In our last posting we told you that solution selection is a seven stair methodology, and that the vendor assessment step was itself a seven step process. It’s not just as simple as taking a vendor pool, pulling five names out of a hat, and issuing an RFP, even though some consultancies would like you to believe that it is. But all that does is get you to a wrong conclusion fast.
Vendor selection takes time, sometimes longer than you want, but when you get the right solution, it’s always worth it in the end. Here’s the process outline.
1. RFI Creation
The first step is to create an RFI that accomplishes two things:
- verifies the vendor has the necessary must-have functionality to meet core needs
- collects the necessary information for rapid fire vendor elimination so you don’t waste time on a vendor that the business can’t accept
2. Collaborative RFI Review
Once the consultant or the analyst does their initial review, does their initial scoring, draws their initial conclusions and documents the rationale, the next step is to work through the RFI collaboratively with the client to make sure that every vendor invited back is not only acceptable to the client, but both parties understand the reason why vendors were cut.
3. Qualifying Demo
Before the full RFP, a demo verifying the promised must-have functionality must be taken to make sure what was written is currently in production and that the vendor truly understood the requirements. This can be considered phase two of the rapid fire elimination phase and strengthens the reasoning for any vendors pushed forwards.
4. RFP Creation
The next step is to create a full RFP that:
- goes beyond the core and includes questions related to the should-have and value-add functionality appropriate to your needs (not some random feature list)
- allows all organizational requirements for vendor onboarding to be evaluated
- allows for an assessment of the depth and breadth of services and training provided by the vendor
- contains additional questions designed to elicit the input necessary to answer any questions that come up from the RFI and initial demo review
- address all of your business requirements (not just the ones that permit rapid fire vendor elimination)
5. Collaborative RFI Review
Once the consultant or the analyst does their initial review, does their initial scoring, draws their initial conclusions and documents the rationale, the next step is to work through the RFI collaboratively with the client to make sure that the client’s final two/three vendors are not only appropriate, but all of the strengths and weaknesses that can be assessed are understood.
6. Deep Demo Specifications
You need to give each vendor their own demo script that you want them to execute because it’s your problems you need to see solved, not their best whizz-bang features that look good but function poorly.
7. Decision
After the consultant provides their deep dive analysis of the demo and their overall vendor assessment, using all the information at your disposal, you make a decision that you believe will best serve your organization.
In other words, it’s a methodical, deliberate, process that takes what it takes because that’s the only way to ensure you get the right solution. But it will be worth it because the right solution will bring an ROI of at least 5X while increasing efficiency between three-fold and ten-fold once adopted, but the wrong solution will be an albatross around the necks of every employee that depends on it.