Featured image: adapted from KAOLA’s image library with AI-assisted cropping and watermarking. It does not identify a species, moisture level or shipment.
A bulk firewood RFQ works when every requirement has three things: a stated unit, a stated measurement basis and an acceptance rule. Anything you have not decided yet should be marked as unknown, not guessed. Use the checklist below to build your specification, copy the RFQ text at the end, and ask each supplier to confirm feasibility line by line.
Why firewood quotes are hard to compare
Two suppliers can use the same words and mean different things. “Dry” may refer to a different moisture basis or a different sampling point. “One cubic metre” may mean stacked, loose or solid volume. “Logs” may be split or round, and measured at the thick end or the middle. If the RFQ does not state these bases, offers look comparable when they are not, and disagreements tend to appear at arrival.
The fix is not more detail for its own sake. It is naming the basis for each field and deciding, before shipment, how you will check it.
The bulk firewood specification checklist
For each field, write what you require, the unit and basis, and how acceptance will be decided. You set the values. This checklist only covers what to define. It is a practical buying aid, not a legal or technical standard, so check your own market’s requirements separately.
| Field | What to define |
|---|---|
| Wood type | Species or species groups you accept, and any you exclude. If you are still choosing, read our guide comparing hardwood and softwood firewood. |
| Form | Split, round or mixed, and whether offcuts are acceptable. |
| Log length | Unit (mm or cm), how length is measured, and the tolerance you accept. |
| Diameter or cross-section | Unit, where on the piece it is measured, and the accepted range or tolerance. |
| Moisture | Your required value, whether it is reported on a wet basis or a dry basis, the method or instrument type you accept, and where and when samples are taken. |
| Condition | Your definitions for bark, rot, mould, insect evidence and fines, and what counts as a rejection. |
| Foreign matter | What must not be present, such as soil, stones, plastic or metal, and how it is checked. |
| Quantity basis | One invoicing basis. For mass, state kg or tonne, net or gross, and when it is weighed. For volume, state stacked, loose or solid cubic metre. |
| Packing | Bulk, bags, nets or crates; unit size in your chosen basis; any pallet requirement. |
| Labelling | Language, required content and placement on each unit. |
| Documents | The documents your market or customer requires. The supplier confirms which it can provide. For origin questions, see our notes on checking firewood source evidence. |
| Samples and pre-shipment checks | What sample you want, how it relates to bulk acceptance, and whether an inspection before loading is required. |
| Commercial terms | Destination, proposed Incoterm, target timeline, and payment terms to be agreed. |
How to handle unknowns in an RFQ
An RFQ rarely starts complete. Give each line one status: Known, Unknown or To be agreed. For every unknown, name who will decide and by when. A blank field tends to default to whatever the supplier assumes, and that assumption becomes hard to challenge later.
Ask suppliers to answer each line with one of four responses:
- Can meet
- Can meet with change, describing the change
- Cannot meet
- Needs sample before confirming
This makes counter-proposals visible and lets you compare offers line by line, not by headline price alone.
Copyable firewood RFQ template
Copy the text below into an email or document. Replace each bracket with your requirement and give every line a status.
FIREWOOD RFQ Buyer company: [name] Contact person: [name, email, phone] Destination country and port: [to state] Market or end use: [to state] For each line state: requirement | unit and basis | acceptance rule | where and when checked | status (Known / Unknown / To be agreed) Supplier reply for each line: Can meet / Can meet with change / Cannot meet / Needs sample, plus any counter-proposal 1. Wood type accepted: [species or group] | Excluded: [to state] 2. Form: [split / round / mixed] | Offcuts: [accepted / not accepted] 3. Log length: [value] [mm or cm] | Measured: [how] | Tolerance: [to state] 4. Diameter or cross-section: [value] [unit] | Measured at: [point] | Tolerance: [to state] 5. Moisture: [value] | Basis: [wet / dry] | Method: [to state] | Sampled: [at loading / at arrival / other] 6. Condition: [your definitions for bark, rot, mould, insects, fines, and rejection rule] 7. Foreign matter: [what is excluded and how it is checked] 8. Quantity: [value] | Basis: [mass: kg or tonne, net or gross, weighed when] OR [volume: stacked / loose / solid cubic metre] 9. Packing: [bulk / bag / net / crate] | Unit size: [value in chosen basis] | Pallets: [required or not, type] 10. Labelling: [language, content, placement] 11. Documents required: [list] | Supplier to confirm which can be provided 12. Sample: [type and amount] | Relation to bulk acceptance: [to state] 13. Pre-shipment check: [required or not, by whom] 14. Incoterm proposed: [to state] 15. Target timeline: [to state] 16. Payment terms: to be agreed per order 17. Notes: [anything else]
Before you send: a final check
- Every numeric field has a unit.
- Moisture states a wet or dry basis and an accepted method.
- Quantity uses one named mass or volume basis.
- Each requirement has an acceptance rule and a check point.
- Every unknown has an owner and a decision date.
- Required documents are listed.
- A contact person is named.
FAQ
Should I specify bulk firewood by mass or by volume?
Either can work, as long as you name one basis and both sides agree it before quoting. For volume, say whether you mean stacked, loose or solid cubic metres. For mass, say whether it is net or gross and when it is weighed. Mixing bases in one RFQ is a common reason quotes cannot be compared.
Send your firewood RFQ to KAOLA
For a Vietnam firewood enquiry, send KAOLA CO., LTD your purchasing requirements. Fill in what you know, mark what you don’t, and ask us to confirm feasibility for each line. Payment terms are agreed per customer and order.
You can also review our Vietnam firewood options for importers.
