask each supplier to state any advance or other condition it requires, so it can be evaluated rather than discovered at contract.
- Validity. How long the quotation must remain valid, long enough to cover your evaluation and approval.
- Time-related charges. Waiting time at a site, storage beyond the agreed days, a return journey with undelivered goods: ask for the rate and the point at which it starts.
The Logistics Cluster's transport assessment (opens in a new tab) records that the authorities suspended insurance services in March 2022. Check the current position before relying on cover, and ask each supplier to state in its quotation who bears loss of and damage to goods in its custody.
Exclusions, assumptions and changes
Ask every supplier to list what its price excludes and what it assumes, in a section of its own. Then write down how a change works: who may request it, in writing to whom, how it is priced (from the rates in the quotation wherever possible), and that no changed work starts before written approval. The usual changes are worth naming in advance: a location added or dropped, quantities up or down, a date moved, a delivery cancelled after loading, and a site found inaccessible on the day.
How to compare the quotations
Bring every quotation to the same basis before comparing totals: the same quantities, the same delivery points, the same records, with exclusions added back where one supplier included what another left out. A delivered cost per unit for each location is often the clearest single comparison. Price is one criterion; state the others in the request with their weights, such as coverage of the locations named, the records offered, references for similar work and the time to replace a vehicle or a failed delivery.
Clarify in writing, and keep two kinds of clarification apart. A question about the request, before quotations are due, is answered in writing to every supplier, with the question but without saying who asked, and any change to the request goes to all of them at once. A question about one supplier's quotation, once quotations are in, goes to that supplier alone and stays on file: the answer may change neither the substance nor the price of the offer, and nothing learned from one supplier is passed to another. Both rules are in the UN's Procurement Practitioner's Handbook (opens in a new tab). Record the comparison, the recommendation and the approval in one note; it is the first document an audit of the award will ask for.
The template
Complete the request in this form and send it to every supplier the same way. Strike out any section that does not apply rather than deleting it, so suppliers see it was considered.
Request for quotation: logistics services in Afghanistan
Completed by the requesting organisation and sent to every supplier in the same form.
The request
Requesting organisation
ContactName, role, email and telephone
RFQ reference and date
Questions byDate, and the address to send them to; every answer goes to every supplier
Quotations dueDate, time and how to submit
Quotation valid for at least
Scope
- Road transport
- Storage before or after transport
- Packing, kitting or labelling
- Distribution to recipients
- Inspection
- Reporting and closeout file
The assignment starts atSite, store or release point
The assignment ends atStore, site handover or household
Not in the scopeWhat stays with the requesting organisation
Goods
| Line | Item and specification | Unit | Quantity | Gross weight per unit (kg) | Volume per unit (m³) | Packaging | Special handling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quantities areFirm, or estimates that may change by up to …%
Locations and handover points
| Province | District | Site or handover point | Receiving organisation | Who may sign (role) | Lines and quantities | Required by | Access notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dates and milestones
Earliest start
Sample or specification approval
Inspection before dispatch
Delivery windowsBy location; firm or target
Closeout records due
Access assumptionsYours; ask the supplier to state its own
Responsibilities
| Task | Requesting organisation | Supplier | Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packing, kitting and labelling | ||||
| Loading at origin | ||||
| Inspection before dispatch | ||||
| Storage | ||||
| Transport | ||||
| Offloading at destination | ||||
| Distribution to recipients | ||||
| Disposal of packaging or rejected goods |
Approvals and acceptance
Approves samples and specifications
Accepts inspection results
Releases goods from storage
Approves changes
Signs for goods at each destinationRole, and the stamp used
Records and reporting
- Waybill at dispatch, one per vehicle
- Goods received note when stock enters a store
- Signed delivery note at every handover
- Distribution list with acknowledgements, in our format
- Inspection report and photographs, under our rules
