We Analysed Hundreds of ICT RFP. Here's What the Best Do Differently.

Technology transformation projects are among the largest and most important investments your organisation will make.

When replacing a business-critical system, the decisions made during procurement will influence how your organisation operates for years to come. Finance, operations, customers, suppliers, reporting, data, and decision-making can all be affected by the outcome.

Yet before vendors are selected, contracts are negotiated, or implementation begins, there is one document that will have significant influence over the proposals you receive, the options presented to stakeholders and boards, and ultimately the decision you make:

Your RFP.

At Pro Partner, we've spent the past two years analysing hundreds of ICT tenders across New Zealand using an automated tender analysis framework. We wanted to understand what separates average procurement documents from the strongest examples in the market, so we could benchmark and improve our own RFX documents.

Here are the results:

While procurement outcomes are influenced by many factors, feedback from vendors we work with has consistently highlighted one key observation:

The best RFP's provide vendors with a clear understanding of the organisation, their business challenges, the desired outcomes, and the criteria by which success will be measured.

According to vendors, when this information is available they are better positioned to understand the organisation's needs, develop more relevant recommendations, identify alternative approaches, and structure more meaningful commercial responses.

Reducing uncertainty upfront creates the opportunity for better engagement, stronger discussions, more informed decision-making, and ultimately a greater likelihood of selecting a solution and delivery partner that is aligned with organisational objectives.

What Separates High-Performing Tenders from Average Ones?

1. They Define the Problem Before the Solution

One of the largest differences we found was in the quality of the problem statement.

Average tenders often describe symptoms like:

• Our systems are ageing

• Processes are manual

• Reporting is difficult

• Information is fragmented

• We need to modernise

High-performing RFP explain the underlying causes of the problem, the operational challenges being experienced, the impact on staff and customers, the risks of doing nothing, and the reasons change is required now.

Vendors consistently tell us this creates an opportunity for more thoughtful recommendations and a better fit between organisational needs and proposed solutions. The strongest RFP help vendors understand the problem before they start discussing solutions.

2. They Define Success Before Going to Market

Many RFP documents spend considerable time defining requirements but very little time explaining what success actually looks like. The strongest RFP communicate the outcomes the buyer is working towards.

RFP should clearly communicate:

• Strategic objectives

• Desired business outcomes

• Measures of success

• Expected benefits

• Long-term goals

This helps suppliers understand what matters most to the organisation. Vendors can then align their responses to the outcomes the organisation is trying to achieve, rather than simply proposing functionality,

3. They Provide Context, Not Just Requirements

One of the biggest differences between average and high-performing tenders was the amount of supporting information provided to vendors.

The strongest examples included:

• Business process maps

• User journeys and use cases

• Current-state architecture

• Integration diagrams

• Organisational constraints

• Governance structures

• Future-state objectives

• Data and reporting requirements

This provides suppliers with a much richer understanding of how the organisation operates, enabling them to tailor both their solution and delivery approach and meaninfullly respond to requirements.

4. They Make Responses Comparable

One of the largest scoring gaps we identified was in how organisations structure and compare vendor responses. Many RFP ask vendors to provide information but offer little guidance on how it should be presented. Vendors are left to choose their own format, level of detail, and interpretation of the requirements. While this provides flexibility, it often makes responses difficult to compare objectively.

High-performing tenders use structured response templates and clearly defined evaluation frameworks to create consistency across submissions.

They clearly define:

• Evaluation criteria and weightings

• Response templates and formats

• Required evidence and supporting information

• Commercial response structures

• Assessment stages and decision points

• Procurement timelines and expectations

This approach creates confidence for vendors because they understand how their responses will be assessed and what information is most important to the organisation. It also enables buyers to compare proposals on a like-for-like basis. The result is a more objective evaluation process, better decision-making, and greater confidence that the selected solution is the right fit for the organisation.

How Would Your RFP Score?

The strongest RFP are the result of clearly defining the problem, aligning stakeholders, understanding future requirements, and providing vendors with the context they need to recommend the right solution.

If you're writting an RFP for a major system replacement, ask yourself:

• Does your RFP clearly explain why change is needed?

• Have we defined what success looks like?

• Are vendors given enough context to understand our organisation?

• Have we reduced assumptions or created them?

• Will we receive comparable, outcome-focused responses?

Investing in the quality of your procurement process before going to market can significantly improve the quality of the responses you receive. If you're interested in learning more, read our guide: How to Choose the Right System and Vendor for Your Business. The guide covers practical considerations for requirements gathering, vendor evaluation, procurement planning, and avoiding common mistakes that can introduce risk, cost, and complexity later in the project.

However, every organisation is different. Business objectives, stakeholder expectations, existing systems, data requirements, and operational constraints all influence what a successful procurement process looks like. If you're planning a system replacement, ERP implementation, or technology transformation initiative, Pro Partner can help you define requirements, prepare procurement documentation, engage the market, evaluate solutions, negotiate commercials, and oversee delivery with greater clarity and confidence. Email getstarted@propartner.co.nz