What it is
We run the sourcing event: scope, bidder list, RFP, evaluation, award and transition.
There is no shortage of free RFP templates. What is scarce is help with the decision the RFP produces. That is where the money actually moves, and where most processes are weakest. If you only take one thing from this page, take the RFP Decision Kit, free, no engagement required.
Where RFPs go wrong
Scope that means different things to different bidders. Suppliers price to their own structure. One bundles implementation, another itemizes it. Comparison then becomes an exercise in reconciling formats, and the lowest number wins because it looks lowest.
Weights set after bids are opened. The single most common ground for a challenge, and visible to any bidder who asks for feedback. Weights set once prices are known are not criteria; they are a justification for a decision already made.
Equal weighting. Saying price, risk and support all matter identically, which is never true. It hands the decision to whichever category happens to have the most line items.
Scores without rationale. A number with no sentence behind it cannot be defended to a bidder, to finance, or to yourself in six months.
How we run it
Scope first, and properly. The slowest part, and the one that determines everything downstream. Getting operations, finance and the users to agree what is being bought before anything goes to market. That includes what is explicitly out of scope.
Test the market. A bidder list of the incumbent and its two nearest competitors is not a market test. Where the category supports it, we bring in credible suppliers the organization has not used, which changes incumbent behavior on its own.
Agree the evaluation before bids open. Criteria, weights, scoring anchors and evaluators, signed off and dated before the submission deadline. Our weighting guide covers how we set the price weight and why 20–30% is usually the right starting band.
Normalize before scoring. Bids reconciled onto one term, one volume assumption and one set of cost elements, with exclusions asked for in writing. The bid comparison sheet is the tool.
Score independently, then reconcile. Evaluators score alone first. Group scoring converges on whoever speaks first and most confidently, and the resulting consensus is not one.
Best and final, then award. Structured around the project’s genuine critical needs rather than a generic request for a better price.
Through to transition
An award is not the outcome. The savings are realized during implementation, and that is where they are most often lost: prices not loaded, transition costs nobody modelled, the old supplier still being used for six months.
So the engagement runs through contract redlines on the mechanisms that protect the price, and into a transition plan with owners and dates.
Outcomes we target
- A scope every bidder priced the same way
- A market genuinely tested, with a documented view on who was excluded and why
- An award defensible a year later on the evaluation record alone
- Normalized total cost, so the cheapest bid is the cheapest outcome
- Savings that survive implementation, because transition was planned
What you receive
Weighted score: A 8.5, B 7.9Award: A
Weights agreed and locked before any bid is opened, which is what makes the award defensible.
- A scope document the business has agreed and bidders can price consistently
- A tested bidder list, with a reasoned view on who was excluded and why
- The RFP document, timetable and Q&A log
- A weighted evaluation model, signed off before bids are opened
- Bids normalized to total cost, not headline price
- A written award recommendation with the rationale behind every score
Frequently asked questions
What does RFP management include?
Running the sourcing event end to end. Defining scope with the business, building the bidder list, writing and issuing the RFP, managing Q&A and clarifications, building and running the evaluation, normalizing bids to total cost, and supporting award, contract and transition.
How long does an RFP take?
Six to twelve weeks for most indirect categories, from scope agreement to award recommendation. Scope definition and internal alignment take longer than people expect; the bidding window itself is rarely the constraint.
Can you just review an RFP we have already written?
Yes, and it is often worth an hour before issue rather than a rescue afterward. The most common findings are a scope that lets bidders price different things, evaluation criteria that have not been weighted, and no defined process for clarifications.
How do you stop the incumbent winning by default?
By testing the market properly, scoring the answer rather than the relationship, and pricing switching cost into total cost where it belongs rather than leaving it as an unexamined reason to stay. If incumbency has genuine value, it should show up as a number, not a preference.
What if we have to run it ourselves?
Then take our RFP Decision Kit and use it. The evaluation scorecard, weighting guide and bid comparison sheet are free, and they cover the part most organizations get wrong. The decision after the bids arrive, not the document that goes out.