How to create vendor price requests to get vendor quote
Learn how to create and submit vendor price requests to receive accurate vendor quotes for contract items
Overview
We learnt in our previous article that the renewal engineer shares the exported asset list file with customer for their review and approval. Once the customer approves the asset list after review and changes, if any, the next step is to proceed with pricing where first step is to create a price request for the approved asset list items.
This article walks through how Renewal Engineers can review Asset Lists items for vendor pricing and add them to a new or existing Pricing Request (PR).
Prefer video? Watch the walkthrough here
Previous step: How to review asset lists and prepare them for customer validation
Key Terms Used
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Renewal |
In the VAR ecosystem, Renewal refers to the process of extending, maintenance contract to continue service coverage for hardware or software. This typically involves reviewing expiring contracts, create asset lists for customers to approve, prepare list of assets/services to be priced, and initiate quoting process for services like: Cisco SmartNet maintenance contracts Managed service subscriptions etc
The renewal process ensures uninterrupted service, and allows for co-terming, identify potential product upgrades, or request for change in service levels. |
| Renewal Dashboard | Visual interface showing accounts and contracts approaching expiration |
| Renewal Project | A grouped set of Internal Contracts related to a customer |
| Internal Contract (IC) | System-generated record that mirrors a vendor contract, storing contract items |
| IC Console | Workspace to review and act on contract items |
| IC Items | Line items such as SKUs, services, or subscriptions within an Internal Contract |
| Asset List | A selected list of IC Items to be prepared for customer review and pricing |
| Asset List Console | Workspace where asset lists are reviewed and prepared for customer sharing. |
| Asset List Items | Individual contract items grouped in an asset list for renewals. |
| Price Request | A document sent to vendors to obtain pricing details for the selected items in asset lists. |
Table of Content
| S.No. | Topic | Detail | Timestamp |
| 1 | Introduction | Introduction about video content- how to review asset list items and add them to new or existing price request | 00:00 |
| 2 | Key Terms and Concepts |
Defines key terms like Price request | 00:25 |
| 3 | Table of Content | Provides a preview of the topics that will be covered in this video to help viewers understand the structure of the walkthrough. | 01:15 |
| 4 | Navigating to Asset List Items section in AL console | Explains how Renewal engineer can access Asset List items details console | 01:29 |
| 5 | Purpose and features in Asset List Items section | Describes the layout and key information in AL items section in console | 02:05 |
| 6 | Create/Add PR action | Explains how to select items for adding to new or existing price request | 04:15 |
| 7 | Next Step and Conclusion | Next steps in renewal process and summary | 05:05 |
Watch the Video
1. Viewing Asset List Items
Select the specific records to review in the Asset console view. Click Show AL Items button which appears on top right action menu on selection.
This collapses the Asset List header and shows all line items: part number, description, SLA, expiry date, and more.
Hyperlinks in fields such as Account, Renewal Project, Internal Contract, and Asset List Header let you open their full detail pages.
2. Applying Filters and Inline Editing For Updates
You have the facility to use filters to focus on priority renewals:
- Server filter on Stage (e.g., Due for Renewal).
- Column filters on all fields such as SLA, Product Description, or Renewal End Date.
You can also modify or update the asset list item records with inline editing. Inline edits are especially useful when:
- A customer requests a new SLA level during review.
- Renewal End Dates need to be aligned for co-termination.
Double-click to edit SLA or End Date for a single record.
Use bulk edit to update multiple records at once.
3. Creating or Adding a Pricing Request (PR)
Pricing request is created for the client approved asset list items to proceed with vendor pricing.
Select one or more asset list items → Action bar appears.
Click Create/Add PR. This will open a pop-up window.
From the dropdown, Choose:
- New →To create a new pricing request for the selected items. Enter Pricing Request name and click Save.
- Existing → Select from dropdown of PRs already created under the Renewal Project.
The PR Name appears in the Pricing Request column (with hyperlink to open the Pricing Request detail page).
Clicking the arrow next to it opens the PR Console.
4. Other Actions in Asset List Items Console
Deleting Items from an Asset List.
If an item doesn’t need renewal or is redundant, select it and click Delete.
Multiple records can be deleted at once from bulk delete option.
Refresh and Stage Updates
Click Refresh to update the console view.
When PR is created it implies customer validation has been done and asset list is approved, the Stage column updates to Customer Approved.
5.What's Next?
The next step in renewal process is working with the PR Console to review Pricing Requests and export them to vendors for quoting.
Continue to: How to Review and Export Pricing Requests for Vendor Quoting
6. Summary
In this article, we explored how to review Asset List Items in detail, apply filters to focus on the most relevant records, and update key fields like SLA or renewal end dates to ensure accuracy before proceeding. We also looked at how to create or add items to a Pricing Request, remove unnecessary entries, and refresh the view to reflect the latest stage updates.
With these steps complete, your Asset List is validated and prepared to move forward into the vendor pricing stage.
Related Tutorials
- How to review Asset Lists and prepare them for customer validation (Previous step)
- How to Review and Export Pricing Requests for Vendor Quoting(Next step)
