Topic: Procurement and trade terms · Published · Updated · Version 1
How to send a sourcing request
A sourcing request is a written description of the goods or service you want quoted. It is not an order, it is not a contract, and it does not take payment. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) defines procurement as “the buying of goods and services that enable an organisation to operate its supply chains, in a profitable and ethical manner,” and describes a cycle that starts with the identification of needs (What is procurement?). This page explains what a useful request should say, and what a request on this site does and does not do. It is general information, not purchasing or legal advice, and it does not promise that a quotation will be issued.
What procurement sources say a request is for
CIPS describes procurement activity as overseeing a cycle — including market analysis, sourcing, negotiation, contracting and supplier relationship management — “from the identification of needs, through to the end of a services contract or the end of the useful life of an asset” (What is procurement?). A sourcing request sits early in that cycle: it states the need clearly enough that a later quotation can be checked against it. It is not the contract.
On the same CIPS page, a “request for quotations” is a method in which an organisation chooses suppliers and asks them to quote against stated requirements. That is a general method in the CIPS text, not a description of this site. Global Market does not publish supplier or brand identities, and this guide does not say that a request is sent to a chosen list of suppliers.
Fields that make a request checkable
The live form on Global Market is the authority for which fields it records. Product pages on 10 November 2026 asked buyers, when requesting a quote, to include the specification they need, the quantity, the destination, and whether a substitute may be quoted. A checkable request should make those points explicit, and should usually also include the following.
- The item, and any listing you started from, in your own words.
- Quantity, and the unit that quantity refers to (pieces, sets, kilograms, metres, sheets, or another unit you name). NIST Special Publication 811 is the SI writing reference this guide uses when a length, mass or other SI quantity is stated: write the number and the unit.
- A specification the quotation can be checked against: size or range, material, the standard or drawing reference, pack contents, and condition.
- A substitution rule: whether a substitute may be quoted, must be asked about first, or is not acceptable.
- The destination. If you want a trade term considered, name an Incoterms® 2020 rule and a place, rather than a paraphrase such as “delivered”.
- Any trade classification you already have, such as an HS code, together with the system it comes from. A code does not replace the specification.
- Any document you want a later quotation to address. Naming the document is not the same as receiving it.
A product title alone, such as “steel” or “sheet metal”, is not a complete request.
What sending a request does not do
On the live Global Market site, a sourcing request is a description saved for the site’s process. It is not an order. Product pages state that the form saves a request and does not take payment, and the site states that checkout and payments are disabled. The published sourcing-request guide on this site states that submitting the form does not by itself contact a supplier. Supplier identities are kept off the storefront. The homepage also states that a request is not automatically shared with MyBX Business Exchange.
A request does not confirm stock, a certificate, a lead time or a trade term. This article does not restate listing figures. On 10 November 2026 the homepage described the visible listings as a synthetic storefront demonstration, not real offers, and wiki pages carried a banner that the deployment accepted a synthetic `.invalid` email until live enquiries were opened. Whether live buyer enquiries are open on a later deployment, and whether a saved request will be answered, is UNKNOWN here and must be read from the live form or a later written quotation, not assumed from this article.
After the request
A clear request makes later steps in the CIPS cycle easier to check, but it does not skip them. Confirm the specification, documents, quantity, destination and any trade term in a written quotation before you treat the work as agreed.
Related guides cover Incoterms® 2020, HS codes, steel grades and sheet metal. Use them to fill in the specification; they are not a substitute for the request itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is a sourcing request an order? No. On this site it is a description of what you want quoted. It is not a contract and it does not take payment.
Do I have to name a brand or a supplier? The storefront does not publish brand or supplier identities. Name the specification, the standard or drawing reference, the quantity and the destination instead.
Will sending a request contact suppliers for me? The published site wording does not treat a submitted request as, by itself, a contact with a supplier. What happens after a request is saved, and whether live enquiries are open, is UNKNOWN beyond what the live form shows.
Does a request set a lead time? No. That, if it is agreed at all, belongs in a later written quotation. It is not stated in this article.
Sources
Read 10 November 2026, Asia/Singapore (UTC+8).
- What is procurement? — Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply
- Special Publication 811: Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI) — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Global Market homepage — site facts about the storefront, checkout, MyBX sharing, and the 10 November 2026 demonstration-listing notice, read the same day
Related
Incoterms 2020: what buyers should name in a request · HS codes in international sourcing · Steel: name the standard and the grade · Sheet metal: what to specify in a request · Sourcing guides