Surprise, surprise we've issued an RFP!

I was working with an IT Team for an RFP where one of the stakeholders (formerly a consultant) stated that in his former company, "if they found out about an RFP when it hit the street, they wouldn't bother responding". The vendors didn't feel they had enough time to understand the buyer's needs AND to build a comprehensive response to the RFP (traditionally they don't get enough time to do so). As well, they figure their people needed to build a relationship with the buying organization to 'truly' understand their needs.

The buyer's view was in order to be fair, no discussions should be occuring in advance of the posting. To keep a level-playing field, everyone must receive the information at the same time, and that means when the RFP is posted. Back-door discussions with vendors would taint the process, and could create mis-perceptions of bias.

But what is fair? Complete & utter secrecy until the RFP is public, or giving vendors a chance to prepare for an upcoming competition?

I don't want to start agreeing with vendors who try to 'get in the back door', scoping for info their competition doesn't have, but I do believe vendor relationships are strained (at best) if they are surprised by an RFP. It's bad enough most organizations spend months building a business case for buying a service, then 4 weeks drafting a solicitation document to end up giving the vendor community the minimum amount of time to respond "because they are in a rush". If you cannot give the vendors enough time to respond (they should get the equivalent amount of time it took you to build your solicitation), then at least give a public heads-up so they are prepared for the timing of the RFP.

Why? Take a look at this example of a relationship gone wrong, "Disagreements unravel popular music festival" the RFP was a complete surprise to the incumbent vendor; template language was obviously used if the vendor saw his 'intellectual rights' were to be handed over; and end-result: no-one responded and the media is talking about it. Finger pointing doesn't solve the issues.

So, no, don't disclose your criteria, nor solicitation details, nor meet with 'potential' vendors, but please consider giving a heads up when you need to do a competitive process - it'll make your process more successful.

Related articles

• RFP Tips: Being Clear on Closing (psbdelegation.com)
• RFP Closing Days (psbdelegation.com)
• RFP Templates (psbdelegation.com)