Creating a great tender for a delivery management platform

Identifying and defining a company’s requirements are vital to a successful tender process

Choosing the right delivery management platform is not a decision that businesses should take lightly. But according to nShift, the global leader in parcel delivery management, many tenders risk being less effective than they could be because the teams creating them are unclear on the businesses’ objectives.

In its latest guide, “Creating a great tender for a delivery management platform”, nShift argues that companies should spend time creating a detailed tender that will provide their procurement teams with all the information they need to make the right choice.

To help companies make the right decision for their delivery management needs, the guide explores:

• Common barriers to creating a good tender, including:
  • A lack of information about specific requirements
  • Procurement’s distance from the core business
  • Difficulty engaging the C-suite in the tender process
• The four fundamental elements that should be covered in a tender:
• Overview of the vendor – relevant information on the company, its history, and its financial health
• Commercial information – capturing the split of upfront capex and annual opex costs based on a company’s scope
• Non-functional information – including the vendor’s data security practices, maintenance routines, and approach to on-boarding new customers
• Functional information – covering the key areas needed to support a company’s delivery management requirements
• The importance of identifying and defining a company’s requirements to get the necessary information from a vendor. Clarity is essential – for example:
  • Clarity on how the company’s delivery management system is set-up
  • Clarity on its carrier strategy
  • Clarity about the volumes it ships today
  • Articulation of the current landscape, and how all of a company’s different elements work together
  • A clearly defined timeline
  • Due diligence on vendors

“A great deal of consideration needs to take place before a business purchases the delivery management system that best suits its requirements,” says Lars Pedersen, CEO of nShift. “It’s vital, therefore, to ask the right costs of a vendor on factors such as cost, suitability, scalability, and – most importantly – the value its platform offers. Reported concisely and accurately, this information will help ensure the best decision is made.

“Before asking those questions, however,” he continues, “it’s important to clearly identify and define a company’s requirements regarding delivery management. The tender process may be time-consuming, but if it leads to the right decision, it’s time well spent.”

The guide, “Creating a great tender for a delivery management platform” can be downloaded from the nShift website.