Shortlisting suppliers for an RFP process

This fourth blog in the series of nine blogs on the sourcing lifecycle discusses the process and criteria for shortlisting suppliers for the Request for Proposal/ RFP process.

The traditional precursor to the RFP process, the Request for Information (RFI), is used to create a shortlist of recipients for the RFP and to provide the customer with strategic options for sourcing and network architecture. However, following Wavestone’s methodology means that the sourcing strategy and network architecture requirements are already defined and therefore the additional time and expense of an RFI process may not be required. All that remains is to agree the potential suppliers who will go through the RFP process.

The process of identifying potential suppliers is straightforward but must be based on a mixture of industry analysis and first-hand experience of doing business with the candidates. Various sources of readily available industry analysis exist in the marketplace today. The relevance of any first-hand experience will vary depending on whether the customer has outsourced or procured a managed service before but all previous experience with a potential supplier is relevant. Example criteria that should be used for shortlisting suppliers for an RFP process are shown below:

• Ability of suppliers to execute
• Recent supplier successes in the market
• Geographic alignment between the footprints of the customer and supplier
• Existing relationships between the customer and the supplier
• Strategic focus of the suppliers on the delivery of managed telecommunications services