Part 163: Bid Documents
(OUTPUT Project Procurement Management: Plan Procurement Management)

  • When we want to acquire a product or service, we need request some information from the sellers
  • The requests can be called proposals, bids, tenders, or quotations
  • Request for Information (RFI)
    • We need more information from the sellers.  We don’t really know what we need yet, and we aren’t looking for a price.  We just want a feel for the capabilities of the suppliers.  We take this information and digest it.  We come back later with a Request for a Proposal.
    • For example, anybody who is interested in supplying us with gears should send in a catalogue.
  • Request for Quotation (RFQ)
    • We know what we need, and we want to know what it will cost
    • For example, we want plastic gears with 32 teeth.  Each supplier should send us a price quote.
  • Request for Proposal (RFP)
    • We have a problem, and we don’t have a clear solution
    • Each supplier should propose a solution
    • Most formal of the three requests
    • For example, we want to connect two neighborhoods.  What is the best way?  Maybe a bridge, maybe a tunnel, maybe a road.  Each engineering firm is invited to submit a proposal (technical capabilities and cost), and the best proposal wins.
  • The procurement documents should be structured so that it is easy to compare and evaluate the responses to them
  • The more expensive the product, the more detailed the documents