What's really behind a prospective vendor's door?
RFPs historically were used to gather information from a vendor. Decades ago, the Internet didn't exist, and vendors closely guarded their customer lists. RFPs were the primary option for gathering vendor information to make an informed decision.
The Internet and AI provide extensive information on vendor marketplaces and products. The decision-maker's dilemma has shifted from no information source, except the vendor, to information overload and clutter.
Use one of two vendor evaluation and selection approaches.
An enhanced traditional approach that values a stage-gated process leveraging procurement organizations as intermediaries with vendors. Early diligence is centered on software requirements. Evaluation stages progress linearly until a final vendor recommendation.
Learn More A partnering approach that leverages ongoing capability team research and networking activities is heavy on interactive dialogue and is lighter on paper and intermediaries to accelerate and optimize your vendor decision.
Three enablers distinguish the JITDE™ from the Enhanced RFP approach:
The JITDE™ approach, aka Brief-based approach, emphasizes early in-depth diligence, such as needs, vendor and peer organization engagement, minimum vendor requirements, and a strong focus on vital versus many trivial needs.
Thorough diligence filters the number of potential solutions to a handful of the most viable vendor candidates receiving an RFP or Brief (an abbreviated RFP), saving significant time for your evaluation, scoring, and selection team.
The JITDE™ approach uses 80/20 thinking, known as Pareto's Law and the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. It's a valuable tool for prioritizing actions with the most significant impact.
80/20 thinking is a valuable tool when evaluating and selecting software. Here are a few ways to apply it:
My experience on 300+ software selection projects shows that 80% of the functions and features they offer are similar among competing software vendors, and 20% differ.
Focus on the 20% of software features that will deliver 80% of the desired outcomes.
Focus on the 20% of users who will influence 80% of the adoption and usage of the software.
A final vendor recommendation results from an accelerated evaluation and selection process that leverages an intensive three-day onsite vendor summit.
Evaluate vendor proposals to winnow the number of final vendors to three or fewer. Bring each vendor onsite for two to three days for interviews, software demonstrations, leadership discussions, and contract negotiations. Many of these sessions are conducted in parallel using specialized, cross-functional teams.