Request Multiple Quotes from Information Technology Service Delivery Suppliers and Manufacturers

The challenge

The solution

The outcome

Requirements

• 1. Define the need: services in scope, business outcomes, priorities, constraints, locations, volumes, SLAs, service hours, and future growth.
• 2. Confirm the sourcing strategy: why buy vs build, single vs multi-supplier, global vs regional coverage, strategic vs tactical service model, and target operating model.
• 3. Build the business case: cost baseline, expected savings, service improvements, risks, transition costs, and exit/replacement assumptions.
• 4. Establish governance: executive sponsor, sourcing lead, legal, security, finance, operations, procurement, and decision rights.
• 5. Set selection criteria: technical capability, service management maturity, sector experience, scalability, resilience, financial stability, innovation, and cultural fit.
• 6. Define mandatory requirements: compliance, data protection, cybersecurity, regulatory obligations, accessibility, continuity, and audit rights.
• 7. Prepare the RFP/RFQ: clear scope, service catalog, volumes, assumptions, pricing model, KPI/SLA expectations, transition requirements, and contract terms.
• 8. Shortlist suppliers: evidence of relevant experience, reference checks, financial health, delivery footprint, and ability to meet mandatory requirements.
• 9. Evaluate proposals consistently: weighted scoring across service quality, price, implementation approach, risk, and long-term value.
• 10. Validate delivery capability: demonstrations, due diligence, site visits, customer references, and review of incident/problem/change processes.
• 11. Negotiate commercial terms: pricing, indexation, credits, gainshare, service changes, exit support, IP ownership, and termination rights.
• 12. Finalize service accountability: RACI, escalation paths, governance forums, reporting cadence, and service ownership.
• 13. Create an onboarding and transition plan: milestones, dependencies, knowledge transfer, data migration, cutover, parallel run, and acceptance criteria.
• 14. Manage risk: security assessment, business continuity plan, subcontractor controls, dependency mapping, and transition risk register.
• 15. Set up performance management: baseline metrics, dashboards, review cadence, continuous improvement plan, and remediation triggers.
• 16. Ensure people readiness: communication plan, training, access provisioning, role changes, and support model for end users and internal teams.
• 17. Confirm legal and operational readiness: signed contract, policies, insurance, compliance approvals, tooling integration, and record retention.
• 18. Plan exit from day one: exit assistance, data return, transition-out steps, and replacement supplier readiness.

Best practices

• 1. Define clear business objectives and service outcomes before evaluating vendors.
• 2. Map current IT service delivery gaps, risks, and priorities.
• 3. Establish detailed functional, technical, security, and compliance requirements.
• 4. Standardize evaluation criteria across products, services, and providers.
• 5. Assess vendor experience in B2B environments similar to your industry and scale.
• 6. Validate integration capabilities with existing systems, tools, and workflows.
• 7. Review security controls, data privacy practices, and regulatory compliance.
• 8. Require measurable SLAs, KPIs, and service reporting commitments.
• 9. Evaluate implementation, migration, and change management support.
• 10. Confirm scalability, flexibility, and future roadmap alignment.
• 11. Analyze total cost of ownership, including licensing, support, training, and exit costs.
• 12. Check support model quality, escalation paths, and response times.
• 13. Perform reference checks, pilot testing, and proof-of-concept validation.
• 14. Negotiate strong contract terms covering ownership, data portability, and service continuity.
• 15. Create ongoing governance for performance reviews, continuous improvement, and vendor management.