The difference between the two is worth getting right, because it decides which one you want. A request for quotation is self-serve: you post a specification and suppliers answer it. Trade Room is assisted: a person takes the requirement and goes looking, which is what you need when the search itself is the hard part.
A request here opens a case rather than sending a message. It has a reference you can quote, a stage you can see, documents attached to it, and a person answering, and when it moves, you are told what moved and why. Each stage a person works carries the same commitment: a response within three to five business days.
What Sooqban does not do is as fixed as what it does. It does not contract on your behalf and never holds your money. The platform hosts the introduction and what you agree is between you and the other party. On a financing or insurance request there is a harder rule still. No fee may ever be worked out from the value of the deal, and that one is enforced in code rather than promised in a paragraph.
At a glance
- What it is
- Assisted sourcing and trade support, worked as a case by a person
- How it differs from a quotation request
- That one is self-serve: you post, suppliers answer. Here, someone goes looking for you
- Response time
- 3–5 business days at each stage a person works
- On a financing request
- No fee may ever be computed from the deal’s value. Flat only, enforced in code
- Who may open one
- A registered business in one of the seven served countries. Anyone, anywhere, may read
How a case runs
- You describe the requirementWhat you need, in what volume, to what standard, and where it has to arrive. The more exact the specification, the shorter the search.
- You attach what supports itDrawings, specifications, certificates, company documents. They belong to the case, not to an email thread nobody can find later.
- A person reviews itWithin three to five business days, and if something is missing you are told exactly what, rather than left to guess.
- You can see where it stands, and stop itThe case shows its stage and its reference. You can withdraw it at any point, and a request Sooqban cannot help with is closed with a reason rather than left open.
Who this is for
- A buyer who has searched, found nothing that fits, and would rather describe the requirement once than keep searching.
- A manufacturer who needs an input to a specification and cannot risk the wrong grade arriving.
- A business looking for a partner, a distributor or funding, which is not something a catalogue can answer.
Questions
How is this different from posting a request for quotation?
A quotation request is self-serve and public to suppliers: you post it and they answer. Trade Room is assisted. You describe the need and a person goes looking. If you already know what you want and who might make it, the quotation request is faster.
Does Sooqban take a share of what I agree?
Sooqban is not a party to what you agree. The platform hosts the introduction and the contract is yours. On a financing or insurance request there is an absolute rule: no fee may ever be computed from the deal’s value, and it is enforced in code rather than written in a policy.
What happens if you cannot help?
The case is closed with a reason. You can also withdraw it yourself at any stage, and nothing obliges you to accept anything that comes back.
Can I read this from outside the seven countries?
Anyone may read Sooqban from anywhere. Registering a business, which is what opening a case needs, is available in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Trade Room opens to founding members first.
Register now and you keep a permanent badge recording when you joined, priority in every review queue, and first access to each part of the platform as it opens. This one included.