RFP process, public vs. private

[biosurfer1]

Let me start by saying I understand why the public process for proposals is the way it is, but doesn't make it any less frustrating.

My experience with Request for Proposals process:

Private: Boss looks at a couple proposals, throws the crap and/or companies he doesn't like in the trash. Skims the rest and picks one. Total time, about 1 hour.

Public: Gather dozens of old RFP requests from co-workers to see what has worked in the past, and try to copy and paste those sections to try and make my life easier. Spend way more time customizing proposal to fit needs while trying to be as specific as possible to avoid someone complaining and vague scoring. Work with procurement to make sure everything is accounted for and finally post request. Host public webinar to slowly explain every section and answer any questions, publicly, to ensure so complaints about favoritism. Receive dozens of proposals, most highly unqualified, and start scoring. Beg 2+ co-workers to help score proposals as required per rules. Spend time scoring each proposal, even completely unqualified ones, with specific reasons for scores and evidence to backup. Work with co-workers to come up with group score and rank proposals. Award contract and start terms negotiation while opening contesting period. Sit with procurement to go over each answer and be able to defend any score for all the unqualified proposals who of course complain the process wasn't fair. Hopefully make it through and actually award contract to qualified company who didn't completely like on the proposal.
Time: 6-8 months if it's quick and I'm lucky😕

Rant over!

[VincentVega]

Then someone complains because they werent selected, no matter the reason, especially if they didnt follow process or dont have the right skills/product. Start over, examine and explain everything multiple times while pausing the original purchase. Everybody wins! Er, loses.

[juanbenae]

I worked in project admin for a public agency's engineering group and the RFP selection process was a joke. it really came down to the finance group's choice with the construction group's input not being considered because cost was the bottom line. we would be saddled with the same horrible design consultants again and again because they were the cheapest. their quality of work was not a consideration taken in to account.

we had a couple sayings, "garbage in garbage out", and "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys" where we in the construction group lived.

[stomachmonkey]

Slightly off topic but back at another company we hired a new CFO.

She held a company wide mandatory meeting to inform us that we would no longer be using RFP, Request For Purchase forms but going forward would be using PRF's, Purchase Request Forms.

They were the same form.

I **** you not.

She did not last long.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

She held a company wide mandatory meeting to inform us that we would no longer be using RFP, Request For Purchase forms but going forward would be using PRF's, Purchase Request Forms.

We have those too...they think their job is to be doing something, anything as long as they look busy

Reorganization is their go to, change group members and titles, that will solve all the problems!

[Seahawk]

Don't get me started. Public? Try government. What a roast.

We are at 60/40% Public and government versus private. Our goal is the reverse.

We bid firm fixed price in the private sector: Like it, send me a Purchase Order...or don't.

True story: A really well respected Operations and Support company (they fly UAS all over the world) asked us to act as a prime on a government contract they could not prime - FAR rules and contract type.

We said no, we can't afford the overhead it takes to spend two months writing a proposal.

They said no worries, we hire that stuff out, and we'll pay your guys to provide details when required.

So we did. The bid cost the other company at least $200k. We did not win - the government choose the low cost bidder who has now defaulted. Round two later this month.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Slightly off topic but back at another company we hired a new CFO.

She held a company wide mandatory meeting to inform us that we would no longer be using RFP, Request For Purchase forms but going forward would be using PRF's, Purchase Request Forms.

They were the same form.

I **** you not.

She did not last long.

But what about the coversheets on the tps reports?

[SoCal911T]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

Gather dozens of old RFP requests from co-workers to see what has worked in the past, and try to copy and paste those sections to try and make my life easier. Spend way more time customizing proposal to fit needs while trying to be as specific as possible to avoid someone complaining and vague scoring. Work with procurement to make sure everything is accounted for and finally post request. Host public webinar to slowly explain every section and answer any questions, publicly, to ensure so complaints about favoritism. Receive dozens of proposals, most highly unqualified, and start scoring. Beg 2+ co-workers to help score proposals as required per rules. Spend time scoring each proposal, even completely unqualified ones, with specific reasons for scores and evidence to backup. Work with co-workers to come up with group score and rank proposals. Award contract and start terms negotiation while opening contesting period. Sit with procurement to go over each answer and be able to defend any score for all the unqualified proposals who of course complain the process wasn't fair. Hopefully make it through and actually award contract to qualified company who didn't completely like on the proposal.
Time: 6-8 months if it's quick and I'm lucky

I wish my agency was as streamlined as yours!

[Rick Lee]

My favorite RFP story - City of Phoenix. My company was the highest-priced bid, but they had to award it to us because I was the only bidder who had correctly completed the affirmative action form and filed it with the City in advance of bidding. Your tax dollars at work!

Another one for US DoJ was written such that no one else could meet its requirements, so that was an easy win. Another one for US DoI got challenged by a competitor who was butt hurt about losing to us. He put them through so much BS that they just threw up their hands and gave up. From then on they sent us work on an ad hoc basis, paid via credit card (full price) and it ended up costing the gov't. plenty more. Lots of similar stories. RFPs are a joke when it comes to saving money for the taxpayers.

[911boost]

I have known more than one private RFP process to take over a year.

The horror stories of horror stories I could tell.....

[PetrolBlueSC]

This is my life. I work on RFPs that vary from $5M to $100M+. I could go through a list of SF330 in a day or two and pick the best. But the process I am forced to follow makes the review take a week or more for a team of 3 to 5, and weeks to document and review the decision. Not sure how to fix it. The government has a responsibility to get the best contractors (in some situations) and the lowest price (in others). Government is also expected to provide as many companies as possible fair opportunity. Also expected to be able to clearly explain to each company the weaknesses of their proposal so they can address those weaknesses.

[GH85Carrera]

We bid on a few government projects, but agencies are so tight to one provider the provider writes the proposal, and it is HUGE. We look through some and it is obvious that the specs they picked is specific to one LARGE company. They are out of state, and send all the data processing to India, so none of it stays here. We do our own work and we live and pay taxes here.

In the end even when we bid some projects at just bare bones price, the huge company gets it because the folks in India work dirt cheap. The last mega project we know of, the delivery date was missed by many month, and the quality was poor. But dang it was cheap!

In the end, we are a tiny aerial photo company compared to the big boys. We can't spend weeks reading a RFP and still not get it because they want low price period.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by PetrolBlueSC

Government is also expected to provide as many companies as possible fair opportunity.

If it had anything to do with fair, there wouldn't be 30-40 pages of affirmative action, women or minority-owned, disabled vet, etc. victim group status paperwork involved. Price, product (to include security, nationality, location), ability to deliver, etc. should be all that's required to get the best deal for the taxpayers. When I click on a website link "about us" and it says "woman-owned small business," I know right off the bat it's not going to be the best deal for the taxpayer. No one but the gov't. would care about the gender of a company's ownership, and it has nothing to do with price or quality of product.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

In the end even when we bid some projects at just bare bones price, the huge company gets it because the folks in India work dirt cheap. The last mega project we know of, the delivery date was missed by many month, and the quality was poor. But dang it was cheap!

I've had a few where they said the server had to based on their property for security reasons, usually in Canada. Oh yeah? Do your employees ever take their laptops out of Canada and log onto company email or databases? How's that not being outside of your environment?