Responding to an RFP: A Vendor's Viewpoint
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047679 |
| Pages | 61-65 |
| Published date | 01 January 1987 |
| Date | 01 January 1987 |
| Author | Robert A. Kington |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Responding to an RFP:
A Vendor's Viewpoint
Robert A. Kington
A typical vendor of library automation
systems cannot, and most likely will
not want to, respond to all requests for
proposals (RFPs) that it receives. Certain
"elimination factors" contribute to the
decision to bid or not bid. These include:
1) specifications for the use of computer
equipment not employed by the vendor;
2) required features not provided by the
vendor's software; 3) performance require-
ments not met or performed differently by
the vendor; 4) a "wired" RFP based on a
competitor's system; 5) the size and
complexity of the RFP
itself;
and 6)
competition for a vendor's time, such as
posed by numerous other previously-
received RFPs that must be answered.
The intent of this article is to offer information
gleaned from three and a half years of experience
in responding to requests for proposals (RFPs).
It is hoped that this information will enable libraries
to acquire the best local systems for their needs,
with the best possible prices, terms, and conditions.
Let's start with an overview of the "world"
of RFPs. OCLC Local Systems receives about one
hundred RFPs each year from libraries throughout
the United States. This is an average of eight
per month, but there is no such thing as an average
month; the monthly total can vary from about four
to sixteen. These are formal requests from libraries
planning to use the bid process to procure local
systems. These do not include requests for informa-
tion (RFIs), which gather functional information
about what's available, and which usually precede
the RFP in a library's planning cycle. Also, these
statistics do not include requests for quotations
(RFQs), which are system quotations used to gather
cost information for budgeting. We do respond
to over two hundred RFQs per year—often several
for the same library as information changes.
It is interesting to note that from 150 to
200 local systems are reportedly procured each
year, so up to half of the systems are being acquired
by libraries that do not use the formal RFP process.
Typically, these libraries are private institutions
that do not have to use the process and avoid
it because it is extremely time-consuming. For
those who do not use the RFP process to acquire
a local system, much of the evaluation process
is probably similar.
Now compare this information and these statis-
tics with OCLC's internal staffing to support this
Kington is Manager, Marketing Department,
Local Systems Division, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio.
ISSUE 17 61
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