- Progress reports, and a closeout file by the date above
Templates and languageAttach yours, or say the supplier's may be used
Commercial terms
Currency of the quotation
Our payment termsStated by the requesting organisation
Documents an invoice must carry
TaxesSupplier states which are included, on their own line
Advance or other condition requiredSupplier states, or none
Loss of or damage to goods in the supplier's custodySupplier states who bears it, and the insurance position
Price schedule (the supplier completes)
| Line | Unit | Quantity | Rate | Total | Taxes included? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport, by route | ||||||
| Loading and offloading | ||||||
| Storage | ||||||
| Packing, kitting and labelling | ||||||
| Distribution, by site | ||||||
| Inspection support | ||||||
| Reporting and closeout file | ||||||
| Mobilisation, if charged | ||||||
| Waiting time, per day after … | ||||||
| Anything else charged |
Exclusions, assumptions and changes (the supplier completes)
Excluded from the price
AssumedAccess, dates, quantities
Rates for changesAdded location, extra day, cancelled trip
Evaluation, stated in advance
| Criterion | Weight % | Supplier A | Supplier B | Supplier C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meets the scope and the records required (pass or fail) | ||||
| Delivered cost, all lines on one basis | ||||
| Coverage of the locations named | ||||
| References for similar work | ||||
| Records and reporting offered | ||||
| Handling of delays and failed deliveries |
Attach with the quotation
- Business licence and tax identification number
- Two references for similar work, with contacts
- A sample of the records offered, with personal data removed
- Who will do the work in each location named
Supplier's declaration
Supplier
Authorised signatory
Signature and date
Quotation valid until
An example, filled in
The lines below show how the goods and locations sections read once completed. The organisation, the quantities and the places are invented for illustration; this is not a real tender.
Invented example. 900 hygiene kits held in the requesting organisation's Kabul store, to be delivered to two district handover points and one provincial store, for distribution by a partner.
| Province | District | Handover point | Who may sign | Quantity | Required by | Access notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parwan | Charikar | Partner's district store | Store manager, with stamp | 300 kits (60 cartons) | Firm date | Paved road |
| Bamyan | Yakawlang | Community centre | Partner's field officer | 250 kits (50 cartons) | Target date | Last 12 km unpaved; small truck |
| Bamyan | Bamyan centre | Partner's provincial store | Store manager, with stamp | 350 kits (70 cartons) | Firm date | Goods received note on arrival |
One unit is a carton of five kits: 21 kg and 0.11 m³ gross. Loading in Kabul is the requesting organisation's; offloading and stacking at each site are the supplier's.
When Zhikal answers an RFQ
Zhikal prices transport, storage, kitting, distribution and the records that go with them, alone or as one project logistics assignment, with road transport, warehousing and procurement as separate services where you need only one. Each stage of its delivery model leaves a named record: a scope note and workplan, a resource assignment, bid analysis and inspection reports, waybills and a field supervision log, the evidence file, and a closeout report. Disruptions to access or supply are reported to the client within 24 hours with a proposed alternative.
Two projects show the records in practice: a five-province food supply with delivery evidence captured at every drop point, and a nationwide non-food-item retainer whose task orders each run through the same controls. To have a requirement priced, send the completed RFQ, or your own, to the team in Kabul. If the requirement is still taking shape, the goods, the locations, the dates and the records you need are enough to start the conversation.
Sources
- 2.3 Afghanistan Road Network (opens in a new tab)
Logistics Cluster, Logistics Capacity Assessment. Road conditions by region, including roads that lose access in winter or take only light trucks.
- 3.2 Afghanistan Transporters (opens in a new tab)
Logistics Cluster, Logistics Capacity Assessment. How the domestic trucking market, transport slips and tariffs work, and the 2022 suspension of insurance services.
- UN Procurement Practitioner's Handbook (2006) (opens in a new tab)
Inter-Agency Procurement Working Group, published by the Logistics Cluster. Long-term agreements, supplier eligibility and post-qualification, clarifications during solicitation and evaluation, and due diligence.
External sources are cited for the facts they report and were checked when this guide was last updated. Citing them implies no relationship with, or endorsement by, their publishers.