Today a plumber spent 4 hours ‘fixing’ my kitchen tap. It had developed a slight leak overnight, well that leak became a rushing spring by the time the plumber was done. Yep, he left it worse than when he arrived. Sigh.
We’ve all been there before. Recall a time you had to fix a fault in your home and you invited a "random repairer" over. You then ended up wasting a huge amount of money as the repairer couldn't fix the fault but only made it worse.
You probably made a silent promise to yourself there and then not to use such a vendor's service again and promised yourself that you will do due diligence before hiring the next one.
In life, some mishaps are inevitable anyways but then some other mistakes can be avoided. Agree?
When it comes to procurement sourcing, we must end up with the right vendor. To achieve this, care must be taken in ensuring the bidding process is handled well. And it all starts from the compilation of the bid list.
In other words, the list compilation process can be a delicate process and hence the need to exercise all care and objectivity.
Here are 3 factors a procurement practitioner should consider when compiling a list of vendors for an opportunity.
Organization's needs: It's important to, first of all, have an in-depth understanding of the organization’s needs as this will be critical in selecting the right vendors to tender.
Bear in mind that whilst hundreds of vendors may be providing the services or products you are looking to procure, at the end of the day, it's only a sizeable amount that can cater specifically to your needs.
Track record: Some vendors may appear to have the capacity to provide what your organization needs perhaps due to their years of existence. But then, they may fall short in terms of value alignment or lack integrity. How much a vendor values ethical principles will most likely determine the outcome you are likely to experience doing business with them.
It's always helpful to conduct research and do some basic due diligence on a new vendor you want to include in your bid list.
Other considerations: Beyond a vendor having quality products or services, and good pricing, other considerations can help you make informed choices too.
For instance, if you check online for reviews of prospective vendors, you can find clients lamenting issues like poor customer service and poor speed of delivery.
Applying these tips outlined above will no doubt help you uncover a lot of facts that would aid your bid list compilation and at the end of the day, you might just discover that the “best vendors" might not be suitable for your organization.
Do you need help developing RFPs, bidding, supplier management, sourcing, bid evaluations, and contracting to grow your business?
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