Evaluation and Negotiations Methodology

As the cost of complex technology systems continues to rise, public and private entities face the urgent challenge of evaluating vendor proposals to ensure that the offering meets their needs and fulfills their expectiations of how these systems will operate, and that they receive the best value for their capital expenditure. RCC has developed a broad array of capabilities that can be drawn upon in assisting through the procurement cycle. Our level of service and commitment to quality in these areas sets us apart from the competition and enables RCC to offer innovative cost-effective and value added services during this critical phase of any technology project.

RCC begins by assisting the client in conducting a pre-procurement conference, providing technical support regarding the system specifications. RCC will recommend specific answers to vendor questions relating to the technical specifications of the technology system.

Following release of the procurement document by the client, RCC will work with the client project team in developing vendor proposal evaluation criteria. This grading matrix will serve as the basis for evaluating vendor proposals.

RCC will use a team of experienced engineers and consultants to evaluate each vendor proposal. This evaluation will examine each vendor's offering for compliance with the specifications and the technical soundness of their proposed offering. RCC will prepare an evaluation summary report that will contain our ranking and grades of offerings and a cost evaluation.

RCC is often requested to provide advice and assistance throughout the contract negotiation process. Our experience and knowledge of the specific systems involved often help to clarify the vendor's system design and offering that have resulted in considerable savings for many of our clients.

RCC's project managers are also experienced in assisting with negotiating contract terms and conditions for technology system purchase contracts. Working with the client, RCC can help to negotiate contract terms and conditions that favor the client to the greatest extent possible.

Procurement Negotiation

Contained in the basket of services provided by RCC Consultants to its clients is procurement negotiation support. Effective procurement negotiation is essential to achieve the performance objectives established for implementation of a complex telecommunications or information technology. Procurement terms and conditions must be negotiated that reflect the letter and intent of the request for proposals (or other procurement document) that is issued by the buyer. A well-crafted request for proposals describes with clarity and in detail the objectives of the buyer that must be met by the solution offered by a vendor. Differences between a vendor proposal and the request for proposals must be negotiated between the buyer and the seller to satisfactory conclusion before a procurement agreement is drafted. RCC Consultants provides procurement negotiation support to its clients and their legal counsel that helps identify and eliminate inconsistencies between the buyer's requirements and the seller's offer that may result in a dispute before, during, or after system implementation.

Procurement negotiation support provided by RCC Consultants applies the firm's two decades of experience with complex technology acquisitions to the immediate needs of clients. RCC procurement negotiation support has saved our clients millions by elimination of information asymmetry between the seller and the buyer. Knowledge accumulated by RCC from global consulting engagements involving specification and implementation management of complex systems provides the firm with unparalleled depth of skills in avoiding contract disputes.

Negotiation of business and technical terms is supported by RCC consultants who work with client legal counsel to incorporate the required level of technical and financial detail into a procurement agreement. Fees associated with RCC procurement negotiation support are repaid many times over by cost savings and through reduction of disputes between the buyer and seller of complex technological solutions.

Proposal Evaluation

Competitive procurement of complex telecommunications networks and information technologies requires a structured proposal evaluation process. A manager who has issued a request for proposals and now faces a stack of thick documents from competing vendors needs consultant assistance earlier, rather than later, in the process. Proposal evaluation is a component of an overall consultative process followed by RCC that begins at strategy and ends with system operation.

Optimally, proposal evaluation is based on the letter and intent of the request for proposals or other procurement specification method. A good request for proposals should reflect the operational objectives of the purchaser that are to be met by the goods or services to be bought. A proposal evaluation method should be developed in parallel with the procurement document. This proposal evaluation method and scoring system may be included in the request for proposals or may be kept confidential from vendors, depending on a buyer's practices, customs and regulations.

RCC proposal evaluation services follow a structured process that establishes a section-by-section score for compliance with the procurement document. A level playing field is created for all vendors who propose goods or services by this uniform scoring process. Weights of score components are developed on a non-discriminatory basis to reflect the operational objectives and priorities of the buyer.

RCC can provide proposal evaluation services as a stand-alone project or as a component of a complete procurement and implementation project. Similar processes are followed whether the procurement document has been prepared by RCC, by a client, or by another firm.

A carefully crafted and executed proposal evaluation process is an essential step toward ensuring that an expensive and complex technology investment delivers the desired improvement in productivity and quality of service to the buyer. RCC is prepared to deliver such a proposal evaluation service to public and private sector clients who are faced with a technology procurement decision.