Checklist
Before an RFP or Sourcing Decision
Define the award structure, evaluation method and evidence requirements before writing provider questions.
TL;DR
Define the buyer's sourcing structure and award authority before drafting questions, assemble comparable scope, cost, workflow, and evaluation evidence without erasing provider differences, and set score weights and decision gates before proposals arrive.
Use representative tasks and the intended operating model to make bidder responses comparable.
Before drafting the RFP
Current and forecast volumes by language and content type, with uncertainty and time basis.
Provider costs or planned first-year budget, including buyer effort missing from provider invoices.
Present and intended workflow, systems, integrations, data ownership and decision rights.
Possible sourcing structures, the award/lot decision and what each alternative would require.
Translation assets, export restrictions, handover dependencies and parallel-run needs.
Non-negotiable workflow, security, regulatory and service requirements, confirmed by the proper specialists.
Evaluator roles and availability, moderation process, weights, anchors and decision authority.
A method for testing AI claims: model/workflow, human routing, cost unit, measured quality and change notices.
The sourcing decision comes first
An Operating Model Review can compare up to two decision-level structures in the agreed engagement scope. A detailed multi-provider architecture is a different scope.
Avoid false comparability
Normalize units and scope before ranking. Record exceptions where a provider is proposing a genuinely different operating design.
If comparable scope or internal handling records are missing, define the limits of the sourcing comparison before issuing an RFP.