After you’ve done your requirements gathering and have made the decision that you need an outside vendor, you can begin to prepare procurement docu- ments for solicitation. These documents, called Requests for Proposals (RFPs), are what vendors use to determine if and how they should respond to your needs. The clearer the RFP, the better off you and the vendor are, because you will be providing basic information about what you want (don’t forget about the earlier discussion of needs versus wants). The more specifi c you are, the better the chance that the vendor will be able to respond to you quickly and effi ciently.
Many organizations have a procurement offi ce. In this case, you need to give them a document with your requirements and let them do their work. If you don’t have a procurement offi ce, you need to prepare a document to send to the vendors. You’ll want to have a lead writer (preferably not you) and someone from the legal department to ensure that what you’ve asked for in the document is clear and forms the basis for a contract between you and the vendor.
You have several ways to build a list of potential vendors, as outlined in the following sections.
Publishing a Request for Information
The Request for Information (RFI) is frequently used when you have little knowledge of exactly what is available on the commercial market or you can’t identify vendors who have the specifi c capability you are looking for. The RFI is a broad net designed to fi nd possible vendors who have some product or service to offer that may meet your needs. The RFI is a letter, and the response usually comes in the form of a letter or brochure. Based on the response to your RFI, you will decide the following:
■ Who should be invited to respond to your Request for Proposal (RFP) ■ Specifi c content to include in your RFP
■ If one of the vendors should be invited to write the RFP
Advertising
Pick any medium that a potential vendor would likely read and advertise your project there. Many vendors will belong to professional associations. If such associations exist, get their mailing lists or advertise in their trade publications.
Renting a Targeted List
Many sources are available for such mailing lists. The reputable ones will have exhaustive profi ling capabilities so that you can narrow the list as much as you want.
Asking Previous Vendors
Vendors who have worked with you in the past may be good sources for your current project, or they may be able to recommend other vendors who can meet the specifi c needs of this project.
Attending Trade Shows
Attend trade shows where potential vendors are likely to have a booth. This is a non-threatening approach and may even gain you some references to other vendors.
Preparing and Distributing a Request for Proposal
After you’ve created the RBS, you can begin to prepare procurement documents for solicitation. These documents, called Requests for Proposals (RFPs), are what vendors use to determine how they should respond to your needs. The clearer the RFP, the better off you and the vendor are, because you will be providing basic information about what you want. The more specifi c you are, the better the chance that the vendor will be able to respond to you quickly and effi ciently.
N O T E Remember that a contract always implies some type of adversarial relation- ship. Both parties to the contract want to get the best possible terms for their side. When you’re creating an RFP, keep in mind that although you defi nitely want to get the best possible terms for your side, you must make sure the terms aren’t so diffi cult that they prohibit many people from responding. You must encourage as much par- ticipation in your RFP as possible. Don’t get into a draconian mode whereby the RFP almost punishes the people who are responding to it.
You need to state the time conditions for response, which means that you state how many days you will give people to respond, as well as how long you will need to review the responses before making a choice. By putting a time line on both the vendor and your organization, the process goes faster, and expectations are clear at the beginning of the process.
The RFP is the heart of the procurement process and provides the basis for the contract and the work to be completed. It clearly explains all of the deliverables expected of the vendor.
I recommend that your RFP contain the following: ■ Introduction
■ Problem or opportunity ■ POS (optional) ■ RBS (optional) ■ Vendor responsibility ■ Contract administration ■ Instructions to vendors ■ Vendor point of contact ■ Time and cost estimates ■ Pricing
■ Evaluation criteria
Managing RFP Questions and Responses
You can expect to receive questions from the vendors who receive your RFP. All potential vendors must be aware of all questions and your responses. That’s the law! You need to have some mechanism whereby you can answer questions concerning the RFP.
Responding to Bidder Questions
After the RFP has been distributed, you have to decide how to handle questions that will surely arise from the vendors who have received your RFP. You have three ways to handle these questions:
■ Answer questions individually—Receive questions directly from the vendors and distribute your responses electronically to all vendors on the distribution list.
■ Hold a bidders’ conference—This is a common event. All vendors who want to respond to the RFP must attend and ask their questions. That way every potential bidder will hear the questions and answers in real time. The bidders’ conference can be held at a hotel or conference site convenient to your campus but is usually held on your campus.
■ Put your RFP online and respond to questions online—This arrangement gives every vendor who is registered to respond to your RFP a chance to see other organizations’ questions and to have a permanent record of your responses to questions posed. This process works only if you have some- one constantly monitoring the website for questions, and someone who is responsible for answering the questions. This process also eliminates the traveling burden on vendors who may be far away geographically. By going online, you level the playing fi eld for all vendors.
The important thing is to make sure all potential bidders have the same infor- mation. Otherwise, you are subject to being accused of unfair business practices.