You want to have at least three qualified vendors to participate in any competitive bidding process. The best way to guarantee qualified vendor participation is to make yourself accessible so vendors can ask you questions. Not many eRFXs or reverse auctions are perfect in everyway and answer all the questions that the vendors may have. Always include your desk number, fax number and email in all your communications. This will put the vendors at ease because if they know how to get in touch with you, they are more likely to ask questions and feel more comfortable doing business with you.

Keep in mind that none of the communication methods work all by themselves. If you do receive questions, answer them soon. Even if it is a simple message that says,