My 2 cents ......
Now that I reside in Memphis (Land of FEDEX), I can tell you that (in my experience) some of the major players (like FEDEX) have some very strict requirements for their contracted vendors. FEDEX won't approve ya if you don't have a DUN, as well, they tend to like to bid things out, giving extra weight to Minorty Owned businesses, etc.....
While this may not be the case with your prospective "big" account, certainly you can learn a little lesson from the experience (I learned this one as well, the hard way)
In my primary business, I normally have to prepare written quotes and bids for my services. A prospective client contacted me during a slow period and I provided a quote/bid with some amazingly excellent pricing (due to the need for work at the time). I thought that I had dotted all of my "i's" and crossed all of my "t's" and left well enough alone and I heard nothing back from the prospect for nearly a year.
Then, while in the midst of five big projects, I receive a check and a "go ahead" from that prospect. Of course, since money was now "rolling in," I didn't really want to take on this project for the quoted price, but I felt morally bound to honor my quote/bid.
Subsequently, any bid/quote I make now has a specified time limit in which I will honor my pricing and the level of commitment to the project. Of course, I don't arbitrarily pick this time limit., I simply ask the prospect when they plan to make a decision and add a few weeks to that date so that both parties don't feel rushed.
