RFI & RFP

0:00 We hear the terms RFI and RFP used often.

0:05 From your perspective, what's the difference between the two?

0:09 And which should an event planner use when vetting a new exhibit supplier?

0:15 So the RFI requests for information.

0:17 This is something that I actually wish was used more broadly by procurement.

0:21 OK.

0:22 And here's the reason why.

0:23 I think if there's a bunch of criteria procurements looking to qualify a potential supplier, you could do that through an RFI and you could blast that out to 1015 companies if you'd like.

0:33 So just to get some fundamental information as to whether or not the bones of the operation suit what it is they're looking for.

0:44 Yeah, if they're capable and as a qualifier and go ahead and like I said, go ahead and put that out there to a number of possible suppliers.

0:52 The RFP process typically would include a more specific proposal for an event or a program and would probably involved creative and I think that wants to be sent out to, you know, a more select group of people.

1:06 So after the RFI, you have what it takes from a black and white, down and dirty the bones of what we're looking for.

1:16 You have it and now we want to get something more specific.

1:19 Yeah.

1:19 And a little bit of insight from our side of the fence, right.

1:22 Because when when it's all packaged together and you're providing creative and pricing for a particular event, but then you're, you're also being asked how big your warehouse is and what a certain rate is.

1:34 Or, you know, the suppliers trying to figure out where is the decision making criteria here, Like if our creatives the clear best, but someone thinks our warehouse is not in the right location or something like, is that.

1:46 So I think that an RFI allows procurement to get all of that stuff out of the way, your insurance levels, all of that stuff that really, really matters.

1:55 And then it creates the space for the more select potential suppliers to respond onto the RFP.

2:01 Next question, how many suppliers should be asked to participate in the RFP process?

2:08 Because you did just, yeah, that RFI could be sent out to many.

2:13 Yeah, RFP.

2:14 So when creative is involved is less, more, more or less.

2:18 I'll answer it this way, right.

2:20 So again, if assuming the RFP process is going to include creative, right, there's two sides of this.

2:26 There's from the supplier perspective, which I'll talk about right now, which is I think my answer is like 3, three to five.

2:32 And here's why we want to reserve a bulk of our creative capacity for our client base.

2:36 You, if you were our client, that's what you would want.

2:39 You would want us to be able to respond rapidly to all of your specific needs.

2:43 And it also allows the event planner to really focus on that response because all of the RFI stuff is out of the way now.

2:49 We can really look to see and evaluate 3 companies and also have the capacity to engage with the companies so that what they create has a level of intentionality because they've been able to engage your company and learn about the real objectives.

3:08 And here's what I have seen happen that I also would hate to see happen for other event planners is by including too many, you eliminate a quality supplier.

3:18 I know we internally, we have governance that we're we're not going to respond to, you know, a spray and pray RFP process where ten other twelve other companies are involved, right.

3:28 So we are going to select our opportunities on a limited basis.

3:32 And so I'd hate to see them eliminate a really good potential supplier because they've just included too many people in the process to begin with.

3:38 Got it.

3:39 OK.

3:39 We see a lot of RFI's and a lot of RFP's on our side of the fence.

3:44 What do you think is commonly missing the human element?

3:49 Yeah.

3:49 I mean, you know, at the end of the day, these are going to be partnerships and relationships.

3:54 It's not that the creative just comes gets pumped out of some factory.

3:57 I mean, there's people creating these things.

4:00 When you go to support an event or an overall program, you're going to rely heavily on your account management team inside that company.

4:07 So what are those personal dynamics?

4:09 And it's so interesting because in an effort to create fairness in the RFP process, we're often cut off from the stakeholders, the people that we would ultimately be working with on a day in, day out basis from the types of questions you can ask, the types of meetings that you can have.

4:25 And so it's that human element.

4:28 Imagine yourself as a client.

4:29 If you were already a client of the supplier, you might get a concept, you may not like the concept you're going to work with them to get the concept that you ultimately love and want to take to the and you're working with that, that team of people because you've chosen them.

4:45 Yeah.

4:45 Right.

4:45 And so to get kind of reduced down to an initial set of creative when we don't really know each other yet, I can appreciate the exercise, but man, if there's an opportunity to to really see if we're a great fit interpersonally on a human level.

4:59 Yeah.

5:00 OK, Awesome.

5:01 Thank you very much.

5:02 All right.