When a division within my company is looking to bring in a third party to handle a substantial amount of their business they will ask procurement to handle the initial point of contact, and to start the request for proposal process. Depending on the type of services needed, there could be hundreds of companies that provide this service.
It is the procurements departments responsibility to review these companies and recommend viable contenders. For any company that passes the initial screening process, and are now a contender will need to submit a formal proposal. In the past, we did not specify which proposal format they used. We just made sure they covered certain areas and answered specific questions.
Thats all changed now. I was just informed by the procurements department that I was looking for a new vendor to handle any inbound data. That was fine, but then they asked if I wanted to potential companies to submit their proposal by EOI, RFP, or RFT.
An EOI, or Expression of Interest, is a good choice for a company that needs help with a specific problem but does not know how to fix it. In other words, theres something that needs fixing, but theyve never dealt with the problem before. An EOI will provide solutions as well as a list of costs to deal with it.
Request for Proposals (RFP) " are used to purchase goods and services directly from a third party vendor. An RFP will include a solution on how to solve your problem. The better RFP will provide you with more than one solution. The document will include different options which will be priced accordingly. This will provide you with the flexibility you need to fix the problem, and have room in case anything else develops. This form of proposal is more common with consulting services or in the information and communication technologies field.
Request for Tenders (RFT) " is used to provide a specific solution to a particular problem. The proposal is asking each potential company one question. There is limited room for flexibility and creativity. This proposal format is used more in the building and construction industry. A superb example of an RFT would be a request to add two bathrooms on to a house. The differences will be in design, materials and pricing.
For my particular problem, Im going to need a lot of flexibility before it is solved. Thats why, in the end, I decided to ask the procurements department to gets requests for proposals from all the top contenders.
Sometimes it may take some time for a company to complete a good RFP, depending on how big the project is and how much detail you expect in the project, but by collecting a lot of RFP youll be able to find the company that can fill your needs at the most cost effective price point.
It is the procurements departments responsibility to review these companies and recommend viable contenders. For any company that passes the initial screening process, and are now a contender will need to submit a formal proposal. In the past, we did not specify which proposal format they used. We just made sure they covered certain areas and answered specific questions.
Thats all changed now. I was just informed by the procurements department that I was looking for a new vendor to handle any inbound data. That was fine, but then they asked if I wanted to potential companies to submit their proposal by EOI, RFP, or RFT.
An EOI, or Expression of Interest, is a good choice for a company that needs help with a specific problem but does not know how to fix it. In other words, theres something that needs fixing, but theyve never dealt with the problem before. An EOI will provide solutions as well as a list of costs to deal with it.
Request for Proposals (RFP) " are used to purchase goods and services directly from a third party vendor. An RFP will include a solution on how to solve your problem. The better RFP will provide you with more than one solution. The document will include different options which will be priced accordingly. This will provide you with the flexibility you need to fix the problem, and have room in case anything else develops. This form of proposal is more common with consulting services or in the information and communication technologies field.
Request for Tenders (RFT) " is used to provide a specific solution to a particular problem. The proposal is asking each potential company one question. There is limited room for flexibility and creativity. This proposal format is used more in the building and construction industry. A superb example of an RFT would be a request to add two bathrooms on to a house. The differences will be in design, materials and pricing.
For my particular problem, Im going to need a lot of flexibility before it is solved. Thats why, in the end, I decided to ask the procurements department to gets requests for proposals from all the top contenders.
Sometimes it may take some time for a company to complete a good RFP, depending on how big the project is and how much detail you expect in the project, but by collecting a lot of RFP youll be able to find the company that can fill your needs at the most cost effective price point.
About the Author:
When submitting a request for government contracts it is vital to comprise a well written RFP. Greg has had sufficient writing experience with building contracts, government procurement and other topics that he understands the procedure. For additional information, see his other resources.
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