Build a purchasing request your team can evaluate.

A complete RFQ reduces clarification cycles.

Provide the manufacturer and part number where required, product specifications, pack size, quantity, acceptable equivalents, and delivery address. For paper, janitorial, PPE, or facility consumables, distinguish a single order from an estimated recurring requirement. Include quote validity requirements, submission deadline, required delivery date, and whether split deliveries are acceptable.

List the documents your purchasing office needs, such as a supplier information form, insurance evidence, tax documentation, or an applicable contract reference. Request these through the business contact or signed in document workspace. Do not place student records, employee information, payment credentials, or other sensitive information in an RFQ.

Keep purchasing authority and contract scope explicit.

Ask McDowells to confirm whether requested janitorial products fall within an applicable COSTARS awarded scope before relying on that purchasing route. A supplier registration is not itself a contract award. Your organization determines its own authority to purchase, required approvals, and evaluation procedures. McDowells is an independent business, not a government agency.

For purchases outside an applicable contract scope, identify your required quotation or solicitation process. Pricing, product substitutions, freight, delivery windows, and payment terms require written confirmation. Nationwide institutional inquiries are reviewed by item and destination; no local office or universal contract eligibility is implied.

Prepare the receiving location.

School and campus deliveries can have limited receiving hours, loading restrictions, building specific addresses, or requirements for inside delivery. State those conditions before the quote is prepared. For repeat orders, define who can approve releases and how changes to quantities or delivery dates will be communicated.

Pennsylvania buyer information ↗

Make the next step specific.

Prepare institutional supply RFQs for schools, municipalities, and public buyers. Confirm specifications, purchasing authority, delivery, and applicable COSTARS scope.