Deciding Which Vendors To Work With for Online Retailing for Online Retailing • Before selecting vendors know your things you internal context! •Include context and industry specific criteria i RFP’ need to know… in RFP’ s •Introduce Performance as a selection criteria h ibl know… wherever possible •Travel light! •Evaluate the Fuzzies! Questions? [email protected]•An insiders view..
Deciding Which Vendors To Work With for Online Retailing for Online Retailing. 6 things you need to know, including;
• Before selecting vendors know your internal context! •Include context and industry specific criteria in an RFP’ •Introduce Performance as a selection criteria wherever possible •Travel light! •Evaluate the Fuzzies! •An insiders view..
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Deciding Which Vendors To Work With for Online Retailingfor Online Retailing
• Before selecting vendors know your
things youinternal context!
•Include context and industry specific criteria i RFP’ need to
Understand stakeholder concerns and requirements across multiple business functions. Don’t forget Legal, HRg g ,Be aware of precedent for distinct types of vendor relationships – ad agencies, recruitment, property ie Full outsource hybrid vs in houseproperty – ie. Full outsource, hybrid vs in-house bias - as these can drive expectations in online.Understand organisational strengths and
weaknesses – what skill sets are your teams light on and conversely strong in.
1Know your future1
What is the expected rate and scale of growth, Is there implicit direction to grow towards a p gcertain model of business (away from outsourcing) What other related but incremental goals are on the company roadmap that involve online.
Include your internal criteria along with industry/marketalong with industry/market specific requirements in RFP’s to a cross section ofRFP s to a cross section of prospective suppliers
2An RFP (Request For Proposal)RFPs can be extremely valuable in optimising the
2RFPs can be extremely valuable in optimising the
chances that suppliers deliver the solutions that you need, & encourage the following:you need, & encourage the following: Internal agreement: allow you to discuss and finalize your requirements with all of the internal y q(and agency) stakeholders before involving a further supplier.
A t l ll li t l l d t dAccurate proposals: allow suppliers to clearly understand your needs so they can provide you with the most accurate estimates of their best solution.
Comparable solutions: ensure that each supplier receives the same set of requirements and therefore replies with a similar and comparable set of proposedreplies with a similar and comparable set of proposed solutions.
22RFP’s for Ecommerce platforms and Site builds- Key- Define scope ,overall design, functional components and p , g , p
objectives of your e-commerce project
- Decide whether you have any applications that performDecide whether you have any applications that perform similar functions within your business that you wish to retain, and, whether there are any key dependencies between existing applications and the new applications
iyou require.
- Each of these will need to be identified and the integration
grequirements included in your business requirements.
22RFP’s for Ecommerce platforms and Site builds
- Scope should include End-user functionality, Back-office functionality Technical requirements, Integration requirements, Reporting requirements, Future q p g qrequirements
- Further detail on their business background, ecomm u t e deta o t e bus ess bac g ou d, ecosolution, and support style
Decide on service provider vs tech platform. based on your resource strengths & weaknesses- Chemistry is vital in this high traffic supplier- Everyday staffing quality is key
Scope your needs and match capabilities don’t over- Scope your needs and match capabilities – don t over scope as you’ll pay unnecessarily now for the advanced feature set that won’t be used for another few years
22RFP’s for SEM / SEO – Some suggested focusesSeek a transparent approach to search engine marketingSeek a transparent approach to search engine marketingLook for a structured approach to keyword analysisUses industry best practice Will openly describe the strategies and techniques they will
use for SEOHas a performance-based approach to SEOHas a performance based approach to SEOViable as a long term strategic partner
Does the supplier / vendor challenge your brief or objectives?Do they ‘want’ your business?Creativity vs ROI - Do they ‘get’ e-C ea y s O o ey ge ecommerce?Cultural fit – esp issue response
66Ask for a list of the suppliers top ten clients by revenue, in no particular order. , pThen ask the supplier how long they’ve been working with each of these top ten. Ch t th t h d t blChoose partners that have demonstrable experience in organisations with both retail and etail arms;Don’t bother meeting with the business development manager!
66Ask the agency to teach you how they go about conducting SEO or SEMconducting SEO or SEMAsk them to propose an informal, preliminary set of clear KPIs.Ask for an early termination clause in case of underperformance relative to KPIs;Ask them to send you an anonymised sample ofAsk them to send you an anonymised sample of their monthly reporting templates.
66Conduct research on the agency through Google. Ask to visit the agency’s office, and meet the consulting team in person. Visiting their environment and shaking their staff’s hands will ggive you a good gut feeling about the agency;Insist on receiving, and actually call, 3 referees. Once you get on the phone with the refereesOnce you get on the phone with the referees, ask them about what they feel are consistently the weakest features of the agency.
Additi l & f l fAdditional & useful referencesEmarketer.com & search under MarketingSherpa.com vendor selectionE-consultancy & their ‘supplier selection templates’y pp phttp://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell for the opening examplehttp://www.marketingsherpa.com/article print.html?id=31http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article_print.html?id 31273 How to Negotiate Trials and Lower-rates with Vendors: 5 Strategies
Thanks to Tom Skotidas & Mark Baartse from First Rate & some of the star suppliers I’ve worked with including ; SOM / DT Melbourne, Carl, Kellie & Ben @ Reactive, EuroRSCG, Javelin Group