The small business guidebook to managing RFPs
Chapter 3 - Always pre-qualify your suppliers before the invite.
Having a standardized document of pre-qualification checklist and questions will ensure a seller can deliver what you are looking for, in the scale and spec you are seeking and can deliver to the location you are procuring for. Find out more below,
Before inviting suppliers to bid on your project, always pre-qualify the participants. There is a whole art in how to qualify a supplier. But at a minimum, you should at least make sure the seller can deliver what you are looking for, in the scale and spec you are seeking and can deliver to the location you are procuring for.
You should also make sure you have the Always pre-qualify your suppliers before the invite. correct seller rep to send the invite to, and give him a heads up that a business opportunity is coming. Nothing is more embarrassing than sending out an RFx invite to the wrong person or getting a response back that what you are looking for is not their business.
Supplier Pre-Qualification Checklist and Questions:
- Does this firm have the experience and capability to deliver the request?
- Does this team have the capability and scale to deliver the request on time?
- Check references on service level, quality, and performance.
- Do I have the contact to the correct rep who can help me?
- Does the rep fully understand what we are looking for?
- Does the proponent have the resource (facility, equipment, tools, etc) to complete the request?
- Can the proponent meet the requirements on good ethics, health & safety, and other best practices?
- Is the proponent in good financial standing to complete the request?
Chapter 4 - Organize the information as it roll-in
Competitive bidding projects often involve a lot of files, documents, and communications that all arrive at different times through different channels. A best practice is to keep organized as information arrives.
