In running a Request for Proposal (RFP), timing matters. This includes when it opens, how long it lasts, and when it closes. Today we’ll talk about RFP timing, including opening, running,  and closing for the best bid results. We’ll also cover sealed vs. unsealed bids and communicating timelines.

Opening the RFP

When considering when to publish or send an RFP, think about supplier timing. While you may have a deadline to get an RFP out in a certain week, don’t publish an RFP at the last minute on Friday just so you can mark it done on your own schedule. Chances are the suppliers either won’t see it until Monday or they might spend their personal time over the weekend thinking about the bid if you publish it late Friday. Especially with large RFPs, a salesperson may have a lot at stake, so remember that they are human too and there is no point to publishing late on a Friday. Friday at 4:30 pm is effectively the same as Monday at 8 am. An exception to this is if you have a number of suppliers in dramatically different time zones, but keep in mind that extra time at the beginning for certain time zones may cause issues with fairness, depending on when you close the RFP. 

Bid Duration

A common bid duration for most RFPs is about two weeks, but it varies widely. For quick quotes on very commoditized materials (i.e. requesting a quote from multiple distributors for a particular manufacturer’s part number), less than a week is a reasonable timeframe. Note this situation is debatably a Request for Quote (RFQ) instead of an RFP because it is so cut-and-dry. An RFQ is also more “vendor” focused instead of “supplier” focused. More “standard” bid durations are between two and four weeks depending on what you are asking of the suppliers for a response. Even if it is a commodity with clear and simple manufacturer numbers, if the list of part numbers needing a bid is longer than about fifty parts, give a supplier at least two weeks to respond. 

Large capital projects that require a tour of the job or facility for construction or require reviews of stacks of drawings may need more open bid time. If you do not want to leave a bid open longer, consider breaking the bid into smaller pieces if possible. For many part numbers, break the bid into similar lots. For large capital projects, break the bid into phases. This is especially applicable if there are good suppliers who specialize in only one component of a bid, but you may lose out on efficiencies from having one supplier handle the whole project. All of these choices are why procurement professionals do what we do, and why all these background decisions matter. 

Do not fall into the trap of shortening the bid duration in order to “make up time” on the entire bid event. If you planned to leave the bid open for two weeks, there are reasons you made that decision. Stick to it and don’t make your supplier sales teams scramble to make up your lost time. 

Bid Closing

Similar to when you publish or open a bid, think about when to close it. If it is a sealed bid (or even if it isn’t), when will you be gathering responses together and either making a decision or sending them along to the technical team? How much time do you need to do so? Again, Friday at 4:30 pm might not be substantially different than Monday at 8 am. Consider closing the bid at the same day and time as you started it if you have international suppliers, so that time zone issues even out. If you opened the bid on Monday at 8 am, consider making it due at that same time on a Monday. Give yourself enough time in the day to actually gather and send out the bid information or make a decision on the award. This keeps things moving and helps meet business timeframes. Also try to keep bid closing times within standard working hours for both you and suppliers in case there are technical issues to troubleshoot. 

My personal favorite time to end bids is at 2 pm central U.S. time on Tuesday through Thursday. This gives me enough time to structure my next step, generally my technical team and IT teams are in the office if there are issues, and it is within U.S. time zones for U.S. Suppliers. If I have European suppliers (being in the U.S. myself), I would end at 9 or 10 am U.S. Central time, depending on if I also have suppliers located on the U.S. west coast. Obviously all of these times are centered around where I am, so your needs are likely to be different for wherever you and your suppliers are. 

Be thoughtful of holidays throughout the bid timing. India, China, and the U.S. especially all have major variations in holidays. While most international supply chain teams know to avoid the Chinese New Year, we often forget about the Dragon Boat Festival. We also generally are aware of Diwali and Holi, but perhaps your suppliers give time off for Vijayadashami, also known as Dassahra. Another one I encountered here in the U.S. when I was working with suppliers out of Utah was Pioneer Day, which is only celebrated in Utah every July 24. Keep an eye on holidays when scheduling bid opening, duration, and especially closing dates.

Sealed vs. Unsealed Bids

Through this article, I’ve made the assumption that you have fairly set bid open and close times, either using software or managing deadlines through email. If using a software package, you might have an option to run the bid sealed or unsealed. Here are some thoughts on each.

Sealed Bids

A sealed bid is one where the bids are not visible to the buyer until the bid fully closes. This requires a software package to manage as there is no way to tightly control an email bid’s visibility. Sealed bids are generally more fair than unsealed bids as the buyer has no opportunity to influence bids that come in later based on bids that come in earlier. While this influence would be unethical, it is possible to allow unconscious bias to influence decisions or communications. However, sealing a bid means no progress can be made on next steps while the bid is still open (and sealed). 

Unsealed Bids

Unsealed bids are visible to the buyer whenever a bid comes in. This can be quicker than a sealed bid, especially if the buyer dramatically overestimated the time suppliers would need to respond to the RFP. An unsealed bid feels more casual, and is the default setting when running a bid via email. In an unsealed bid, the buyer has to be extra careful to keep integrity high during the bid and not give one supplier an unfair advantage over another. 

Timeline Communication

Throughout the bid process, keep communication with suppliers and technical teams very frequent and clear. Communicate the expected bid release date to suppliers prior to publishing (if your policy allows it), expected close date, evaluation timeframe, and expected award date. Keep caveats that these timeframes can change, but try to stick to them and make them reasonable for all parties. This allows sales teams to decide who will handle a certain bid due to vacations and other relationships and keeps the supplier relationship strong. Tom Mills has an excellent example RFP timeframe available, which may be a place to start your planning. If you would like to talk through a big upcoming bid or are constantly struggling with bid timeframes and due dates, let’s chat.