It’s NOT All About Price

Posted by BJ
For the proposal I’m working on at the moment, a very large public sector deal, the evaluation process is clearly defined. Within this process, price is the last consideration, not, as some people continue to believe, the first.The process steps for the evaluation of responses for this deal are as follows:

1. The proposal will initially be reviewed for compliance with the instructions contained in this Request for Proposals (RFP).
2. The proposal will then be reviewed and evaluated for technical merit. During this review oral presentations and discussions may be held. The purpose of such discussions will be to assure a full understanding of the State’s requirements and the Offeror’s ability to perform.
3. Offerors will be given the opportunity to correct deficient proposals, respond to written questions or provide written clarifications. Technical proposals will be ranked at the end of this process.
4. Finally, the financial section of each proposal will be opened and evaluated separately from the technical evaluation. After a review of the financial proposals additional and further discussions may be requested and held.

At least for this deal, it is definitely not “All about Price”.