Vendor Analysis and Recommendation
Service Description: This service usually involves assisting you in selecting a vendor based on requirements that I help you define. Examples would include selection of an advertising agency or selection of software such as CRM (customer relationship management).
Reasons you would hire me:
- Little or no expertise in-house.
- No resources available in-house to define the requirements and make recommendations.
I could perform one or more of the following tasks:
- Research client needs through research, client interviews, and other methods;
- Develop a prioritized checklist of client’s needs and requirements;
- Categorize the needs in terms of “must have” and “want to have”. “Must have” needs are needs that, if not addresses, would eliminate a vendor or solution from consideration. A “want need” is something that you want or would like to have but do not have to have. Usually, the want needs are assigned a weight from 1 to 10. A weight of 1 is the lowest priority of need and a weight of 10 indicates the highest need;
- Interview vendors to determine who might be considered in the planned analysis;
- Develop a Request for Proposal or a Request for Information document to be sent to vendors so that all vendors respond in a standard way making responses easier to analyze;
- Analyze vendor responses in terms of must haves, weighted wants, and other factors;
- A presentation is made to the you summarizing responses in one document with scores based on musts and wants for each vendor;
- Analyze vendor responses and make recommendations to you;
- We (collectively) decide on which vendor to select; and
- Assist you with subsequent implementation.
Your Deliverable:
The deliverable will vary depending on the nature of the vendor analysis and recommendation, the scope of the project, and the client’s needs. Some deliverable examples could include:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software Request for Proposal for a government agency; and
- Implementation plan for implementing CRM software with project milestones, client responsibilities, vendor responsibilities and one time and recurring costs.
