Request for Information
Standard business process whose purpose is to collect written information about the capabilities of various suppliers on a given subject
Client sends the RFI document to supplier :
Supplier then answers the RFI by explaining his service, target operating model, prices and so on.
Preliminary document used by companies that don’t understand the marketplace they are about to enter. Open ended questipns to allow the supplier to talk about its full range of offerings. The vendor tailors its answer to the challenges.
Request for Proposal
Document that solicits proposal from potential suppliers, often made through a bidding process, by a company interested in procurement of a commodity or service.
A RFP document is a document that asks vendors to propose solutions to a customer’s problems or business requirements, usually follows a RFI.
A RFP should contain much more specificity in terms of what a company’s needs are by outlining the business goals for the project and identifying specific requirements that are necessary for the work being requested.
The key of this document is that there is sufficient details to give vendors the context they need in order to propose a valid solution, yet it still needs to allow enough leeway for the vendors to apply creativity and best practices to fullfill those needs.
