In the age of the Internet, AI, and Social Networks, traditional Requests for Proposals waste valuable time for both the preparer and the responder.

George Dean

Enhanced RFP Selection Journey

1. Initiate

Engage with all constituents, organize clearly, and establish a rational, fair evaluation process.

Deliverable: Charter, aka Mission

2. Define Requirements

Application requirements are important, but other requirements, such as vendor stability, application management and support, reporting, and analytics, are just as important.

Deliverable: Requirements

3. Create RFP

Create and publish RFP. Include questionnaires for technology standards, vendor profiles, user census, requirements, and costs.

Deliverable: RFP

4. Evaluate RFP

Quantitatively score as much as possible. Proceed to interviews and software demos with the top-scoring vendors.

Deliverable: RFP Evaluation Scores

5. Conduct Interviews

Vendors with the highest RFP solicitation scores can present their solutions and demo their software.

Deliverable: Interview and Demo Scores

6. Conduct References

Contact vendor customer references. Gather their perspectives on vendor performance and solution capabilities.

Deliverable: Reference Call Notes

7. Conduct Visits

Schedule HQ visits with the highest-scoring vendors through the RFP and interview/demo stages. Meet with vendor senior leaders and tour their facilities, including data centers.

Deliverable: Site Visit Scores

8. Select Vendor

Recommend the vendor having the highest cumulative score through all evaluation stages.

Deliverable: Vendor Recommendation

Think Twice Before Creating a Request for Proposal

Avoid creating an RFP when possible. RFPs sap an organization's scarce resources and provide, at best, a marginal return.

Time is the scarcest of organizational resources. It can't be replenished.

Organizations prepare Request for Proposals (RFP) solicitations primarily for three reasons:

  1. As a mechanism to formally communicate their needs to vendors.
  2. To gather information and knowledge on potential vendors and their solutions.
  3. To use the completed solicitations received from vendors as a basis for their acquisition decision.

The RFP Paradox

Here's the paradox.

Organizations with overly bureaucratic procurement policies that restrict discussion, communication, and discovery between business users and vendors during the RFP process further constrain knowledge flow.

So, considering the time and effort most RFPs require, where's the value? It's expensive, time-consuming, and results in less-than-optimal decisions.