ID MANAGEMENT

The RFP process is designed as a vehicle to solicit and compare competitive bids from a host of vendors. A vendors’ mindset is typically to build their financial proposal around what it takes to beat the other vendors. That ensures a competitive bid. However, a competitive bid does not necessarily reflect “best available pricing.” Once the RFP process has produced the short-list of potential vendors, the onus is on the ownership group to leverage a final deal based on the knowledge of actual product and installation costs, not necessarily bid pricing. Timing is one of the single most important factors in maximizing potential savings. Ideally, the more advance notice AJP has to manage the process prior to the installation date, the more effective we can be at negotiations. A longer design and bid process also allows AJP to work with vendors and installers to stage the acquisition and integration of key pieces of equipment at substantially lower costs.

In some cases, it makes a lot of sense to work with a single-source supplier; however, on large projects, working through a single vendor exposes the ownership to second- and third-party margins for products and services that could be acquired directly without increased liability. The opportunity to realize these savings is a product of being organized, understanding the complete project design parameters and knowing the true market value of each product.

Based on the information generated through the process of infrastructure review, design and financial modeling, AJP will build a comprehensive RFP package. This process includes the development of RFP language specific to the individual circumstances and needs of the client, products and facilities in question. As part of the RFP, AJP will build a series of bid forms designed to demonstrate an accurate vendor bid comparison.

The process of evaluating bid responses often becomes confusing because there are a broad scope of variances in product specifications that can be easily manipulated to misrepresent the true value of a bid submission. AJP will provide an all-inclusive bid analysis, including a very effective financial comparison that will clearly explain the benefits and liabilities of each potential product decision.