It is essential to determine the measures of comparison that will be used for the proposal. The proposal evaluation factors include:
The proposal evaluation strategy must be consistent with the objectives (e.g., best value, supply base optimization) of the Postal Service, the critical success factors (e.g., technical factors, timing, and resources) of the project, and the sourcing strategy. The proposal evaluation strategy must also reflect the priorities of the requirements.
The list of relevant proposal evaluation factors, and the associated weighting factors, will vary by product or service and must address all areas that will be considered in determining best value. Proposal evaluation factors must be determined by the purchase/SCM team before issuing the RFP. Risk of successful performance should almost always be considered as a performance evaluation factor. It may be included as a separate proposal evaluation factor or as an element of other factors. The proposal evaluation team uses the evaluation factors to evaluate proposals.
Proposal evaluation factors may include:
- Supplier’s understanding of the requirement.
- Supplier’s superiority of technical approach.
- Supplier’s assumptions.
- Supplier’s managerial and organizational descriptions (including, where appropriate, its subcontractor plans).
- Supplier’s personnel and resources available for the project.
- Supplier’s delivery and scheduling.
- Supplier’s experience (i.e., relevant past performance) and capabilities (includes scope of services, maintenance, ability/experience of supplier’s organization with similar agreements, customer liaison, financial).
- Supplier’s financial information.
- Other supplier information, such as information attained in a supplier survey that contains referral list of customers, number of employees, credit references, and compliance violation history (if any).
RFPs must include a description of the proposal evaluation factors, how they will be evaluated, and the relevant importance of price or total cost to the factors. Suppliers must also be made aware that best value to the Postal Service will be the basis for selection. Proposal evaluation factors play two roles: 1) They help clarify the Postal Service’s objectives for a particular purchase; and 2) They help suppliers develop their proposals.
The proper weighting of the proposal evaluation factors is essential to effective evaluation; proposal evaluation factors should represent the elements that are critical to the purchase’s success. Using too many proposal evaluation factors should be avoided because it can unintentionally level evaluation scores (as when high scores for less significant proposal evaluation factors offset low scores for more important proposal evaluation factors).
Many forms of scoring systems, from qualitative to quantitative, are suitable for proposal evaluation; however, some are more suitable than others, depending on the situation. The selected scoring system should be simple and practical.
When developing the proposal evaluation strategy, the following activities must be completed:
