Democratic Party

If there comes a time when my company needs to deal with a third party to deal with some part of the business, we turn to the procurements department to deal with the point of contact and to get the proposal process started. There are also a number of companies this can be outsourced to, depending on the companys needs.

The procurements department would then be responsible to review the possible companies and make the best possible recommendations. If one of the companies passes this initial screening test they will be asked to submit a formal proposal. In the past, we never worried about the format of the proposal, we just looked for the answers to certain questions.

However, I just informed my procurement department that I was looking for a new, third party vendor to handle our inbound data. They asked me which format I wanted potential companies to submit their responses in. I had a choice between an EOI, RFP or RFT.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) ” an EOI is ideal for a company requesting help with a certain problem without knowing exactly how to solve the situation. Basically, you have a problem that needs to be fixed, but do not know what it will take to fix it. An EOI will provide solutions to your problem and provide the cost associated for fixing it.

A Request for Proposal (RFP), on the other hand, is what you should use when you plan on purchasing goods and services straight from a third party. A quality RFP will also include more than one solution to your problem, and offer some pricing options with them. This way you will have some flexibility in how you choose to solve your problem and youll be able to do more or less as the situation dictates. You will see this kind of proposal in the consulting industry or communications technology fields.

RFTs, Requests for Tenders, on the other hand, are used to provide a specific solution to a specific problem. There is one problem in question, there is limited room for flexibility, and the price is not likely to change. This format is usually used in the building or construction industry. An example would be the addition of a bathroom to a house. There may be some differences in materials and labor, but each proposal is for the same project.

For my particular problem, Im going to need a lot of flexibility before it is solved. Thats why, in the end, I decided to ask the procurements department to gets requests for proposals from all the top contenders.

It might take some time for a company to complete an RFP, depending on how detailed the projects is. By collecting a lot of RFPs, though, you will have a better chance of getting the best deal possible.

When submitting a request for government contracts it is critical to comprise a well written RFP. Greg has had ample writing experience with construction contracts, government procurement and other topics that he understands the procedure. For further information, see his other resources.