NFP

Introduction

Before partnering with RFP360, NFP relied on outdated RFP processes that caused frustration and wasted time.

“We were sending out RFPs in Excel documents,” said Mark Rieder, SVP of HR Technologies and Benefits Administration at NFP. “We’d ask vendors to complete their responses in Excel, as well.”

Because Excel couldn’t properly convey vendors’ answers, they often resorted to additional methods of response, creating a cumbersome evaluation process.

“Their answers would be so long they couldn’t fit, so they’d end up submitting proposals in Word documents,” Mark said. “The whole process was so piecemeal it made it very difficult to bring the results together in an easy-to-compare way.”

The issues finally became too big to ignore, and NFP sought to streamline their RFP practices.“We knew we needed to scale our process. Combining everything into Excel was incredibly time-consuming,” Mark said. “We needed a more efficient way to make comparisons and streamline our selections. We also wanted to build our overall database of vendor information and have a better understanding of our efforts.”

Solution

NFP partnered with RFP360, allowing them to eliminate the clutter and confusion previously associated with RFPs.

“Using RFP360 allows us to focus on the most important aspects of the RFP and makes managing vendor information much more straightforward,” Mark explained.

Now, NFP takes a more proactive approach to RFPs.

“We have all our core vendors fill out a general RFP/RFI in advance of our projects and store their information in RFP360. Then, we send out a few targeted questions that are specific to that group,” Mark said. “It makes it much easier for them to respond, and it makes scoring much simpler for us.”

And they have full visibility into their vendors’ progress.

“Now, we know exactly when they open their RFP invite and if they’re working on their response,” Mark said. “It doesn’t take six emails to see their completion status.”

Impact to the client

Using RFP360 keeps us cutting-edge,” Mark said. “If we’re selling efficient technology to our customers, we better be using it ourselves.”

NFP’s new modern, efficient RFP process allows for a greater focus on strategic initiatives and collaboration.

“RFP360 helps us automate and focus on core business. Now, we can categorize, search, and profile providers, which helps us understand who would be the most appropriate vendors to invite to a particular RFP,” Mark said. “We love the automated scoring. We’re shortlisting faster, and we’re being a true partner to our vendors. It’s a win-win.”

And that’s not the only partnership they’re enjoying.

“My idea of a real partner is someone who listens to — and uses — customer feedback,” Mark explained. “That’s exactly what RFP360 has done.”