How to Write a Great RFP: Interviewing Stakeholders Like a Journalist
Before drafting an RFP, think like a journalist: curious, neutral, and focused on uncovering the full story. The best sourcing professionals review the category and carefully prepare questions based on internal and external intelligence. Listening carefully and taking good notes helps capture goals, risks, success measures, and constraints that shape a strong RFP.
In this initial interview, your goal is to gather high-level insights, understanding the current situation, business drivers, and desired outcomes before moving into the detailed category review.
Understanding the Current Situation
1. Who are the current suppliers?
Clarifies the starting point and provides context for scope, pricing, and continuity.
2. What products or services do we buy from them?
Defines the breadth and depth of the category, supporting clear scope definition.
3. What is the current annual expenditure?
Establishes financial scale and helps direct the sourcing effort.
4. How are the suppliers performing?
Identifies strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
5. What risks concern you most?
Highlights potential delivery, cost, or change-management challenges.
6. What contracts or statements of work are currently in place?
Clarifies existing obligations, renewal dates and transition requirements.
Defining the Desired Future Outcome
7. What business outcome are we trying to achieve?
Keeps the RFP focused on how the decision will be made, not just requirements.
8. Why is this initiative important now?
Connects the RFP to timing, strategy, and organizational goals.
9. What does success look like, and how will we measure it?
Defines the KPIs and must haves versus nice to haves
10. What is the scope of the project, how many suppliers will we engage, and where are they located?
Establishes sourcing reach, competitive dynamics, and logistical considerations.
11. Are there any other team members we should involve in the detailed category review?
Identifies the right stakeholders for follow-up discussions on category specifics.
Next Step: Add Category-Specific Questions
Each spend category, whether it’s direct materials, logistics, professional services, MRO, or IT expenditures, requires an additional set of specific questions designed to ferret out supplier capabilities and competitiveness.
In later posts, we’ll explore detailed questions tailored specific categories. Or, if you’d like access to category-specific templates and interview guides now, reach out to K2 Sourcing. We’ve helped organizations execute thousands of RFPs using structured discovery methods that uncover hidden value, reduce risk, and accelerate results.
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