To start the process of finding the ideal facilities management software for your organization, it’s essential to evaluate your organization’s requirements, objectives, budget and other factors for an RFP. If you’re not sure where to begin, don’t sweat. This guide will walk you through the facilities management software RFP steps and key elements.
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What This Article Covers
RFP Creation Process
Let’s now focus on creating a detailed facility management RFP. We’ll provide you with a step-by-step process and valuable resources and ensure that you’re well-prepared to find the ideal facility management solution for your company.
Step 1: Define Your Requirements
It’s essential to have a clear understanding of what you require from facility management software before you begin your search.
“Requirements” encompass the desired capabilities, pricing, customer support, deployment environments and other qualities that the software must have to meet your organization’s needs. These requirements can range from broad functionalities (e.g., “work order management capabilities”) to specific, tailored features (e.g., “customized modules for government-funded facilities”).
Defining your facility management requirements involves selecting the specific functionalities that are most critical to your organization. For instance, an apartment complex will have different needs for a facility management tool compared to a nuclear power plant, but both can greatly benefit from implementing one.
Our Decision Platform tool offers end-to-end streamlining of your RFP.
To help you gain clarity on FM features and select the most relevant ones for your needs, we have developed a comprehensive facility management requirements checklist. Additionally, our free, interactive facility management requirements templates will assist you in identifying the features that are of utmost importance to your organization.
Step 2: Create an RFP Document
Once you’ve confidently established a list of requirements, it’s time to generate an official facility management software RFP. The purpose of this RFP is to initiate contact with vendors and request personalized proposals from them, outlining how they’ll meet your specific facility management criteria.
While reviews and online research play a crucial role in significant purchasing decisions, they can’t provide you with precise details about what each vendor plans to offer you.
To ensure professionalism and demonstrate your seriousness as a potential client, it’s important to present a well-crafted RFP. Using an RFP planning tool can greatly assist you in this endeavor.
Step 3: Shortlist Vendors
Once you’ve put together your RFP, you need to shortlist vendors to distribute it to.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out our free facilities management comparison report. You can use it to determine which leading vendors meet your requirements and how they stack up against each other.
Take note of the platforms that perform exceptionally well against your criteria or those that meet most of your key requirements. We recommend creating a shortlist comprising three to seven vendors, as having too many or too few can impede the selection process.
This is also an opportune time to conduct research on other people’s experiences with each vendor. Read reviews, watch product demos and talk to users, if possible. This step can further refine your shortlist or, at the very least, equip you with insights into what you can anticipate from each product.
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Step 4: Submit the RFP to Vendors
Now that you’ve compiled your vendor shortlist and prepared your facility management RFP document, it’s time to submit the RFP to your shortlist. By submitting the RFP, you transfer the responsibility to the vendors to create proposals based on your specific requirements.
Typically, an RFQ may occur concurrently with the RFP or after you receive the proposals, especially if you require pricing details.
You can submit your RFP through various means, such as email, vendor contact pages or RFP management tools. Include clear contact information for how vendors should send back their proposals.
For optimal results, we recommend including the following information in your facility management RFP:
- General information about your company, including industry, estimated number of software users and budget.
- A deadline for vendors to submit their responses.
- Challenges your organization seeks to address with the facility management software.
- Key feature requirements that are essential for your facility management solution.
The next section of this article — Key Elements — goes more into crucial information to include in your facility management software RFP.
When detailing your technical requirements, avoid ambiguity. Clearly specify any security regulations or compliance standards the facility management software must adhere to. Similarly, outline your customer support needs to ensure an accurate proposal from vendors.
5. Review and Select
And now we reach the final step of the process — evaluating vendor responses and selecting the perfect facility management solution for your organization. RFP management tools, such as our Decision Platform, offer definitive advantages over email at this stage.
You can access responses in one centralized location, avoiding the risk of responses getting lost in spam folders or buried in your inbox.
Take the time to carefully review and evaluate vendor responses. If any vendors didn’t include a price quote in their response, submit an RFQ to obtain accurate cost information associated with the software.
Evaluate in-depth product comparisons with our Decision Platform before creating RFPs.
It’s considered good practice to inform vendors you don’t select. Once you’ve narrowed down your search to two or three products, it’s important to follow up. Request in-depth demos, free trials, proof-of-concept demonstrations or any other means to experience the software firsthand.
An important step in this process is a live demo where your end users can test the software by performing tasks they would need to do post software implementation.
This provides an opportunity to troubleshoot and address any issues before making a commitment. It also allows you to gain knowledge of any system gaps and assess the user-friendliness of the product.
