How to

How to craft an RFP for a merch program

A practical Request-for-Proposal playbook for procurement and brand managers in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara: how to scope the program, structure the questions, weight the evaluation, and run a clean comparison that survives an internal audit and a Carta Porte 3.0 shipment.

The 7-step flow Useful tools

Why most merch RFPs fail before they begin

An RFP — Request for Proposal — is the document a buyer sends to several suppliers to compare offers on a single, neutral brief. In theory. In practice, most merch RFPs fail for one of three reasons: they describe the buyer's wish list without describing the buyer's constraints; they weight evaluation criteria that nobody on the buying side actually agrees on; or they request a fixed unit price before the supplier has seen a strike-off, which forces suppliers to pad their offers.

In Mexico, two extra frictions appear. The first is tax. A quote in MXN without 16% IVA is not a quote; a quote in MXN with IVA but without a CFDI 4.0 commitment is also incomplete. Suppliers that understand invoicing under Carta Porte 3.0 for freight and IMMEX for imported inputs price differently from suppliers that do not. The second is delivery. CDMX, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Querétaro, Tijuana and Mérida have different freight economics and different last-mile realities; an RFP that does not specify delivery windows by city will receive offers that silently assume the cheapest route.

The scope below targets a mid-market program: 1,500 to 15,000 units across three to ten SKUs, one to three brand marks, and a 60 to 90 day cycle from RFP issue to first delivery. Adjust the volumes if your scope is different; the structure holds.

What this guide is not: it is not a procurement policy. It is the document the procurement team hands to the brand team (and vice versa) so the RFP that goes to suppliers actually answers their questions.

The 7-step RFP flow

  1. Write the program scope in one page. Audience, use case, total units, number of SKUs, brand marks, delivery cities and dates, budget band (without revealing the exact budget), and the must-have compliance items (NOM-050, REACH SVHC if exporting under USMCA or T-MEC, IMMEX status if applicable).
  2. Lock the technical brief per SKU. Substrate (180 g/m² cotton tee, 300 g/m² PU notebook cover, 18/8 stainless tumbler, etc.), print method (screen print, embroidery, UV print, deboss, laser), Pantone codes with thread and ink equivalents, decoration area with tolerance, and packaging requirements.
  3. Define the evaluation matrix and weights. Five criteria with explicit weights: unit price (40%), lead time and reliability (20%), strike-off quality (15%), compliance and certifications (15%), references and capacity (10%). Avoid "total quality" or "best value" as standalone criteria — they invite arguments, not decisions.
  4. Issue the RFP with a fixed response window. 10 business days for Q&A, 15 business days for proposal submission, 5 business days for clarification. State the response window in the cover letter; suppliers that cannot meet it are filtered out before evaluation.
  5. Run a single Q&A session. All questions in writing; answers published to all bidders within 48 hours. Side conversations with individual bidders are a procurement anti-pattern; they reward the loudest voice, not the best offer.
  6. Score on the matrix, not on the relationship. Three evaluators score independently, then meet to compare. A scorecard template attached to the RFP makes the comparison auditable. Document any deviation from the matrix with a written reason; "we've always used them" is not a reason.
  7. Award with a written decision memo. One page: chosen supplier, matrix score, total cost (with IVA and freight separated), risks identified, and a mitigation plan. Attach to the PO and the supplier contract. The decision memo is what an internal auditor will ask for in 18 months.

Common pitfalls that quietly break the comparison

The first pitfall is asking for a fixed price before the strike-off. Suppliers that quote a fixed unit price without a sample either pad for risk or quote the cheapest substrate they can find. Ask for an indicative range with a strike-off commitment, then negotiate the unit price after approval.

The second pitfall is ignoring the freight line. A MXN 250,000 quote becomes MXN 295,000 once DHL Express, FedEx Mexico or Estafeta to five cities is added; the difference is not padding, it is the real landed cost. Always ask for a unit price and a freight line by city.

The third pitfall is mixing pesos and dollars in the same matrix. Convert everything to one currency at the moment of comparison, using the same published rate. Mixing currencies makes evaluation look objective and is actually a way to hide the spread.

The fourth pitfall is forgetting the 16% IVA and the 2% state payroll tax on maquila if production touches an IMMEX operator. Both are real costs; both should be on the matrix, not added later.

The fifth pitfall is awarding on the lowest unit price without checking the strike-off. A supplier with a slightly higher unit price but a stronger strike-off saves a rework cycle and the 5 to 8 business days that a new strike-off costs. The matrix weights exist for a reason — apply them.

Tools, templates and references

RFP template: a single PDF with five sections — scope, technical brief, evaluation matrix, response format, timeline. Distribute as a controlled document with a tracking number, not as a forwarded email.

Scorecard: a spreadsheet with the five criteria, weights, and one column per evaluator. Lock the formulas; free-form cells invite bias.

Decision memo: a one-page memo attached to the PO with chosen supplier, score, total cost (IVA and freight separated), risks, and mitigation plan.

References: NOM-050 for textile labeling, ISO 105-C06 for wash colorfastness, ASTM D5034 for tensile strength, REACH SVHC for export under USMCA or T-MEC, Carta Porte 3.0 for freight compliance, and the buyer's own procurement policy for the corporate format.

Suggested timeline: 10 business days for Q&A, 15 days for proposals, 5 days for clarification, 10 days for decision and PO. Total cycle: 40 to 60 business days, plus production.