We start by learning your specific organizational needs. That usually means short interviews with the people who work with the systems in our scope. We also review your current contracts, invoices, and any documentation your organization already has on hand.

Once we have enough information, we will write up your requirements and build the RFP. The RFP includes the scoring criteria that every proposal will be measured against.

When the RFP is released, we handle all vendor communications. That includes identifying vendors to invite to bid, fielding vendor questions, and routing the questions we are unable to answer back to your team for clarification. We post every response so all vendors work from the same information. This helps vendors submit useful bids that will not change later when additional requirements surface.

The decision always belongs to you. We run the process and the evaluation, but the choice stays with your organization, and we believe that it should. You understand your priorities, your budget, and your working relationships better than any outside firm can.

What we provide is a scored comparison of every proposal, measured against your unique requirements. Our documentation shows where each bid meets your requirements and where it falls short. Pricing and terms are only two pieces of the picture, and our goal is to make sure you never face a difficult decision without fully understanding what you are getting from your investment.

We build the scoring framework from your requirements only. Every vendor is measured against the same criteria with the same weights, and we do not adjust them after we see who bid what.

We also have nothing riding on the outcome. We do not sell equipment or services, we do not take vendor commissions, and we do not have preferred vendors. It makes no difference to us which vendor wins. What matters is that the winner meets your requirements.

No. Some clients arrive already knowing what they need and go straight to an RFP. That said, if an Assessment has not been completed, we recommend one. It helps ensure the RFP accurately reflects what you are sourcing, though the choice is yours. RFPs work best when requirements and known gaps are well documented.

(Note: If an Assessment is being conducted, that timeline will run separately from the RFP timeline. Read more about our Assessment process). 

If you choose to skip the Assessment, that is fine. We will be relying on your word for the criteria that appear in the RFP.

If your RFP covers technology outside our expertise, we will ask you to provide the technical requirements or to identify someone we can work with to define them. We will still run the process end to end.

It depends on the RFP, but most take two to four months from kickoff to scored results. A few factors have the biggest effect on that timeline:

• Whether your requirements are already known, understood, and documented 

• How many people need to weigh in on requirements and sign off on documentation

• How complex the purchase is

• How long vendors have to respond, plus time for their questions

• Internal approval processes, such as board approval

If you are working against a hard deadline, we ask that you let us know at the start. That way, we can build the schedule backward from that date.

No. We do not have preferred vendors, we do not sell equipment, and we do not take commissions. Every vendor is scored against your requirements and nothing else.

If your incumbent vendor wants to bid and no procurement requirements are preventing them from doing so, that is totally fine with us. Their proposal will be scored the same way as any other.

It is not the outcome anyone hopes for, but it is not unusual, and it is still a useful result. We work through it with you. A no-fit result usually comes down to one of three things:

• Several vendors missed the same requirement. The requirement may be stricter than what the market offers, or it may not have been clear enough. Either way, we revisit it with you and decide together whether anything needs to change.

• The right vendors did not bid. We go back to the market with a revised RFP or broader outreach.

• One or two proposals came close but missed the mark. We communicate with those vendors about the gaps and see whether they can close them.

None of these paths send you back to square one. The requirements and evaluation work are carried forward, and you will know much more about the market than you did before.