How to write a precast RFQ that gets you an accurate quote
A precast RFQ checklist for UAE buyers: the quantity, drawings, grade, delivery emirate, access, date and authority details we need to price a job without padding the number.
The message we get most often is three lines long. “Need jersey barriers for a Dubai job. How much and how fast?” No quantity, no length, no delivery address, no date. We can reply with a range, but it’s a range wide enough to be useless to the person asking, and that’s nobody’s fault except the RFQ.
Here’s the thing worth knowing before you send the next one: an accurate quote isn’t something we withhold until you push. It’s something we can only build from what you give us. Fill the gaps and the first number back is the real number. Leave them and we price the risk we can’t see. This is the short list of what to put in a precast RFQ so you get a quote you can actually put in a tender.
What does a precast supplier need to quote a job?
Six things let us price supply and delivery without guessing: quantity, a drawing or exact dimensions, the concrete grade or standard, the delivery emirate and site access, the required date, and the approving authority. Miss any one and we either come back with questions or, on a tight deadline, quote high to cover the unknown.
None of these are hard to supply. Most are already sitting in the drawing set or the BOQ on your desk. The problem is almost never that the buyer doesn’t have the information. It’s that the RFQ gets fired off with half of it.
What to send, and what happens when you leave it out
Each line in the RFQ maps to a real cost we either calculate or hedge. When the line is missing, the hedge is a margin, and the margin lands on your price.
| What we need | Why it moves the price | If you leave it out |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | Volume amortises mould, setup and delivery cost — see how small orders get priced | We quote low-volume rates by default |
| Drawing / dimensions | Sets concrete volume, steel and mould | Made-to-order items can’t be priced at all |
| Grade or standard | C40/50 costs more than a lower mix; steel follows the load class | We assume the higher grade to be safe |
| Delivery emirate + access | A Fujairah crane offload isn’t a Dubai yard drop | Delivery gets a worst-case allowance |
| Required date | Rush work reorders the casting line | We can’t confirm feasibility, so we caveat |
| Approving authority | RTA, DM and ADM each have their own submittal and QA package | Approval risk gets priced or the quote gets a disclaimer |
The pattern is the same down the whole table. Every blank you leave, we fill with the answer that protects us, which is rarely the answer that helps you. A complete RFQ takes the guesswork off both sides of the desk.
Why do two suppliers quote the same product so differently?
Usually because they read the same vague RFQ and made different assumptions to cover the gaps. One assumes stock, the other assumes made-to-order. One prices a Dubai delivery, the other allows for a crane. You end up comparing two guesses, not two prices.
Take a jersey barrier. Our indicative range runs AED 150 to AED 850 a unit, and that spread is real: a 1-metre unit against a reinforced 3-metre K-rail section, ten pieces against three hundred, a yard collection against a sequenced site delivery. Both ends are honest prices for different jobs. If your RFQ doesn’t say which job it is, the quote can land anywhere in that band. Tell us it’s 120 units of 3-metre barrier delivered to a single Dubai site over two drops, and the number tightens to something you can actually compare like-for-like.
The same logic scales up. A box culvert sits between roughly AED 480 and AED 2,600 a unit depending on cell count and section, and a precast manhole between AED 3,500 and AED 18,000 by depth and chamber size. None of those ranges narrow until the drawing arrives.
Do you always need shop drawings?
No, and this is where a lot of RFQs stall unnecessarily. Stock items quote from quantity and delivery alone.
- Stock and semi-stock — jersey barriers, fence bases, hoarding blocks, wheel stoppers. Give us quantity, size variant, delivery point and date. No drawing needed. These typically ship in 2 to 5 days.
- Made to order — box culverts, manholes, chambers, custom foundations. These need a drawing or exact internal dimensions, the grade, and the load class, because we cast them to your section, not off a shelf. Lead times run 5 to 14 days once the drawing is approved.
If you’re quoting a stock item, don’t wait on a drawing you don’t need. If you’re quoting a made-to-order unit, the drawing is the single most valuable thing in the RFQ, so send it first.
What about the grade and the authority?
State the concrete grade or the governing standard, and name the authority who signs off. For UAE infrastructure the working grade is commonly C40/50 to BS EN 206, but don’t assume we’ll guess right, because the wrong grade re-prices the whole job. On the approval side, RTA-controlled roadworks, a Dubai Municipality drainage submittal and an Abu Dhabi Municipality package each carry their own QA and documentation — our guide to which UAE approval your precast actually needs maps each product to its authority. Naming the authority up front means the quote already includes the right submittal effort instead of bolting it on later as a variation.
One line in the RFQ covers both: “C40/50 per project spec, RTA approval.” That sentence alone removes two rounds of email.
How fast can we turn a quote around?
For a clear RFQ on a stock item, same day or next. For made-to-order units that need a drawing check, one to three working days. What slows it down is never our end. It’s the RFQ that arrives missing quantity or delivery, so the first thing we send back is questions, and the clock only starts when you answer them. A complete RFQ is the fastest quote you’ll get, every time.
For multi-product orders heading to one site, mention that too. We can often consolidate the run through a single combined delivery instead of separate trips, which changes the logistics line for the better.
Frequently asked questions
What information does a precast supplier need to give a quote? Quantity, a drawing or exact dimensions, the concrete grade or standard, the delivery emirate and site access, the required date, and the approving authority. With those six we can price supply and delivery without guessing.
Why do precast quotes vary so much for the same product? Because the RFQ leaves gaps we have to price for. Missing grade, unknown quantity or unclear access all get covered by a safety margin. A complete RFQ removes the guesswork and the padding that comes with it.
How long does a precast quote take in the UAE? For a stock item with a clear RFQ, usually the same day or next. For made-to-order units that need a drawing check, one to three working days. An incomplete RFQ adds a round of questions first.
Do I need shop drawings to get a precast quote? Not always. Stock items like barriers and fence bases quote from quantity and delivery alone. Made-to-order units such as box culverts and manholes need a drawing or exact internal dimensions, the grade, and the load class.
What is the most common mistake in a precast RFQ? Leaving out quantity and delivery location. Both change the per-unit price more than almost anything else, so a quote without them is a guess you’ll have to redo.
A vague RFQ gets a padded quote, because we price the risk we can't see. Send quantity, the drawing, the grade, the delivery emirate, and your date, and the first number you get back is the real one. That saves a week of back-and-forth.
Send us an RFQ we can price on the first pass
Put quantity, the drawing or dimensions, the grade, delivery emirate and site access, your required date, and the approving authority in one message. That’s everything we need to quote supply and delivery without a round of questions. Browse the full precast product range if you’re still scoping, then send the details across.
