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.
The procurements department has the responsibility to review all the companies in contention and make the best recommendation they can. If a company can pass this initial screening test they will be asked to submit a formal proposal. Previously, we never specified what kind of format was used, we just wanted them to answer certain questions and show they were capable.
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.
RFTs " Requests for Tenders " are the proposals that are used when you need a specific solution to a specific problem. This means there will be limited room for flexibility, and the price will remain the same. For example, if you decide to add on a bathroom to the house, there may be some changes in the materials and labor costs between companies, but all the proposals are for the same solution.
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.
The amount of time it takes to complete a RFP process will depend on how thorough you want to be. If you are just looking for the lowest price, then your RFP will be one way to drive cost down. - 16890
The procurements department has the responsibility to review all the companies in contention and make the best recommendation they can. If a company can pass this initial screening test they will be asked to submit a formal proposal. Previously, we never specified what kind of format was used, we just wanted them to answer certain questions and show they were capable.
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.
RFTs " Requests for Tenders " are the proposals that are used when you need a specific solution to a specific problem. This means there will be limited room for flexibility, and the price will remain the same. For example, if you decide to add on a bathroom to the house, there may be some changes in the materials and labor costs between companies, but all the proposals are for the same solution.
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.
The amount of time it takes to complete a RFP process will depend on how thorough you want to be. If you are just looking for the lowest price, then your RFP will be one way to drive cost down. - 16890
About the Author:
When submitting an application for government contracts it is critical to comprise a well written RFP. Greg has had sufficient writing experience with construction contracts, government procurement and other topics that he understands the procedure. For additional information, see his other resources.
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