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SEMINAR: How to Create a Request for Proposal (Part 4) for Service Acquisitions (e.g. IT projects, Telecommunications, etc)
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Why a separate module for service acquisitions?

Many types of services, such as IT application development or telecommunications acquisitions, are not end products themselves. Rather, they are acquired so that someone else can do something else with the service to satisfy the requirements of a group of end users or customers.

Thus, the buyer always has to answer the fundamental question: Is it the product that is being purchased or is it the service to be performed by the product? And unfortunately, the answer is rarely obvious. In fact, in most cases, there will be different views in the buyer organization, which is the main reason why the selection of a successful vendor becomes such a contentious issue. 

All service purchases share a common problem: It's called "Process!"

Service products that have to produce results (to be used by end users) can do so using many different processes. And the selection of the process is supposed to be the vendor's prerogative. Isn't that what we have been told, even by the courts? That specifying a process restricts the competitive field to only vendors who use that process, therefore it is unfair. 

Consequently, it has always been difficult to justify the selection of a (service) vendor on the basis of the selection criteria provided in an RFP. The reason why more rejected vendors do not challenge the buyer's process is because they do not want to damage their buyer-vendor relationship, hoping that on another project they will be the winner of a contest.

How do we address the issue in this course?

To begin with, we make an effort to ensure that all buyer personnel can reach consensus if the purchase is a product or the resulting service of the product, so that there is unanimity in the group. This understanding will provide the bases of the selection criteria. 

Next, we analyze the constituent parts of the relationship between the buyer and vendor organizations:

• The importance (or irrelevance) of the vendor's position in the industry,
• Nature of the anticipated long-term relationship between buyer and vendor,
• Ongoing support requirements, if any,
• Vendor qualification, past performance issues,
• Technical excellence of product and its outcomes,
• Process issues, degree of freedom allowed to vendors
• Methodology (management) concerns,
• Cost

Taking all of the above concerns, we build a set of selection criteria, including cost concerns, so that the buyer optimizes the expenditure.

Topics Covered in This Workshop

• Understanding the problems associated with the purchase of services 
• Addressing internal (buyer) concerns about the scope of the work to be outsourced
• Vendor-related concerns
• Technical requirements, specifications, acceptable processes
• Implementation methodology
• Support requirements
• Creating the selection criteria
• Incorporating "cost" at the right level of importance

BOMAR's Unique Cancellation Policy

Cancellations are accepted anytime before the course without penalty. No one will ever be penalized for thinking of becoming a BOMAR customer.