When your organization or company wants to buy products or services, you need to clearly understand the procurement process. It will start by identifying the challenges or needs your organization has and their solutions. Here is where you use the RFI to request information from companies you think can offer the solution. From there you will need to issue a Request for Proposal to the companies you identified through RFI, for them to submit proposals. To help you understand more, here is a Request for Proposal definition, among other things you need to know. RFP definition? May be you have heard of this name but you didn’t know what it is. What is an RFP? This is a unique document that most government agencies and some private organizations use to acquire goods as well as services. It is a document issued to companies identified through Request for Information process. The issuer wants to buy products or services, and through an RFP, requests vendors or providers to submit proposals explaining how they can deliver or offer products or services needed by the issuer. Later, the issuer will review the proposals, and pick the most suitable vendor or provider for the project. What should be included in an RFP? An RFP will not only have your organization’s background information, but also other information about what you need. You just need to include some information that will tell bidders what organization you are, and why you need to acquire the products or services. Also, you need to clearly outline what your organization needs from the bidders. ![what-is-rfp.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXogDPj1fT6pw4S6V7f662aEmWSfZx2Ncp1YkUvfiLqwW/what-is-rfp.jpg) In addition, you need to include more information on what type of proposal you expect from the bidders. Therefore, be clear on the format, how many copies you need, whether digital or physical, do you need original signatures on the document, among other things. More to that, you need to explain how the proposals will be evaluated as well as when bidders should send their questions and when they should expect answers. Further, if you require some documents from bidders, make sure you include which documents or forms they should attach on the proposal. After the submission period has ended, what next? Your organization will receive proposals from different bidders. After the submission period ends, you and your team will review the proposals, and award the project/contract to the best bidder who meets all the requirements. But if you didn’t issue or write the best RFP, you will have issues in picking the right bidder or even after awarding the project to one bidder. Final Words If your organization wants to pick the best bidder for your contract or project, you must write a good RFP. The RFP will help you get the best proposals from the best bidders. At The Bid Lab, you can get experienced RFP writers who can write the best RFP for your organization. Therefore, don’t struggle to write an RFP for your organization or company, let professionals help you.