Solicitation is the process of requesting bids or proposals from potential suppliers. Once the supplier research and market analysis is complete, and one has identified several suppliers that are well positioned in their markets and appear to have the qualifications that one needs, the sourcing team can develop a solicitation plan. The plan should establish the method to be used for the solicitation and, when applicable, the type of contract to be used. The solicitation plan is driven by the nature of what is being acquired and the makeup of the supply base in the particular market in which one is sourcing. In the process of developing the plan, one must evaluate the nature of the acquisition as a way of narrowing the sourcing possibilities. One should always keep in mind that there are sourcing and procurement actions that fall outside the requirement for solicitation, such as purchasing card transactions and spot or micropurchases. This chapter discusses various solicitation methods such as The Invitation for Bid (IFB), The Request for Quotation (RFQ), etc.