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| Foreword | |
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| Preface | |
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| A Word of Encouragement | |
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| A Word of Caution | |
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| Who Should Read This Book? | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction to Writing RFPs | |
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| Introduction | |
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| What Is Presented in Request for Proposal Book? | |
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| Different Types of RFPs | |
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| Request for Information (RFI) | |
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| Request for Proposal (RFP) | |
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| Why Write an RFP? | |
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| RFP Development and Preparation | |
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| RFP Project Development | |
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| Evaluation Criteria | |
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| Reviewing the RFP | |
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| Anatomy of an RFP | |
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| Project Overview and Administrative Information | |
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| Technical Requirements | |
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| Management Requirements | |
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| Supplier Qualifications and References | |
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| Suppliers' Section | |
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| Pricing Section | |
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| Contracts and License Agreements Section | |
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| Appendices | |
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| RFP Activities | |
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| Pre-RFP Activities | |
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| RFP Activities | |
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| Post-RFP Activities | |
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| The Importance of the RFP from a Contract Perspective | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| RFP Planning and Preparation | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Pre-RFP Planning Considerations | |
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| Project Organization | |
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| Project Schedule | |
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| Technology and Supplier Education | |
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| Budget Development | |
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| The Project Acquisition Budget | |
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| Post-RFP Planning Considerations | |
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| Project Development and Implementation | |
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| Additional Post-RFP Activities | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| RFP Administrative Requirements Section | |
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| Introduction | |
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| How to Use This Chapter | |
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| Anatomy of an Administrative Section | |
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| RFP Overview | |
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| Supplier and Supplier Reference Information | |
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| Company Confidential Information | |
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| Intent to Bid | |
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| Proprietary Information Notice | |
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| Supplier Confidential Information | |
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| Subcontracting | |
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| RFP Contacts | |
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| RFP Questions and Answers | |
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| Responding to Supplier Questions | |
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| RFP Reference Library | |
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| RFP Schedule | |
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| Pre-Proposal Conference | |
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| Proposal Format Requirements | |
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| The Cover Letter or Transmittal Letter | |
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| The Executive Summary Required in Proposals | |
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| Pricing Section | |
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| Best and Final Offers | |
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| Alternative Proposals | |
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| Compliance Matrix | |
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| Informational Paragraphs in the Administrative Section | |
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| Definition of Requirements | |
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| Production Environment Requirement for Products | |
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| Errors or Omissions in Proposals | |
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| Proposal Evaluation Criteria | |
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| Proposal Costs and Expenses | |
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| Product Demonstrations | |
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| Notifying Winning and Losing Suppliers | |
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| Proposal Debriefing | |
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| What Should Not Appear in the Administrative Section | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| RFP Technical Requirements Section | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Writing Requirements for the Technical Section | |
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| Definition of a Requirement | |
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| Who Writes Requirements? | |
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| How Do Suppliers Recognize Requirements in Your RFP? | |
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| What Is the Difference between Specifications and Requirements? | |
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| Written Formats for Requirements: Questions, Statements, or Narrative Description | |
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| Qualities of Well-Written Requirements | |
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| Requirements Must Reflect Real Products or Solutions | |
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| Requirements Must Be Unambiguous | |
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| Requirements Must Not Use Subjective Terms | |
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| Requirements Must Be Measurable | |
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| Requirements Must Be Meaningful | |
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| Requirements Must Be Complete | |
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| Requirements Must Not Include the Solution | |
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| Requirements Must Not Include Unnecessary Characteristics | |
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| Developing Technical Requirements | |
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| Illustrating Requirements | |
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| Anatomy of a Technical Section | |
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| Current Business Environment | |
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| Current Technical Environment | |
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| Proposed Technical Environment | |
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| A Note on Hardware Requirements | |
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| A Note on System Software Requirements | |
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| Application Requirements | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Management Requirements Section | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Writing Requirements for the Management Section | |
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| Examples of Poorly Written Requirements | |
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| Anatomy of a Management Section | |
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| Project Plan | |
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| Project Schedule | |
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| Site Preparation Plan and Personnel Responsibilities | |
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| Project Staffing Requirements | |
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| Roles and Responsibilities | |
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| Design, Development, and Implementation | |
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| Project Change Control | |
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| Delivery and Installation | |
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| Testing | |
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| System Maintenance and Support | |
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| Training | |
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| Documentation | |
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| Standards | |
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| Project Cutover | |
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| Supplier Issues and Concerns | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Pricing | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Anatomy of a Pricing Section | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Technical Section | |
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| Management Section | |
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| Hardware | |
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| System Software | |
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| Application Software | |
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| Custom Software Development | |
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| Consumables | |
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| Project Implementation and Management Services | |
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| Maintenance and Support | |
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| Training | |
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| Documentation | |
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| Other Costs Not Specifically Requested | |
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| Organizing the Pricing Section | |
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| Validating Prices | |
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| Other Pricing Notes | |
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| Contracts and License Agreements Section | |
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| Fixed-Price Contract | |
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| Time and Materials (TandM) | |
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| Associated Contract Considerations | |
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| Evaluation of Pricing | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Evaluation Guidelines | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Evaluation Team | |
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| Evaluation Considerations | |
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| Evaluation Criteria in the RFP | |
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| Beginning the Evaluation Process | |
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| Requests for Clarification | |
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| Other Considerations for the Evaluation Team | |
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| Anatomy of an Evaluation Section | |
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| Technical Evaluation | |
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| Management Evaluation | |
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| Price Evaluation | |
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| Oral Presentations and Demonstrations | |
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| The Evaluation Process | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Preliminary Evaluation | |
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| Second Round of Evaluations | |
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| Detailed Evaluations | |
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| The Shortlist | |
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| Developing the Scoring Methodology | |
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| Evaluation Report | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Appendices | |
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| Administrative Information | |
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| Supplier Information | |
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| Proposal Preparation Instructions | |
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| Budget Planning and Investment Analysis | |
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| Nondisclosure Agreement | |
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| Proprietary Notice | |
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| Notice of Intent to Bid | |
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| Questions and Answers | |
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| Compliance Matrix | |
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| Preliminary Evaluation Checklist | |
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| RFP Reverse Planning Calendar | |
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| Index | |