RFP – What is it?

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Request for Proposal – RFP:

What is a RFP and how and when should a procurement professional utilize it. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is an invitation to Vendors to submit a written offer to supply services or a solution to a requirement.

So, you have an internal need or requirement and there is nobody qualified in the organization to manage the requirement or possibly resolve it. You need to outsource the job and now might be when your employer requests you issue a RFP.

The RFP is then written to illicit positive feedback, therefore, needs to be designed professionally and must clearly identify the actual work you are hoping to farm out and the expectations.

More specifically, it is written to ensure suppliers don’t assume the entire risk. In manufacturing, this might mean the buffering of raw materials and finished goods to meet the final demand for goods. In a services type RFP, it should ensure the consultant has a clear indication of the amount of time and or resources he or she is expected to put into the project.

A RFP is different than a Request for Quote (RFQ). With a RFQ the Vendor can be certain as to the supply risk. For example, like having enough capacity to ensure supplies and goods at the right quantity, quality, time, and cost. We need 12 pairs of leather gloves and here is the part number. This RFQ is straight forward and comparing costs are for the most part simple. A RFP is not necessarily so cut and dry and quite often asks the Vendor to propose a solution.

Okay let us get back to writing the RFP. The Buyer will need the Vendor to define the specific monetary and/or service obligations which make up the offer. It is the Purchasing departments job to make the RFP available to several suppliers to respond with a competitive proposal or a solution to your request.

What to include – the Request for Proposal should include a short but detailed description or specification of the products or services which are required. This can also be identified as scope. As with many business writing efforts, an effective request for proposal will begin by declaring the purpose for the document. Even the most casual of formats for a RFP will incorporate details of this nature. In comparison, a highly structured format informs the applicant precisely how to arrange data in a manner that is certain to have significance to the issuing business. So, it is vital to be clear on the scope of work and try not to cloud the document with legal terminology. In other words, leave all the legal terms to the end of the document as this might deter recipients or quality vendors from offering. The higher the risk the more terms and conditions might be required but again not all RFP’s warrant forty pages of legal requirements.

VOIP RFP

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VOIP RFP:

Looking for a VoIP RFP or a Voice over Internet Protocol – Request for Proposal? VoIP systems usually interface with the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) to allow for transparent phone communications worldwide.

VoIP can be a benefit for reducing communication and infrastructure costs by routing phone calls over existing data networks and avoiding duplicate network systems. Skype is an example of a notable service provider having achieved widespread user and customer acceptance in this industry.

Benefits of Using VoIP

VoIP technology uses the Internet’s packet-switching capabilities to provide phone service. Packet switching allows several telephone calls to occupy the amount of space occupied by only one in a circuit-switched network. With VoIP, a 10 minute phone call may only occupy 3.5 minutes of transmission time at a lower cost of 64 Kbps or about half that of conventional systems and this does not factor in data compression which further reduces usage or size of each call.

RFQPro has a RFP template which may help with your VOIP proposal. For a few sample pages of the content in this RFP please click here>>> Preview Telecom VoIP RFP

To Purchase this 18 page (RFQ59), our second VoIP RFP template (RFP81-28 pages) and other RFP’s in a Microsoft Word format please visit the Special Offers Page or click the Buy Now button for the Premium or Mega Pack in the margin.

When to use a RFP versus a RFQ

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Using an RFP versus a RFQ:

This is a good question and one we hear often. We will try our best to provide a simple answer to help you make an informed  decision when performing your purchasing duties. This scenario surfaces when you are faced with generating a purchasing document to send to your suppliers.

Documents issued by the Purchasing group can be an RFQ (request for quote), RFI (request for information), RFP (request for proposal), or ITQ (invitation to quote), IFB (invitation for bid) or others.

A RFQ is usually used when the Owner knows exactly the type and quantity of goods it wants to buy while RFP’s ask bidders to provide a solution to a problem that could be solved in different ways.

An example of when to use a Request for Quote (RFQ) would be if you are buying 100 each Toshiba Laptop Computers c/w 2 GB ram, 100 GB HD, DVD Burner, Windows 7. You know your exact requirement and have a specification to include or issue with the request.

An RFP might be used if you were unsure as to whether you want to purchase, lease, rent  those same 100 computers with varying specifications for software and hardware requirements that may differ from PC to PC. This gives the bidders an opportunity to offer a solution to your requirement.

With the above in mind, it should be noted that evaluating a RFQ is usually easier than trying to determine an award from the results of an RFP.