After careful consideration, once you’ve made your final decision, you can proceed to finalize the contract and move on to the implementation phase.
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Key Elements
In general, any RFP should include these core elements:
- Executive Summary: Provide a brief overview of what you’re looking for in facilities management software and what you expect from vendors.
- Company Information: Tell vendors about your company — the more information you can provide them about who you are and what you do, the better they can cater to your needs.
- Requirements: List your requirements from a solution so vendors know from the get-go if they’re able to provide the capabilities you need.
- Submittal Process: Leave a detailed process explaining how to submit proposals, what information to include, where to send them and when to send them by.
- Deadline: While this is part of the submittal process, make sure you highlight your deadline. You’re on a schedule and vendors should respect your timeframe, if they want your business.
- Selection Criteria: Define your selection process. Detailing how you plan to evaluate your shortlisted vendors will help them create specific, competitive bids, giving you the best options to choose from.
- Budget: List your budget for facilities management software. You’ll need to do some pricing research beforehand so you have reasonable expectations regarding how much your requirements may cost.
- Questions: Ask any questions you have — these can be specific to a certain vendor or broad enough to include for each vendor. Make sure you request responses in your submittal process.
Pros and Cons
There are advantages and disadvantages to creating an RFP for facility management, ranging from mitigating costs to improving system requirements and simplifying the software selection process.
Pros
- Saved Time: RFPs save you time by allowing you to directly communicate your needs to vendors instead of browsing numerous software provider websites. This ensures you can ask specific questions and obtain accurate information from the source.
- Defined Requirements: Crafting facility management RFPs helps you identify and articulate the essential capabilities required to meet your company’s objectives. You can specify the necessary modules, such as CRM tools, manufacturing applications, inventory management systems and more, to streamline your production and customer needs.
Cons
- Increased Cost: Developing RFPs entails direct and indirect costs, including time and money. Hiring a facility management consultant can assist in allocating RFPs to different vendors, but it involves additional expenses and may require a significant investment of time.
- Potential Consultant Bias: Some facility management consultants may have a preconceived list of software suppliers that may not align with your specific requirements or company goals. When working with a consultant, make sure to inquire about their selection criteria for vendors and understand their reasoning behind each recommendation so you can mitigate consultant bias.
While the RFP process may involve some challenges and costs, it can ultimately lead to more informed decision-making and a better match between your organization’s needs and the chosen facility management solution.
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FAQs
What is an RFP?
A request for proposal (RFP) is a formal document that organizations use to solicit bids or proposals from vendors or service providers. It communicates specific requirements and criteria for a project, product or service. The RFP typically outlines the organization’s needs, objectives, scope of work, desired features, evaluation criteria and timeline. It’s part of the family of “request for” documents called RFx.
The purpose of an RFP is to invite competitive bids and enable the organization to make an informed decision when selecting a vendor or service provider.
What are the other members of the RFx family?
The core members of the RFx family, along with RFPs, also include RFIs and RFQs.
RFI
A request for information (RFI) serves as the initial phase for major projects, including the procurement of facility management software. As the name implies, its primary purpose is to collect relevant information. You can accomplish this by formulating high-level inquiries directed at both your organization and the vendors that you might shortlist in the future.
These questions aid in identifying the desired features, objectives and potential vendors for your FM software implementation.
RFQ
A request for quote (RFQ) is typically used when you have narrowed down your list of potential vendors and require pricing estimates.
A shortlist consists of three to five vendors, although some may include eight or more. Determine the exact number of vendors on your shortlist based on the specific needs and preferences of your business.
It’s important to strike a balance by not comparing too many providers, while also including a few alternatives in case certain vendors’ stakeholders don’t favor them.
RFQs have a focused scope and should include technical specifications, deployment methods, payment terms, and other relevant details to assist buyers in making informed decisions.
Who should use a facilities management software RFP?
Any organization or entity that requires efficient management of their facilities, assets and maintenance processes can benefit from using a facilities management software RFP to find the right solution for their needs. Some examples would be large companies, educational institutions, government agencies, health care facilities and nonprofits.
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Next Steps
Deciding on a facility management solution requires dedication and meticulousness. To streamline the process and avoid potential challenges, you should consider using an RFP management tool. It can save you time, money and alleviate headaches in the long run.
If you’re ready to create your facilities management software RFP, you can take charge by accessing our free Decision Platform or explore our Managed Selection Services if you prefer to delegate the work to us.
What challenges are you facing in your facility management RFP process? Please share them with us in the comments. We are here to assist you!