Having designed, managed and worked with hundreds of requests for proposals over the years, I have some ideas, based on painful experiences, that suggest more efficiencies are within reach.
This is
an excellent article by Ms. Salcito. I work for a technology company that serves 350 TMCs worldwide. We are often asked to assist with responses to RFPs and many times are asked to speak directly with the issuer of the RFP. Several times the issuer has confided to us that they have no intention of changing and that they are conducting the RFP in order to strengthen their negotiating power with their existing TMC or to meet a mandatory supplier review policy. Neither of these reasons seem to be a good primary reason to issue a TMC RFP. Additionally, a lot of people's time and talents are wasted in an endeavor that will provide no measurable benefit.
For those TMCs who are considering responded to the multitude of unsolicited RFPs, I offer this advice. Do not agree to respond until you can get a two hour meeting with the appropriate decision makers so you can identify the reason for the issuance of the RFP and the measurable outcomes the issuer would like to achieve. If the corporation won't agree, chances are they already have a winner selected and you should spend your time on more profitable ventures.
~ Cornerstone Information Systems SVP of marketing Alan Minton
Are there any better ways to buy business travel, other than the standard RFP/tender?
I think one of the most disappointing outcomes from contract negotiation is that between corporations and TMCs. You can practically guarantee that one side or the other, or in time both, are not enamoured with the end results. The corporation wants total priority and service delivery at the lowest unit price whilst the TMC spends its time trying to figure out how to comply whilst clawing back profitability elsewhere in the deal or through caveats.
Last week I delivered an NBTA training course to Delta Air Lines. The workshop was geared to Delta’s global corporate sales team, and naturally we had some good give and take about trends in airline RFPs. Three things puzzled me, and so I throw these mysteries out to you, valued reader, for your insights.
