Navigating the RFP and tender processes can be complex and time-consuming. At Impact Negotiation Group, we offer expert support to ensure your organization is prepared and positioned for success.
Our service provides comprehensive guidance, helping you streamline your preparation, develop a winning strategy, and navigate interactions with potential clients.
Whether it’s for new business or contract renewal, our tailored support will improve your chances of securing favorable terms and avoid common pitfalls like the “winner’s curse.”
Understanding the RFP Tender Process
Not all RFP’s or tenders are worth bidding on. Suppliers need to be much more selective and only bid on RFPs and Tenders that they believe they have a shot of actually winning. The reason is that it costs significant time, effort, and money to prepare proposals, as well as provide suppliers with valuable information that may help them conduct benchmarks and other insights. It is therefore key to understand the RFP process before even considering making a proposal.
RFP tender processes differ per organization, or even per contract. You have e-auctions, multi-round tenders, to RFP proposals transitioning to bilateral negotiations. The key is to understand the full process before even considering making a proposal, as it will provide you with significant insights into what the potential customer is looking for.
For instance, E-auctions are designed to overly focus on cost price and ensure potential suppliers compete with one another to drive down price. If you are a supplier focused on quality and charge a premium you’ll need to understand how the quality aspect is considered as part of the bid.
You also need to understand and gain clarity on how many rounds there are to the bidding process, you don’t want to put your best offer on the table if there are still more rounds to come.
Keep in mind that any auction-type format of a tender or RFP seeks to create competition. Clearly defining internal objectives on the worst acceptable and best possible outcomes is key to avoiding the winning curse.
How to start developing a proposal
A good proposal starts with proper preparation. The first step is to analyze the RFP/Tender package thoroughly and subsequently understand the wishes and desires of the RFP issuing party, which in many cases may not be the same as what has been identified in the RFP/Tender package. Many procurement professionals fall into the trap of copy-pasting existing scopes of work due to time constraints, which may not fully align with the wishes of their internal stakeholders. Understanding these dynamics and raising the right questions will provide you with invaluable insights.
Secondly, an assessment needs to be made if the RFP/Tender is even worth bidding for. The reason is that if there is already an incumbent supplier the exercise may just be put in place to drive down the price with the incumbent. This will result in valuable time and effort being spent on preparing and submitting a bid that never had a chance of succeeding in the first place. By understanding the cost of change, power dynamics, and difference between offerings you can assess if the project is worth bidding on in the first place.
Then the question arises if you will provide a compliant bid (exactly meeting the specification and terms set out in the tender) or a compliant bid + alternative bid in which you propose an alternative solution to address the potential customers’ needs. Customers are not always right, and may have specified an inefficient or high-cost solution to their problem, submitting an alternative bid may result in a win-win for both parties.
A good proposal also understands how procurement works. Procurement often is not the only one reviewing the bids, with different sections of the proposal being shared with internal specialists to review their relevant bid section to judge. Knowing that it is foolish of bidders to not submit a proposal according to the defined structure and layout as specified by the bid package, you are only frustrating procurement (which won’t work to your advantage) by doing otherwise.
Our RFP/Tender Support Process
At Impact Negotiation Group, we use a streamlined and customized approach to guide you through every step of the RFP/Tender process:
Step One: Go / No Go
- Assessing Opportunities: We analyze the Tender / RFP package and will internally drive the objective setting process to determine if a bid needs to be developed and define the worst acceptable and best possible outcomes.
Step Two: Go
- Defining the Scope: Collaborating with internal stakeholders, we ensure all the information required by the tender is met
- Assessing evaluation criteria: creating a mock assessment criteria will help understand how your bid may compare to others.
- Developing Communication Plan: Understanding which stakeholders are relevant to the RFP, and asking the right questions at the right time is a key part of the proposal-making phase.
- Developing bidding strategy: Based on the tender process a bidding strategy is developed that takes into consideration each of the phases of the tendering process.
- Crafting the first Proposal: We help draft a clear and comprehensive proposal that addresses the bidding requirements, and potential alternative bids.
- Managing Submissions: We oversee the submission process, addressing client queries and ensuring all documents are submitted on time.
- Negotiation and Finalization: We guide negotiations, ensuring clear terms and risk mitigation before finalizing the contract.
This tailored process ensures effective, strategic management of your RFP/Tender response to deliver optimal outcomes.
Industries We Support
At Impact Negotiation Group, we provide tailored RFP/Tender support services across multiple industries:
- FMCG / Private Label: We assist with complex tenders, from supplier negotiations to managing retail trade agreements, ensuring that bids are competitive and strategically aligned.
- Pharma: Our team helps navigate tenders involving strict regulatory compliance, R&D partnerships, and intricate pricing models, enhancing bid success.
- Professional Services: Whether responding to RFPs for contract renewals or handling tenders for key services, we ensure your submissions stand out and align with business goals.
- Private Equity: We support investment firms with tenders for high-stakes acquisitions or exit strategies, helping secure favorable terms.
- IT Services: From managing complex service-level agreements to negotiating client contracts, we streamline the RFP process to maximize your chances of winning.
- Oil & Gas: We handle high-stakes tenders in one of the most complex industries, ensuring compliance, risk mitigation, and cost control in bids.
- Manufacturing: We assist with procurement tenders, helping streamline the process for cost-effective supplier management and optimized terms for customer contracts.
Our team brings deep industry expertise to help you manage the RFP for tender process, ensuring your business secures the best possible outcomes.
Who We Support
We support the business development and sales teams tasked with responding to incoming RFP / Tender requests.
Why is Impact Negotiation Group an ideal partner for RPF/Tender Support?
Impact Negotiation Group is the ideal partner for RFP and tender support due to our proven methodology and deep industry expertise. Our negotiation experts have worked in both procurement and sales providing them unique insights on how to handle the bidding process.
We tailor our approach to fit your organization’s unique needs, ensuring clarity, structure, and strategy throughout the process.
With a track record of helping companies secure over €1.93 billion in deals, we bring the experience and insights needed to enhance your bid outcomes, reduce risks, and maximize value.
Let us help you secure more successful tenders and achieve lasting business success.
