One of the simplest things to go wrong is the RFP closing date/time. This happens to be the ONE thing that has been proven in a court of law as well - one second late means it is non-compliant!
So, as a buyer, I like to make sure my closing date and time are not going to cause problems. There are a couple of simple things to keep in mind when setting a closing date/time:
1) Don't close on a Monday or Tuesday after a holiday - this would mean the hard copies have to be in the courier's hands Thurs/Fri and may sit over the weekend - why make the vendors lose valuable time in preparing a response, let alone take the risk something goes missing/gets damaged over the weekend.
2) Don't close early in the morning - again, this is to ensure couriers make it to your place of business.
3) Don't set the closing date/time to a time where NO-ONE is sitting at reception - ie lunch time, early or late in the day.
4) Be consistent - if your organization normally closes their solicitations at 14:00, don't rock the boat by changing the time to something else, many people may 'assume' the same time and miss the fact yours is different from all others.
5) Don't close the RFP if no-one is available to review the proposals - why have the proposals sit around? Close the RFP when people will be ready to review! I've seen tons of RFPs close while the key stakeholder is away on vacation. So proposals sit for days on end, then inevitably the vendors start calling to find out the results within a week, yet no-one has even started reviewing!!!
Simple things like this will ensure better vendor relations :)
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