Tag Archives: Request for Proposal

RFP Design step 2 – The Overview

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This section allows the Tenderer to get a concept of what your products/services actually are, how you currently handle them etc. For example, in an RFP for freight I include the following points:

Goods – What the goods are, weight and dimensions of the average carton; smallest carton and largest carton, seasonal ordering patterns, type of product eg: flammable, perishable.

Delivery – What the average consignment consists of by volume and weight eg: average number of cartons, weight and volume. I also include where-ever possible the annual throughput ie total number of consignments with total weight and volume. It is also good to advise them of any special handing requirements.

With the above information, the Tenderers can quickly ascertain how they will approach the project. As with most agreements of this type, the bigger the pie the more they can discount, but this is just an indicator, they will still need to put costs against a desensitized sample report of consignments (this will come later in the program).

Having information summarized at this point will prompt them to quickly review specific parts of the document or ask you targeted questions, while still early into the project. Remember: if one Tenderer has requested further information or clarification, you should provide the results to all Tenderers; this will ensure the playing field is kept level and there is no risk of accusations of preferential treatment.

Next post will be – “Objectives”

Cheers Mark

RFP Design step 1 – The Background

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Over the next few weeks I will provide a breakdown on the process to drafting an RFP,  this first blog will cover “Background”, after I have gone through the RFP documentation I will continue through the submissions, up to contract administration.
The Background section puts the whole project in context.  It helps the Tenderers  (parties tendering their proposals) to get a “handle” on what the company does, how it does it and why this RFP was drafted.

Some points normally covered under Background include:

1.    Company – the size of the company, the products/services it provides and how it provides these products services to the market and possibly who its customers are.  It may also be relevant to include whether the company operates from multiple sites.  Think of this as a “marketing spiel”.

2.    Department – which department, Branch, division,  the winning Tenderer will be working with.

3.    Explain what product/service will be required from the Tenderer at a high level – more detail will be given further into the document.

4.    Describe how this process fits in with the overall goal of the company/Department, this can also be considered as the reason the RFP has been drafted.  This will give the Tenderer a reason why THEY are important to the process.

5.    Access to public information also allows the Tenderer to source further information that may help with their proposal.  Providing the company’s URL or others pertaining to your particular industry is an obvious option and gives them an opportunity to provide further information/services that were not requested but just might add value to the arrangement.

6.    Provide information on other aspects you consider important but not critical, for example: by stating that you are an environmentally and humanitarian conscious company may solicit comparative information from the Tenderers.

7.    Other items as you deem appropriate.