How to write an RFP

 

Many say the RFP process is "used to get the best possible price".

I'm sorry. It’s not. Even Wikipedia is wrong.

I don’t like semantic battles

And I know many in Procurement are being tasked with cutting costs for Q4 of 2025

Particularly with the bleak economic forecasts and widely held viewpoint that AI can drive efficiency savings.

But if you employ that approach to assess outcomes, the most likely long term one for your business is failure.

So, what exactly is an RFP used for?

RFP is short for “Request for Proposal.”

But perhaps it should be rebadged as “Request for Partnership”.

The goal of an RFP is to evaluate multiple options and get the maximum return on any investment your business makes.

It's about learning what’s available as efficiently and objectively as possible.

Maximising value while minimising risk.

Not creating a low cost MVP solution for your business.

The evaluation stages of an RFP often cause greatest confusion.

Once the RFP has been sent to suppliers, many evaluate the responses based on pre conceived criteria of ‘what good looks like’.

And the worst go on to over inflate the importance of cost while completely dismissing the significance of value.

In a Vendr interview here https://lnkd.in/g9S86SKH re-evaluation of key performance indicators (KPIs) is discussed, particularly the shift away from focusing solely on cost savings.

Dr. Elouise Epstein advocates for using revenue as a more effective guiding metric and turning cost centres into profit centres where possible.

Another approach I heard recently and loved is using the term "solutions workshops," rather than supplier or product demos when it comes to the presentations in an RFP.

The emphasis being on collaborating with suppliers to learn and develop understanding

Rather than pitching suppliers against each other in a race of doom to the bottom.

https://tinyurl.com/5cda6mx5