How are you using the RFI/RFP/RFQ process in your procurement model?
As businesses continue to use reverse auction tools more frequently to reduce their costs and introduce competitive pricing from existing and new suppliers, it is inevitable that the events will also begin to increase in complexity. With complexity comes the need to understand the offerings of the invited companies before price is ever brought up. You need to know that the companies you may be dealing with have experience and can handle your business.
To ensure that the right companies are involved in competing for your business many times it is necessary to run a Request for Proposal or Information (RFP or RFI) to gather information about the suppliers before a pricing event is run. Some of the important things to keep in mind when doing this are:
• Be Specific! – Make sure the RFP/RFI is specific about the types of information requested. Leaving the document open-ended will result in several completely different responses that will be difficult to compare to each other.
• It’s ok to run an RFx for something you have already purchased. Many times, especially in technical product purchasing, the landscape can change so fast from contract to contract that running an RFx is not only a possibly but is probably the wisest thing to do especially if the spend is large and/or the contract is longer than a year.
There will be more tips in my next post but if you would like more information about the SafeSourcing Rfx tools and professional services, please contact a Customer Service Representative today.
We look forward to and appreciate your comments.
