Accelerated RFP Process
The Problem
Organisations have always needed to be able to move in an agile way, but in this economic climate it is even more important to be able to react quickly to an identified opportunity or issues, even if the solution requires a vendor selection or RFP process.
One of Fifth Step’s clients had just such an opportunity; a board level decision required a software solution and vendor selection process to be conducted, but the decision required prompt action and there wasn’t the time to perform a traditional length RFP.
That is where our client asked for our help, we suggested running an accelerated process to ensure that the solution met the business requirements whilst maintaining demonstrable governance, and meeting the time objective.
The Traditional Solution
Faced with a similar situation many organisations find they have few options, and even less experience in running an accelerated process. It is not unusual for typical RFP processes to take in excess of 3 months with the potential for this time to be greatly extended if contract alignment is not achieved early in the process (i.e. the client and the vendors need to reach broad agreement on the contract early in the process, without this there is potential for protracted discussions between legal teams).
Obviously 3 months can be an eternity if you’ve an opportunity to cut costs or an opportunity to capitalize on a niche that you need to get to market with quickly.
Moving at Speed
Moving at speed is all about communication and coordination. Having a defined process and clear documentation is a major part of this, but without clear communication (verbal and written) it is not possible to keep all of the participants in a process in alignment, the end result being a loss of efficiency and speed.
Our Solution
Our accelerated RFP process allows clients to move at a pace that can’t be achieved without experience, detailed planning, close management and good communication.
The first step to be taken is to ensure the following documentation is in order, we work closely with the business team requiring the solution to enhance and develop the documents listed below. Many of these are common to any RFP process, but with an accelerated RFP those documents being sent to vendors need to be focused to enable chosen vendors to respond within your timeframe.
Some of the Documents Required
Working closely with the business team, the following documents were created or enhanced for the accelerated process.
A document detailing the business case
A detailed project plan for the RFP process
A mutual non-disclosure agreement
A selection of vendors and their solutions
A deals principles document
A detailed business requirements document
A focused RFP
A document containing competitive pricing information
A document defining the KPI by which the solution and vendors will be measured against
Armed with these documents, a well defined process, a motivated business team and motivated vendors Fifth Step managed to take our client from idea conception through vendor selection and on to contract signing in a matter of weeks, and all in an audit-able process. This allowed this client to commence the implementation project well before most of their competitors would have completed their vendor selection. How much advantage would this speed and time give you over your competitors? Just another example of how Fifth Step combines experience, good governance with agility to add value to our client’s businesses and projects.