The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to allow the risks and benefits to be identified. In principle, an RFP:
- informs suppliers that an organization is looking to procure and encourages them to make their best effort.
- requires the company to specify what it proposes to purchase. If the requirements analysis has been prepared properly, it can be incorporated quite easily into the Request document.
- alerts suppliers that the selection process is competitive.
- allows for wide distribution and response.
- ensures that suppliers respond factually to the identified requirements.
- is generally expected to follow a structured evaluation and selection procedure, so that an organization can demonstrate impartiality - a crucial factor in public sector procurements. (1)
One of the challanges of the RFP process is that every company creates RFPs differently. Because of this, a RFP standard example has not emerged. For those companies that have a procurement process or a bidding process, Dallas Partners has created a free downloadable template built from our experiences. Feel free to use this template on any web project your organization may need. Please keep in mind this document is intended to be an example only and will need considerable changes before it will be ready to be used.
Note: All the text in red should be changed to include real values. (1) Informaiton provided by Wikipedia. For more info, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_proposal