Gánh - B2B Sourcing Marketplace with Like-for-Like Quote Comparison
RFQ Marketplace for Vietnamese Industrial Buyers
Designed and built a clickable buyer workspace for a Hanoi sourcing marketplace that connects electronics, furniture, food and garment plants with verified component and packaging suppliers: RFQs with versioned drawings, sealed quotes, a weighted comparison in one currency and one delivery term, awards inside approval limits, and supplier disputes with a path to escalation.
Most of our work is under NDA. Per agreement, we can share the work but not the company details - all names and identifying information shown here have been changed.
Impact
Dashboard, RFQ list, RFQ detail with 5 tabs, quote comparison and issues and disputes. Each of the 16 demo RFQs opens its own detail and comparison page.
Price, lead time, quality and supplier history, scored on a landed estimate in VND: USD quotes converted at the stated Vietcombank rate and freight added to EXW and FOB quotes.
Awards above the procurement officer's 200,000,000 VND limit go to the procurement manager, and choosing anything other than the top score needs a written reason.
Across all 7 RFQ statuses, with 13 suppliers in Vietnam and China, 10 purchase orders, 10 disputes and certificates that are valid, expiring, expired or unverified.
The Problem
Buyers on Cầu Mây's old service posted requirements into Zalo groups and email threads. Drawings went out as unversioned attachments, suppliers quoted in different units, currencies and Incoterms, and a buyer spent a day building a comparison spreadsheet for every RFQ. Nobody could tell whether a supplier's ISO 9001 certificate was still valid, RFQ to purchase order took 2 to 3 weeks, and a third of awarded orders were never recorded, so the commission was lost.
Our Solution
Gánh runs the whole sourcing loop in one place: an RFQ with lines, revisioned drawings and commercial terms, invited and marketplace suppliers, clarifications that can be published to everyone, quotes compared like for like on one currency and delivery term, an award that routes to the right approver, and issues with suppliers that escalate to Cầu Mây when the parties cannot agree.
The Challenge: Comparing Quotes That Were Never Alike
A sourcing marketplace only works if buyers trust the suppliers and can compare their offers fairly. In Vietnam that means business identity checks, certificates with real expiry dates, international trade terms, mixed currencies and new e-commerce and personal data laws.
Quotes in Different Terms
One supplier quotes DAP to the plant in VND, another EXW at its factory, a third FOB Shenzhen in USD. Under Incoterms 2020 these are different prices, and comparing them as if they were equal picks the wrong supplier.
Drawings Without Revisions
Drawings and quality requirements went out as loose attachments. When a drawing changed, some suppliers quoted the old revision and nobody knew who had downloaded which one.
Trust That Expires
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, IATF 16949, FSC chain of custody and food-contact certificates each have a certification body, a scope and an expiry date. Enterprise codes need checking against the National Business Registration Portal, and organisations need sanctions screening.
Awards and Disputes Off the Record
Awards were agreed in chat and confirmed by suppliers who often forgot, so Cầu Mây invoiced commission by hand and lost a third of it. Late or nonconforming deliveries had no shared timeline or escalation path.
Our Approach: From Sourcing Rules to a Clickable Buyer Workspace
Spec and Rules Research
Mapped 13 user roles across buyers, suppliers and Cầu Mây staff, 49 screens over the buyer workspace, supplier portal, operator back office and public pages, and the data model for RFQs, invitations, clarifications, quotes, awards, approvals, purchase orders and disputes. Wrote down the rules the design follows: Vietnam's personal data and e-commerce laws, e-invoices under Decree 254/2026, enterprise code checks, sanctions screening, Incoterms 2020 and certificate expiry.
Clickable Demo on a Production UI Kit
Built 5 key buyer screens on an in-house dashboard kit: the dashboard with KPIs, RFQs closing soon, My work and needs attention, the RFQ list with status pills and filters, RFQ detail with drawing revisions, supplier reminders, sealed quotes and clarifications, the quote comparison with line matrix, weighted score, award and best and final offer, and issues and disputes. All actions run on local state.
What a Production Build Adds
The supplier portal and operator back office, business registration lookup, certificate checks against IAF CertSearch, sanctions screening, e-invoices for Cầu Mây's fees through a provider such as MISA meInvoice, VietQR and VNPAY payments, digital signatures for POs and rulings, a drawing viewer, Zalo notifications, virus-scanned file storage, role-based access and an audit trail for every award, approval and ruling.
Why It Works: Like for Like, On the Record
One Currency, One Delivery Term
The comparison switches between VND and USD at a named rate and date, adds estimated freight to quotes that are not delivered to the plant and says so, highlights the lowest price and fastest lead time per line, and marks an MOQ above the RFQ quantity in red.
Fair to Every Supplier
Sealed quotes stay hidden until the deadline, so nobody on the buying team sees a price early. Clarification answers can be published to all invited suppliers without naming who asked, and questions unanswered after 2 working days turn amber.
Compliance Filters, Not Footnotes
Only compliant shows quotes that cover every line from suppliers holding valid required certificates. An expired certificate stops counting and appears under needs attention, and RFQs in categories flagged for export control carry a visible review tag.
Awards and Disputes Leave a Trail
Every award shows whether it is within the user's limit or who must approve it, with a reason when the top score is passed over. Disputes keep supplier replies, evidence and internal notes on one timeline and unlock escalation to Cầu Mây after 5 working days without agreement.
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Enterprise Software Engineering - Human + AI
Contact Us
© 2026 - Copyright. All Rights reserved Oceanlab
Location
Global Headquarters
21 Merchant Road, 3rd Floor, Singapore 058267
Main corporate office and leadership operations
North America Office
548 Market Street, PMB 12345, San Francisco, CA 94104
Client operations and business development
India Office
402 Shivalik Shilp II, SG Highway, Ahmedabad 380015
Engineering and delivery center
Enterprise Software Engineering - Human + AI
Contact Us
Locations
Global Headquarters
21 Merchant Road, 3rd Floor, Singapore 058267
Main corporate office and leadership operations
North America Office
548 Market Street, PMB 12345, San Francisco, CA 94104
Client operations and business development
India Office
402 Shivalik Shilp II, SG Highway, Ahmedabad 380015
Engineering and delivery center
© 2026 - Copyright. All Rights reserved Oceanlab