by Ben Schmidt
To secure the best terms and pricing while getting the best services possible, generate a competitive open Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
A buyer’s market
“Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.” Nancy Pearcey
When it comes to outsourcing, your provider essentially has a monopoly on the services they’re providing. A competitive environment would be two mailroom providers trying to outperform each other on a daily basis. That isn’t usually the case.
Kill complacency
The attitude created by a monopoly extends to all aspects of the relationship: contract terms, financial incentives, costs, and services. It can breed a level of complacency that needs to be shaken up from time to time. To truly have your provider give you their absolute best, a little healthy competition is good for everyone.
Through a competitive process, you can see what everyone is offering and ensure you get the best all-around deal for yourself.
If you decide to re-up with your current provider without engaging in a competitive process, well, you can’t ensure you’re getting their best.
That’s simply doing yourself a disservice.
To view the entire series on outsourcing, check out the rest of the posts:
“Outsourcing Part 1: When Re-evaluating Your Outsourcing Contract, Drive the Hard Changes.”
“Outsourcing Part 3: Educate Yourself Before Renewing Your Outsourcing Contract”
“Outsourcing Part 4: I’m Happy with my Service Provider but Can I Do Better?”
