When we initiate a project or wants to implement a solution then a customer has to work on lots of project document to select vendor, BOQ, OEM, MSI, Operation management, Costing etc. These are very important document & Phases in Project Management for wining and deliver the project efficiently.
What is RFP
It is a official document of project requirement, where we invite third-Party suppliers to submit their proposal against that requirement. The RFP can be an effective way to connect with vendors, partners, consultants, or organizations that have the resources, skills, and expertise to meet that need.
Writing or preparing RFP also needs expertise and knowledge. For the same company or organization hires third-Party consultant to understand their requirement and prepare RFP for them.
Before publish or write RFP, team should have clear understanding of requirement, because RFP will be become a Bible for that project and will be considered till end of that project.
Whatever you have written or mentioned in the RFP, Supplier or vendor will be act, share Cost, Time and planning accordingly. If RFP doesn’t have clarity of requirement, then project can not achieve their Gaol on time with quality.
So, preparing RFP is not one man job, its requires a team, like Technical team, SMEs, Finance, Legal, Commercial, Logistic, Data Centre experts, approvals etc.
Need of RFP
What I have observed that, as a SME or SI, when we have received RFP, we start working as per requirement, but requirement is not very much clear or the words or statement written over there can have multiple meanings. Customer is taking meaning as per their requirement or understanding and SI as per their understanding and now there Conflict will occur. Because SI already planned their Team, Costing, Time, Profit, investment and other things based on their understanding and now a new round of discussion started which causing delay in project, SI might need to provide some services or hardware Free of cost ( FOC)and obviously it will impact project progress and performance.
To avoid such things, after issuing RFP, there are round of Discussion with supplier’s queries and questions called Pre-Bid discussion.
Pre-Bid Discussion
RFP can not be published at once, because RFP can have multiple GAPs. Once Bidder receive RFP, they read it properly and prepare a Pre-Bid Questions or clarifications.
Bidders review the RFP and submit suggestions for improvement. After implementing feedback, the final request for proposal is issued. Bidders then submit their proposals.
Bidder will share their observation in a format and by the timeline mentioned in RFP.
Why Pre-Bid Discussion is Important
In bidding process, Customer can not be make any vendor, OEM or SI specific RFP. Some time customer influenced by specific Vendor, OEM or SI based on their last project experience, it can be good or bad, but RFP should be comply minimum 5 OEM/Vendor/SI to bid in that project for a fair competition and better services.
So, when Suppliers received RFP and they found that some of the points, requirement or Hardware technical Specification are target to some specific OEM/vendor or limited to some specific Technology or Hardware then they can raise their observations and query to modify the statement so other can also comply.
Sometime RFP doesn’t have clear SOW, terms and condition or requirement, then this is only time when they can clarify their doubts or modify the statement as per industries standards to avoid any future complications. Because one Bidder or supplier accept and agreed on RFP then they have to deliver as per mentioned SOW in RFP.
But at the same time customer should also be very conscious and clear understanding that what they want, Customer should not change their requirement as per suppliers requirement, Supplier should comply as per customer’s requirement.
Because same is applies on Customer as well as it Customer also agreed on some points that they have to accept that solution by supplier.
So, it is very important that all statement specially SOW ( Scope of Work) should be mentioned very clearly and should have same understanding between customer and providers.
Conclusion:
For any project, every organization needs a Service integrator or Vendor to deploy the solution, but not known who is the best and cost effective. For that organization prepare a requirement document and invite Vendor to submit their proposal against that solution. That Document is called RFP ( Request for Proposal). Based on their proposal bidding will happen between multiple vendor and who will win will deliver the solution.
FAQ
Q: What is Request for Proposal (RFP)?
A: It is a document issued by an organization to invite vendors or suppliers to submit proposals for providing goods or services as per business requirement.
Q: What is the purpose of an RFP?
A: RFP is to obtain competitive bids from qualified vendors or suppliers to fulfill a specific project or business requirement.
Q: How to prepare RFP?
A: The key components of an RFP may include:
• Introduction and background information
• Project description and scope of work
• Technical requirements and specifications
• Evaluation criteria and scoring methodology
• Contractual terms and conditions
• Submission instructions and deadline
• Contact information for inquiries and clarifications
Q: What does BID stand for?
A: BID stands for Bidding. It is a formal proposal submitted by a supplier, contractor, or vendor in response to an invitation (such as an RFP or RFQ) to provide goods or services.
Q: Why BID required?
A: The purpose of a Bid is to present a competitive offer and allows the bidder to demonstrate their capabilities, pricing, and suitability for the project in response to an invitation from an organization seeking goods or services.
Q: What are the key components of a Bid?
A: The key components of a Bid may include:
• Cover letter or executive summary
• Bid pricing and breakdown
• Project approach and methodology
• Relevant experience and qualifications
• Project timeline and milestones
• Resource allocation and team composition
• Compliance with specifications and requirements
• Supporting documents or samples, if applicable
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