The Commonly Overlooked First Impression: Q&A. APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 2 Actual First...

The Commonly Overlooked First Impression: Q&A

APMP BID & PROPOSAL CON 2015 | PAGE 2

Actual First Impression

-Oregon State Hardware RFP


Q. I noticed that the pre-bid is NOT mandatory. With this kind of money and this type situation, a pre-bid is 100% necessary in order to know what is being bid on. Was that a typo, or are you guys allowing companies out of CA and TX to bid on this without attending a pre-bid to know what to bid on???

A: Attendance at the pre-proposal conference is not mandatory.

- Birmingham Alabama School District




“How long this project for? What is the apx $amount of this Bid? MBE certification will get Plus?”

-Bidder, multi-State $100M+ software catalog


Tips on Writing Good Questions



Know your purpose.a. Open a door

b. Close a door

c. Ghost a competitor

d. Get Information you need to respond

e. Scare other respondents away

Any Others?


Know Your Purpose

Open a Door

Current Procurement Process Ownership and inventory of product is transferred in the Selected Supplier’s system to the Site Contact at the time of receipt. Invoicing follows recipient’s receipt acknowledgement.

In our research, we have discovered that there is a potential tax liability with transfer of title in certain states. We would like clarification on the conflict between this provision and the requirement that purchases be tax exempt. If one provision cannot be met, please indicate which is preferable. Is transfer of title within the State of XXX acceptable if it will resolve the potential tax liability?


Know Your Purpose

Close a Door

Will [Customer] award to multiple vendors, if so how will this be broken up (i.e. by state)?


Know Your Purpose

Ghost a competitor

The section titled Warranties and Service Level Agreements states that Supplier will be required to provide service level agreements for response times and performance. Should the bidder include service level penalties for failure to meet the thresholds identified in Section 3 of the Procurement Requirements?


Know Your Purpose

Get Information You Really Need

Table 3, Item 3j “Prepare all documents for signature according to [Customer] standard business practice.”

Please detail what this standard business practice is.


Know Your Purpose

Scare Other Respondents Away

“Who will be providing the following equipment: Work tables, shelving, rack, pallet jacks, wheeled boards, carts, forklift, cabling and workstations? Will Customer require the vendor to procure this equipment with or without reimbursement? Are we required to use existing equipment? Will this differ depending on the project?”


Know Your Purpose

Scare Other Respondents Away

Table 2, Item 3.2 Please describe how you will ensure the shipping company allows ample time for the grantee to inspect for completeness of order before leaving.

Please clarify the term “inspect for completeness” to detail the process required.


Do no harm to your image as the “best”

Let others ask the dumb questions. Do not ask questions that are clearly already answered just because you do not like the current answer.If you have 10 questions, some other firm has 20; they will ask the really annoying ones.



Know the answer before you ask. (Or, enough of the answer to intelligently determine the outcome.)

Don’t paint yourself into a corner.



Q: “What are the insurance coverage requirements, if any, for working on site at [Customer]?”

A: Vendor shall maintain the following lines of coverage as applicable: Commercial General Liability: ”Occurrence” form with policy limits of not less than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) each occurrence (for bodily injury and for damage to property); including coverage for premises and operations, contractual liability (including insurable contractual liability assumed in any SOW), broad form property damage, and products and completed operations. The policy shall name Customer as an additional insured to the extent of contractual liability assumed by Vendor in a SOW, and shall contain a severability of interests provision in favor of the additional insureds.

Actual Example


Don’t identify yourself.

It’s not just writing “Company X” in the question, it’s also saying “We are a Fortune 500 based in Chicago…”

Try instead: “As a supplier of multiple brands…”



Don’t give away your strategy by asking for permission for your solution.

“Can we propose a White Label product?”

“Can we image in house?”

“Can we drop ship products?”



Section 8.5, Manage High Run Rate Peripheral Inventory Business model

Q: Is it expected, and or possible for the most commonly procured peripherals that need to be delivered in 24 hours to be kept at a [Customer] Warehouse?

A: Yes, that is the logical and expected model.

Actual Example


Whenever possible, use the scope or intent of the RFP to lead the answer in the direction you desire.

“[Customer’s] desire for a comprehensive catalog made up of thousands of products means hundreds of manufacturers with varying warranty terms are to be represented… given that variety, are you willing to entertain a varied term for the warranty by product rather than limit your catalog by the fixed “1 year” currently required in Section x.x?”



Be Concise.

Don’t get too verbose. Try reading the question aloud to see if you can follow it clearly. If you’re trying to do too much, they won’t work to answer you, they will simply say “no” or point you back to the RFP for your answer.



78. Item reference numbers 2 through 16 of our included table have been identified as inconsistent with those provided in the Specification References paired from (RFP Attachment A from (08/16/13)) to both (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) and (Exhibit MMD: Class D Minimum Mandatories V1 082113). UNICOM’s provided reference number 2, beginning on (column A row 6) of our included table will show, the following:

NASA’s Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “b” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) does not correlate to the Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “b” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)), as “b” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)) correlates to Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “c” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) and Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “c” in (Exhibit MMD: Class D Minimum Mandatories V1 082113).

NASA’s Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “c” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) and (Exhibit MMD: Class D Minimum Mandatories V1 082113) does not correlate to the Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “c” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)), as “c” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)) correlates to Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “d” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) and (Exhibit MMD: Class D Minimum Mandatories V1 082113).

NASA’s Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “d” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) and (Exhibit MMD: Class D Minimum Mandatories V1 082113) does not correlate to the Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “d” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)), as “d” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)) correlates to Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “e” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113.

NASA’s Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “f” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113) does not correlate to the Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “e” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)), as “e” in (Attachment A from RFP (08/16/13)) correlates to Specification Reference 6.1.3.1. “g” in (Exhibit EMDFD: Group D Exceeding the Minimum Mandatories / Desirable Features V1 082113).

Actual Example


1. Know your Purpose

2. Know the Answer

3. Don’t Identify yourself

4. Do no harm to your Image

5. Use Scope to lead the answer

6. Don’t give away your Strategy

7. Be Concise



Questions

Or ideas…


Tara BarbieriDirector, Program SalesCDW203.851.7044 [email protected] Find me on LinkedIn

Contact Us

APMPPO Box 77272Washington, DC20013-7272 Phone: +1 - (202) 450-2549www.apmp.org

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