6 Tips to get what you really want out of your transportation RFP

A Vendor’s Responsibility To You

• Provide a good product, at a fair price

• Don’t exaggerate capabilities

• Be realistic• Provide good service

after the bid award

Your Responsibility To Vendors?• A fair bid process• Reasonable

expectations• Willingness to

learn• Fair and balanced

research

DECIDE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

Tip # 1

Where Do you Start• Do an internal audit of your

needs• What do you need to make

everyone’s life easier, more efficient, provide better service for your customers?

• What is your accountability?• What is the budget?

Make sure you have…

• Clear goals & objectives

• A simple, concise description of what you want or the problem you wish to solve

DO YOUR RESEARCHTip # 2

How Do I Know What I Need?• Research, Research,

Research– Features– Actual needs vs Nice to have– What is your pain point

Where to research• Google it!• Talk to vendors• Ask your peers• Industry Publications• Industry Events/Tradeshows

IDENTIFY & INCLUDE AS MANY STAKEHOLDERS AS POSSIBLE

Tip # 3

Who Are The Stakeholders?

• Transportation• IT Department• School Admin

Team• The Parents

WEIGH THE PROS & CONS OF USING A TEMPLATE

Tip # 4

Should you use someone else’s bid template?

• Do you have bid writing expertise in your district?

• Is the bid language and description generic enough to allow for creative responses?

Weigh the pros and cons

• What do I gain by using someone else’s template?

• What might I lose?• Is the template too specific

to a particular vendor or solution? Is this ok?

• Will it get me what I want?

BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE BUT KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN

Tip # 5

Simple vs. Detailed RFP

• Simple sometimes means many responses and almost anything goes.

• Detailed may mean few responses but may eliminate a lot of extra work

AVOID THE LOW BID TRAPTip # 6

Low Bid And Is It The Right Thing?

• I am on a budget, I need the low bid• My district says I have to take the low bid• Does the low bid mean I don’t get what I

need?

• What is the alternative?– Lease options– Software that you can add on to– Pay over time– Software-as-a Service (SaaS)(monthly service)

Ways to avoid low bid trap • Use bid evaluation

criteria that discards submissions that don’t meet minimum specifications

• Consider total cost of ownership– A low up-front price

doesn’t mean lowest cost over time

Summary: The Keys to a Successful RFP

Summary: The Do’s And Don'ts Of Writing An RFP

• Do your research• Know what you want• Be specific enough to get what you

want, but general enough to invite creative solutions

• Avoid the low bid trap

Questions?• Feel free to contact us:

– 1-877-630-7366– www.seon.com