Choosing between competing IT platforms or service providers is one of the decisions our clients find most difficult. The vendor sales process is designed to make every option look like the right one. This article sets out how to run a vendor selection process that produces a decision you can defend, based on criteria that reflect your organisation's actual needs.
Define your evaluation criteria before you talk to vendors ¶
The most important step in a vendor selection process happens before you contact any vendor. Write down the criteria you will use to evaluate options, and assign a weight to each one. Criteria might include total cost of ownership over three years, compatibility with your existing systems, data residency, vendor support response times, and the availability of Japanese-language documentation. Once the criteria are written and weighted, they become the framework for every vendor conversation and every response you receive.
Write a proper RFP, even for smaller purchases ¶
A Request for Proposal does not have to be a 50-page document. For most SME technology purchases, a well-structured four to six page RFP is sufficient. It should describe your organisation, your current situation, the problem you are trying to solve, the evaluation criteria, and the format you want responses in. A written RFP forces vendors to respond to your actual requirements rather than their standard sales pitch, and it gives you a consistent basis for comparison.
Score responses before you see the price ¶
One of the most useful practices in vendor evaluation is to score the technical and functional responses before you look at the pricing. This prevents the cheapest option from looking better than it is, and the most expensive option from being dismissed before its merits are understood. Score each response against your criteria, then reveal the pricing and factor it in as one criterion among several. The result is a more defensible decision.
A rigorous vendor selection process takes more time upfront, but it produces decisions that hold up over time. If you are facing a significant technology purchase and want an independent party to run the evaluation, our Vendor Selection Support engagement is designed for exactly this situation.