As a school district administrator or city purchasing official, you are likely familiar with the request-for-proposal (RFP) process. For quite some time, it's been an unskippable hurdle for upgrading telephone systems or any other equipment for your school system or government agency. Fortunately, there's a better way to procure the new tech equipment your organization needs. A Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract satisfies all the requirements of your RFP competitive solicitations process.

How? By following these 11 steps:

#1: Identify Member Needs

Sourcewell constantly seeks feedback from its members and conducts research using its member advisory committee to ensure that the products and services they offer meet the needs of their members. Member participation and interaction are vital to the success of the vendor selection process.

#2: Research Available Solutions

No two industries are alike, and Sourcewell contract solutions are flexible to meet the varying needs of its members. The best approach is always the one that meets an individual member's requirements. Sometimes this means a manufacturer's solution is best, while other situations call for a distributor's solution. 

#3: Request Permission from the Sourcewell Board of Directors

Once you complete the opening steps in the process, the publicly elected Sourcewell Board of Directors is consulted regarding potential solutions. The board grants permissions before the official development of any solicitation and procurement process can begin.

#4: Draft Solicitations, Advertise Publicly and Serve Notice

The solicitation document, which is a RFP Sourcewell submits to vendors on behalf of Sourcewell members, serves as the foundation of the cooperative contract purchasing system. This document forms an important piece of the puzzle.

Sourcewell advertises each RFP in print via major newspapers (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Salt Lake News and USA Today), using online print forums (Daily Journal of Commerce), on their Sourcewell website and through various other e-commerce sites.

#5: Pre-Proposal Conference and Receipt of Responses

From the start of the RFP, Sourcewell allows vendors and distributors a 5 to 6 week long response time. Pre-proposal conferences offer chances to answer questions about competitive solicitations and identify issues that may need to be covered with an addendum. All proposals are electronically time and date stamped immediately upon receipt by Sourcewell, and opened only by a Bids & Contracts employee. 

#6: Evaluate Responses

Once proposals are opened, the evaluation process begins to determine the responsiveness of each proposal. Level One Responsiveness includes a timely submission, proper organization, the presence of electronic and physical copies, verification of proposer's insurance and original signatures.

Level Two Responsiveness uses applicable evaluation criteria to determine the procurement value of each proposal. This process includes, but is not limited to, the following factors:

• Does it conform to RFP intent, scope and specifications?
• Does it offer competitive pricing?
• Does it service Sourcewell members nationally?
• What strength, experience and success does it have in a given industry/marketplace?
• What financing options and detailed payment plans are available?

Then, a final evaluation occurs. During the final evaluation, a point-based system is used as a part of the final scoring and awarded vendor determination.

#7: Provide Recommendations to the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)

The evaluation committee's recommendations are presented to the CPO for final review and possible reward. The CPO has the final say in the issuance and denial of any procurement contract.

#8: Award Vendor(s)

With approval from the CPO, recommended vendors are awarded four-year contracts with an optional one-year extension at the discretion of Sourcewell. The Contracts and Compliance Department notified vendors whether they have or have not been awarded. 

#9: Post Approved Contract Documents

Full and complete procurement files are maintained by Sourcewell, with all documentation posted to the Sourcewell website. This allows members the chance to review procurement files and provides a sense of transparency in the process.

#10: Development and Implementation of Joint Marketing Plans

In order to effectively spread the word about vendors and available contracts, Sourcewell works with vendors and members to educate all parties on the benefits and uses of awarded contracts. Awarded vendors team up with Sourcewell to educate sales and service teams on marketing Sourcewell contracts. Meanwhile, Sourcewell advertises awarded contracts and markets its partners through its website and at national and regional trade shows.

#11: Review and Maintenance of Contracts

The Sourcewell periodically reviews all contracts for effectiveness. The goal is to create a pre-competed environment in which duplicate formal solicitations are avoided and members always have the best options to choose from.

Sourcewell completes a RFP process for all of its vendor contracts, which satisfies your RFP requirements. Rather than investing your time and resources to sift through proposals that may or may not work, allow Sourcewell to do the heavy lifting. As members (which are no-cost, no-obligation and no-liability), you have the luxury of simply selecting the cooperative purchasing contract that meets your requirements, while also satisfying your needs to complete an RFP.