(The Art of Buying) RFP/RFQ Building Blocks Presented by: Emily Nielsen, President 519-473-5373 .

(The Art of Buying) RFP/RFQ Building Blocks

Presented by: Emily Nielsen, President 519-473-5373

www.nielsenitconsulting.com

OutlineWho is Nielsen IT Consulting Inc?Current Market PlaceWhat goes wrong with RFP/RFQ’s?Preparation: Strategy and outcome

Organize your thoughts/requirements Mandatory Requirements Legal and procurement policies

One envelope or two? Pricing separate Current State Proposed State Vendor Background Support Criteria

Nielsen IT Consulting Inc.Established in 1999Independent Consultants

Professional BuyerSpecialize in Voice Services-IP

Telephony/Wireless/Contact Centre/IVR………We offer A to Z professionals services

Assessments to Project Execution.

Assessments lead to RFP/RFQ’s

Current Market ConditionsIn General - tough 10 years

Y2K /Internet Bubble Bust/ Slow adoption to VoIP-UC…..to Recession.

1990-1999 strong sales-analogue to digital-voicemailRecession:

US recession –Businesses are not purchasing new systemsUS impact on CanadaFew private sector organizations are making significant

investment in infrastructure improvements-unless EoL notification Majority of work is public sector Healthcare- Infrastructure Ontario Program Summer 2010- Boost of Sales-HST 5% -13%

Current Market Conditions1990-1999 strong sales-analogue

to digital-voicemail2000-94,500 Employees World

Wide2001-60,000-Frank Dunn’s Staff

reductions2002- Stock dropped $124 share to

$.47Jan 14, 2009-filed protection from

Creditors

Current MarketNortel Bankruptcy

Flurry of activity - do basic upgrades in order to get system to current release Wait and see No new applications -

status quoVendors: Nortel practices

for 15-20 years – take on new project offerings – Cisco, Mitel, Shortel

Avaya message has been confusing - Nov 3rd

ResultMany bids – mixed results

Sales have been slow – vendors are less picky Traditional Nortel vendors are proposing new

products with no experience or references Open bids without prequalification will result in

mixed responses

The Perfect StormSlow Sales past decade10-15 year old

equipmentDominant Player Gone-

NortelUC is no longer a luxury

– basic requirementShortage of resources

What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong!Starts with a poorly prepared RFP/RFQMany RFP/RFQ’s are simply too open, too

looseTherefore, the responses are too broad and are

hard to compareApples to oranges, not apples to applesImpact, causes delay and create confusion with

vendors and clientsOntario College:

No quantities, no description of what they currently have. Futures – Vendors are unclear what are real opportunities or simple

inquiries.

What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong!Many RFP/RFQ’s are simply too open, too

loose (con’t)Why?

Evident that author is inexperienced to process and technology/services they require

Public sector – outsources purchasing process to organization that is skilled commodity procurement not strategic acquisition

Result costly mistakes/disappointing results

OrganizationHave your thoughts organized.

Requirements/Pricing/Support….. Demonstrates professionalismShows vendor respect

Hospital: 80-+ separate attachments/documents-extreme caseEverything should be in one document. Other doc’s

such as “Submission, NDA, Network diagrams, etc.” should be embedded in the master document

Current State:Visio Voice Network Diagram – high levelDetailed inventory listed

Including inventory/telecom roomsVisio Network diagram for data environment.

Provide environment description – i.e. flat network, VLAN’s, QoS, PoS, etc

WLAN- high-level building diagram showing existing coverage and areas needing additional coverage

Proposed SateProvide network diagram showing end state

With descriptionBe accurate with your quantities. i.e. price 50 UM

licenses / 50 concurrent agents licenses/ 700 voicemail licences/ 16 port auto attendantInclude a growth factor – 5%

Be clear what is a future verses today’s needs.Define short term and long term strategy/goals

i.e. Virtualization, Green Strategy

Mandatory RequirementsBe very clear

Example: References: Must demonstrate experience in same technology and similar scope.

Unionized StaffIdentification of sub-contractorsRelationships between partners must be defined.Insurances, etc.Not following the proposed RFP format.Question: Do any of these items give cause for

“non-compliant” bids?

Procurement Policies1. Sometimes you need to challenge current

policies if it doesn’t make sense! Commodities verses strategic acquisition Latex? Read through your procurement

templates/wording.

Procurement Policies2. Internal Approval Process – required for

project plan schedule. Don’t get caught short here and expect the

vendor to rush the project in order to achieve deadline. i.e. occupancy for new building

Be prepared for questions whose goals are to add clarification for senior management/steering committee

Communicate to senior management during the entire process in order to minimize delays

Procurement Policies3. Know your budget

What are you able to affordClearly define exact needs verses futuresCapital verses “lease” Identify all cost – many elements not included

in bid, such as construction cost/cabling, training budgets, etc.

Procurement PoliciesSingle envelope verses two

Pricing is final envelop?What if you simply can not afford it? What have

you accomplished?

Vendor BackgroundDo they have experience working in your

vertical?Do they have experience working on the

application that they are proposing?New to Canada – Investment?Client base?Sole source - or do they depend on partners?

What level of dependency?

SupportBe very clear on your needs

What level of support can you depend on your own internal resources. Tier 1 , Tier 2 or fully managed?

What are you prepared to pay for training?How many staff can you afford to support your

network? - Voice Application specialist.Technician – on site 2 hours?

Or around the world 24/7?What type of sparing model will you use?Redundancy verses resiliency?

Thank you!

CORPORATE NETWORKS 2011MARK THE DATE! Jan 27, 2011Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville

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