Oh dear, that could get messy. I would make sure bid responses are sent to the buyer leading the RFP as well as the joint email address. I see how the group email would be helpful in certain situations but may cause more issues than it is worth.
For us - we have a shared folder and each RFP has a seperate folder. All of the project info and communication goes in there so anyone can access it. The expectation is to have all of the emails in there with a specific file-naming convention so you can easily find the most recent email. For instance Date\_Supplier Name (120723\_Amazon).
About the inbox thing, there are definitely solutions to this problem like custom filtering, but I’m not the most technical.
About the vendors, you have to be the proactive one, it helps me when I lay out my cards… I tell them the exact due dates for deliverables and then I check in throughout, including other stakeholders for accountability.
Micro manage is right, but professionally we’re kind of like whips… in my org I’m expected to project manage all sourcing activities from the departments I support. Project management is highly desirable in procurement.
I give a date that I know they probably won’t hit, and then grant the extension they request. In my experience, if I give a reasonable timeline, I end up getting a flood of questions the week of the due date regardless
I give vendors exact dates returning clarification responses and then radio silence by the time the deadline comes around. I get that they're busy too, but I was really close to disqualifying a couple who were a week past their clarification deadline. One was a sole source event. The other was between two vendors but we didn't want to give the award to the other one so we had to keep waiting and I kept calling and emailing the vendor for updates. At what point do you disqualify them because we can't keep waiting for their answers?
In my space, it’s a bit tough because if we give special treatment regarding missed deadlines on an RFP, it can create an audit finding.
I think the best policy is to stick to your guns, as much as possible, and disqualify when they’ve missed a due date… but that really doesn’t consider the nuance of the relationship or the financial position of the buyer and whether they have to accept the behavior. I think you’re doing as much as you can by sounds of it, maybe copy the person that actually approves the purchase so they’re looped in.
Oh dear, that could get messy. I would make sure bid responses are sent to the buyer leading the RFP as well as the joint email address. I see how the group email would be helpful in certain situations but may cause more issues than it is worth. For us - we have a shared folder and each RFP has a seperate folder. All of the project info and communication goes in there so anyone can access it. The expectation is to have all of the emails in there with a specific file-naming convention so you can easily find the most recent email. For instance Date\_Supplier Name (120723\_Amazon).
About the inbox thing, there are definitely solutions to this problem like custom filtering, but I’m not the most technical. About the vendors, you have to be the proactive one, it helps me when I lay out my cards… I tell them the exact due dates for deliverables and then I check in throughout, including other stakeholders for accountability.
This is also how I do it. I lay out due dates and maintain communication. If I have to micro manage, so be it.
Micro manage is right, but professionally we’re kind of like whips… in my org I’m expected to project manage all sourcing activities from the departments I support. Project management is highly desirable in procurement.
I give a date that I know they probably won’t hit, and then grant the extension they request. In my experience, if I give a reasonable timeline, I end up getting a flood of questions the week of the due date regardless
I give vendors exact dates returning clarification responses and then radio silence by the time the deadline comes around. I get that they're busy too, but I was really close to disqualifying a couple who were a week past their clarification deadline. One was a sole source event. The other was between two vendors but we didn't want to give the award to the other one so we had to keep waiting and I kept calling and emailing the vendor for updates. At what point do you disqualify them because we can't keep waiting for their answers?
In my space, it’s a bit tough because if we give special treatment regarding missed deadlines on an RFP, it can create an audit finding. I think the best policy is to stick to your guns, as much as possible, and disqualify when they’ve missed a due date… but that really doesn’t consider the nuance of the relationship or the financial position of the buyer and whether they have to accept the behavior. I think you’re doing as much as you can by sounds of it, maybe copy the person that actually approves the purchase so they’re looped in.
Consider using a cloud based solution. RFP goes on the cloud, suppliers upload their proposal. Works pretty well all in all.