I just read an excellent post on Alan Weiss's new blog, Contrarian Consulting, about the uselessness of Request for Proposals (RFPs). I really enjoyed this post because I have toiled through many of these things - usually for the federal government but also for the State of New Jersey (my home state). If you read Alan's post, you will see a variety of strange questions that may appear on RFPs. I have seen most of these and more. Alan hits my pet peeve right on the head and that is the requirement to make multiple copies of the RFP and associated paper work. I always wonder why I, as a small business owner (who doesn't own a high speed copier), must make 6 copies of a 60+page document, and then pay to mail this giant package of paper when I am pretty sure the government has more than enough copiers available. Wouldn't an electronic submission be nice? (and save a lot of trees?)
Additionally, I am pretty sure that many of these RFPs are already pre-decided so for the unknowing bidder, they are also a complete waste of time and money. Alan's suggestion to really know who (and what) you are dealing with on the inside can help you to avoid spinning your wheels. Alan's post refers to an RFP as Really Flatulent Paperwork. I like RFP = Really Futile Process. Either way, you get the message.
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