--- title: Publish RFx and Collaborate with Suppliers | Aavenir url: https://aavenir.com/solutions/publish-rfx-collaborate/ description: Publish an RFI, RFP or RFQ to a supplier portal. Suppliers answer by portal, email, Word or Excel, ask questions privately and get broadcast FAQs. updated: 2026-11-07 --- [Home](https://aavenir.com/) / [Contract suite](https://aavenir.com/solutions/aavenir-contract-suite/) / [RFPflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-management-software/) / Publish and collaborate RFPflow · Publish and collaborate # Suppliers answer the way they already work. RFPflow publishes the event to a supplier portal where bidders respond by portal, email, Word or Excel, in multiple currencies. Questions go privately to the buyer, and answers that matter to everyone go out as broadcast FAQs. Definition ## What is RFx supplier collaboration? RFx supplier collaboration is the stretch of a sourcing event between publishing and the response deadline: inviting suppliers, sharing documents, answering questions fairly, announcing changes, and collecting responses in a form the buyer can compare. In [RFPflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-management-software/), suppliers sign the NDA before confidential files open, work in a portal with drafts, team members and terms acceptance, and can submit by email, Word or Excel instead. Milestone changes reach every supplier at once, and all supplier messages stay on the event. - Suppliers respond by portal, email, Word or Excel, in multiple currencies - Private questions to the buyer, shared answers as broadcast FAQs - NDAs signed before confidential files open - Milestone changes reach every invited supplier at once Our customers ## Procurement, legal, IT, finance, and sales teams run their contracts on Aavenir. American Seafoods Group T.D. Williamson Thrive Express Employment Professionals MUFG State of Utah How it works ## From publish to the response deadline. - Risk ratings from your third party or vendor risk management tool beside each supplier Suppliers sign the NDA before confidential files open Automatic reminders before each milestone. - Drafts, team members and terms acceptance live in the portal Pricing uploads in Excel, in the bidder's currency Email and Word responses land on the same event. - Questions go privately to the buyer Answers that matter to every bidder go out as broadcast FAQs Milestone changes reach every supplier at once. Why the middle of an RFP leaks time ## Fair, fast answers keep bids comparable. The weeks between publishing and the deadline are where most supplier email piles up. ### Questions across inboxes When bidders ask by email, some get answers others never see. One channel keeps information equal. ### Responses consolidated by hand A petfood manufacturer consolidated RFQ responses manually. Its procurement team now says it can [respond to suppliers twice as fast](https://aavenir.com/case-study/rfp-rfq-management-solution-with-digitized-sourcing-servicenow/). ### Confidential files sent early Site drawings and data open only after the supplier signs the NDA. Results ## What customers report after moving to Aavenir. 25%faster sourcing cycle at a leading mining company [Case study](https://aavenir.com/case-study/accelerate-sourcing-cycle-by-25-source-to-contract/) 100%digitized and automated RFx at a global premium petfood manufacturer [Case study](https://aavenir.com/case-study/rfp-rfq-management-solution-with-digitized-sourcing-servicenow/) 80%increase in efficiency at the same manufacturer [Case study](https://aavenir.com/case-study/rfp-rfq-management-solution-with-digitized-sourcing-servicenow/) “ We always had to manually create, edit, deliver, organize, and evaluate our RFx process. Aavenir has saved us countless hours of administrative work. Everything is organized in one place now, and we can respond to suppliers twice as fast. **Procurement Manager**A global premium petfood manufacturer Aavenir and the alternatives ## How Aavenir compares with the other ways teams do this. | What matters | Aavenir RFPflow | Sourcing suites | Email and spreadsheets | | Where RFx events run | On ServiceNow or standalone, from templates and a question library | Their own platform | Attachments in email threads | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Scoring | AI bid scoring and evaluation summaries, and a person decides | Weighted scoring, AI support varies | Manual scoring sheets | | From award to contract | The award becomes a Contractflow draft with the scoring attached | Often a handoff to a separate contract lifecycle management platform | Terms retyped into a contract | | Supplier onboarding and risk | Onboardingflow on the same record, with data from third party or vendor risk management tools | Often a separate module or product | Questionnaires by email | | Where others can be stronger | Focused on source to contract on one record | Broad suites also cover catalogs and more spend categories | No setup at all | Comparisons describe categories of tools, not named products. For named comparisons, see [Aavenir compared](https://aavenir.com/compare/). ## Further reading [Sourcing How to run an RFP Read the article](https://aavenir.com/blog/how-to-run-an-rfp/)[Sourcing RFI, RFQ and RFP: what is the difference? Read the article](https://aavenir.com/blog/rfi-rfq-rfp-difference/)[Procurement What is source to contract? Read the article](https://aavenir.com/blog/what-is-source-to-contract/) Questions ## Talk to a contract expert Bring a few sample agreements. We will show you Aavenir AI reading them, on ServiceNow or standalone. Schedule a demo ## Before and after the deadline [RFPflow RFIs, RFPs and RFQs from request to award Learn more](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-management-software/)[RFP creation Build the event before you publish Learn more](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-creation-software/)[Evaluate vendors Score the responses that came in Learn more](https://aavenir.com/solutions/evaluate-vendors/)[Source to contract From published RFP to contract Learn more](https://aavenir.com/use-cases/source-to-contract/)[Onboardingflow Every supplier verified before activation Learn more](https://aavenir.com/solutions/vendor-onboarding-software/)[For procurement teams Sourcing, contracts and suppliers together Learn more](https://aavenir.com/solutions/procurement-contract-management/) Frequently asked questions (FAQ) ## Common questions ### ### Can suppliers respond to an RFP in Excel? Yes. Suppliers answer in the RFPflow supplier portal, by email, or by uploading Word and Excel templates, and they can price in multiple currencies. Every response lands on the same event, so evaluators compare like with like. [See RFPflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-management-software/). ### ### How are supplier questions handled during an RFP? Suppliers send questions privately to the buyer. When an answer matters to every bidder, the buyer publishes it as a broadcast FAQ, so all suppliers work from the same information. Milestone changes reach every supplier at once. [See vendor evaluation](https://aavenir.com/solutions/evaluate-vendors/). ### ### Can we require an NDA before suppliers see RFP documents? Yes. In RFPflow, suppliers sign the NDA before confidential files open, so drawings, data and pricing history stay closed until the agreement is in place. Signed status shows on each invitation. [See RFP creation](https://aavenir.com/solutions/rfp-creation-software/). Have a question we have not answered? [Ask the Expert](https://aavenir.com/contact/) Schedule a demo ## See your contracts run on one record. - **1****A 30 minute walkthrough**Built around your team, whether that is procurement, legal, IT or finance. - **2****Your contracts, not ours**Bring a few sample agreements and watch Aavenir AI extract and review them. - **3****ServiceNow or standalone**We show the deployment that fits the systems you already run. Prefer to talk first? [Contact the team](https://aavenir.com/contact/). The form did not load. [Contact the team](https://aavenir.com/contact/) instead, or refresh the page.