To Bid or Not to Bid? 5 Best Practices for Asking RFP Questions

To Bid or Not to Bid?

5 Best Practices for Asking RFP Questions

“The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

— Albert Einstein

To Bid or Not to Bid?

5 Best Practices for Asking RFP Questions

The growth of eSourcing continues.

Although the technology has evolved significantly,has the methodology necessarily kept up?

To Bid or Not to Bid?

Five Best Practices When Creating RFPs 1. Think Small and Focused

2. Include Key Terms and Conditions

3. Give Suppliers the Correct Answer

4. Explain the Questions

5. Use Question Libraries

Think Small and Focused

“What is the correct number of questions to ask in an RFP?” Whilst there is no correct answer, we recommend …

o Start with 5-7 sections of questionso Rank the questions within each sectiono Weight the questions within each sectiono Review and eliminate as many as necessary

Overall, Think Small and Focused!

1. Best Practice:

2. Best Practice:

Include Key Terms and Conditions

If you know how each supplier will respond to the key terms in the negotiation, you will be one step closer to reaching an agreement

3. Best Practice:

Give Suppliers the Correct Answer

Tell the suppliers what you want - Give them the right answer!

This will make the negotiation process much more effective.

4. Best Practice:

Explain the Questions

Explain the questions as well as certain answers on occasions, e.g. if you are looking at supplier diversity, explain what it means to you.

5. Best Practice:

Use Question Libraries

Start adding to your question libraries list from day one, grouping questions into core areas such as ‘customer service’.

It`s efficient, consistent and drives overall best practice

Conclusion

Using these can net you significant amounts of efficiency and time savings and overall consistency as it relates to your RFPs

Like best practice RFPs, I wanted to keep this simple and concise so there’s a few I’ve not included.

To Bid or not to Bid?

To read the full report go to www.bravosolution.co.uk