Wire harness RFQ checklist: what to get before you quote

Why a checklist

WHMA surveyed 23 harness makers in 2026: 70 % named incomplete customer information, 70 % supplier price delays and 61 % waiting for clarification, against 17 % the estimating work itself; 57 % take six or more business days per quote, and 74 % rated a standard RFQ checklist very or extremely useful. The sample is small, but it matches what shops tell us: the quote waits for answers, not for arithmetic.

The checklist

• Drawing with part number and revision, dated.
• Connection list (from-to): every wire with both ends — connector and cavity — gauge, colour and type.
• Branch lengths and their tolerance, and the point each length is measured from.
• BOM with manufacturer part numbers for housings, terminals, seals, cavity plugs, coverings, labels; which alternates are allowed.
• Parts the customer supplies (free issue), if any.
• Quantities and breaks, delivery schedule, expected annual volume.
• Wire specification: type (e.g. FLRY-B, TXL), mm² or AWG, colours and stripes.
• Coverings: tape type and style, sleeve, conduit, heat-shrink, where each starts and stops.
• Marking: label content, type and position.
• Twists, shields and drain wires, with lay length if specified.
• Test requirements: continuity, insulation or hi-pot, what is recorded.
• Acceptance standard and class the customer names. Note it; do not interpret it on the customer's behalf.
• Packaging and labelling of the delivered harness.
• Documents to deliver: first-article report, certificates.

In Zorowire

Missing part numbers and missing prices are flagged before the quote goes out. The RFQ-readiness checklist groups the rest the way this guide does: customer information still missing, parts not identified, supplier prices still to request (with a price-request list), and workmanship questions to put to the customer.