Hints and tips for stage seven
Ensure you have a detailed plan for the whole project and that you have reviewed the procurement options and agreed the approach you will take and planned the process as part of your overall project plan. This is covered in stage two of the toolkit.
Get in some external advice and expertise in the form of independent consultants plus your procurement department plus IT staff who have managed large IT projects before. To ensure you select the right supplier you need to have all points of view represented on the evaluation team - technical, records management, financial, contractual etc. You will be using the solution and working with the supplier for many years so spend the time needed to select the right one for you.
Following on from tip two, if you have a mix of expertise on the team then do not ask everyone to evaluate the complete tender responses. You can assign sections to different team members. The consultant and project manager may both mark the complete tender but other specialists should just mark the sections of interest to them.
Do not to take too many assertions and statements for granted. If you suspect that a supplier is trying to hide a weakness then ask supplementary questions until you are reassured or you have concrete evidence of the weakness.
Do not to skimp on the site visits. Good references are vital evidence that the supplier provides a good overall service. If you cannot spare the time to visit two users then at least schedule a telephone call and take the contact point through a structured set of questions.
