Steering Your RFP Process: Strategies, Pitfalls and Roadmaps In this episode, the speaker discusses the Request for Proposal (RFP) process in depth, its common problems, ways to mitigate them, and recommended practices to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. Key issues explored include developing scope of work, selecting the evaluation panel, RFP structure, having a realistic schedule, and clearly defining evaluation criteria. The speaker also introduces two helpful tools: the Request for Needs (RFN) and stressing the importance of the Q&A period. Several anecdotes and practical tips are ..read more

In this episode, we dive into the intricate world of evaluating large vendor proposals within the tender process. As businesses seek to secure the best solutions and partnerships, the challenges posed by extensive documentation and multifaceted criteria can often seem overwhelming. Join us as we unravel the complexities of this process, explore key challenges, and uncover effective strategies to ensure fairness, transparency, and successful outcomes ..read more

Redefining Vendor Proposals: Anonymity in Tender Practices In this episode we explore the groundbreaking idea of anonymous proposal evaluations for vendor proposals in tenders on the RFP Secrets podcast. He discusses the XPD procurement approach, which shifts from traditional practices by replacing company information with anonymous identifiers, leading to a novel selection and clarification process. John also touches on how this approach could improve the response quality, fairness of the process, force vendors to prove their expertise and capabilities without using their names. John emphasi ..read more

Redefining Procurement Practices: An Insightful discussion with Chris Sawchuk In this episode of the RFP secrets podcast, host John Matta discusses the pressing issue of separating 'procurement success' from 'business success' with Chris Sawchuk, a procurement expert with 24 years of experience. They speak about the crucial role that procurement plays in vendor selection and accountability, and how it greatly influences the outcome, so much so, that it's time to look at procurement through a holistic perspective rather than just procedural compliance. They delve into key topics such as the im ..read more

The price based award or what's known as the low bid procurements has been used by many organisations for decades. While it can work on some procurements, it would bring significant risks if used on other complex and risky projects. In this episode, we discuss the scenarios where the low bid could work and can help clients to quickly finalise their purchases; also we talked about why it's too risky to use the same approach to have costing as the primary focus when awarding tenders for complex and risky projects. What's even more dangerous is that many clients believes they are not doing price ..read more

Attention Procurement Professionals: Are you tired of sifting through countless RFx responses that all look the same? Do you struggle to differentiate between vendors and select the best fit for your organization? If so, then it's time to sharpen your evaluation criteria! Join us for RFx Excellence: Mastering the Art of Evaluation Criteria, where you'll learn how to create effective evaluation criteria that will help you identify the right vendors for your organization. We will share our best practices for crafting evaluation criteria that will help you make informed decisions and select the ..read more

The traditional RFP has failed to prove its consistent ability to deliver high performing results for projects and services. In this episode we are grabbing the brain of one of the most profound global procurement experts John Savicky who will share a few points of why the current system is broken ..read more

The traditional RFP process has been there for decades with very light changes if any at all. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it delivers average results and sometimes it brings unforgettable experience. In this live event, I'd like to share with you how can we change the status quo of the RFP process and: 1. Start to see more consistent successful outcomes 2. Award highly complex and risky projects with massive confidence 3. Increase fairness and transparency to an unmatched level 4. Streamline the tedious RFP process both for you and your vendors 5. Minimise projects risks to an u ..read more

More than ever, procurement led decisions are under scrutiny – meaning more rigour and more science in the decision process is increasingly necessary to make more defendable choices that ensure optimum compliance to both laws and corporate policy. I was asked to present in one the PASA Roundtable events to talk about some our modern tender evaluation tecniques. 7 Key Reccomendations I shared in this event which if applied properly, will massively improve your tender evaluation process ..read more

The RFP or Request For Proposal process has been used for years by origanisations to buy products and services. However, this proces have seen very limited to no change or innovations for decades, and the challenges with the traditional RFP process is quite evident. In this short trailer I explain the reason for strating this podcast along with some high level overview of the typical challenges that come with the traditional RFP process. In future episodes I'll be inviting industry experts and visionary procurement leaders to talk about the entire RFP process and provide some actionable insigh ..read more