Multi-stage market approaches
- Approaching the market may involve a multi-stage process and include more than one market approach.
- In a multi-stage approach, there are usually 2 broad stages: identifying suitable suppliers and shortlisting them with more specific criteria.
- You may be able to mix traditional and non-traditional market approaches in a multi-stage procurement.
Understand multi-stage market approaches
Many traditional market approaches are well-suited to a discovery stage before you make the final commitment to a contract (or contracts) for a program of work.
You may even be able to mix or merge traditional and non-traditional market approaches in a multi-stage market approach.
In a multi-stage approach, there are usually 2 broad stages:
- stage 1: identify suitable prospective suppliers using a broad set of criteria
- stage 2: shortlist applicants who demonstrate they can fulfil the procurement criteria, and invite them to a more thorough tender process with more specific criteria.
During your stage 1 discovery, you may approach prequalified suppliers or invite new suppliers to apply via an expression of interest.
During stage 2, you refine your list of suppliers and invite only your shortlist to respond to a request (often, but not exclusively, a selective request for tender). Ultimately, at the conclusion of a multi-stage process, you then sign a contract (or several contracts) in an ongoing program of work.
An example of a multi-stage approach could include going to market with an expression of interest (EOI) to gauge whether any suppliers can, in fact, meet your needs.
Once you confirm your market options, you may then select a shortlist of suppliers to move forward into a more specific and detailed selective request for tender (selective RFT).
The result of this multi-stage approach might be that you sign a managed services contract (MSC) that you hadn't considered or been aware of when you began your procurement process.