Original Source: IDG Communications, Inc. via CIO
“When enterprises go looking for an outsourcing provider, they often enter the conversation thinking they already knew what solution would be best. In the era of so many emerging technologies, more and more buyers are finding it in their best interest to hold judgement and allow the experts among those providers to dream up the best solution they can.
Several years ago, we launched an innovative new way for an enterprise to contract for services, the Request for Solution (RFS). It was conceived of as a way to harness the service provider community’s best thinking in situations where a client couldn’t or didn’t want to be prescriptive. It was an alternative to traditional RFPs that would still lead buyers and sellers to strong, sustainable relationships with market-correct terms and conditions but leave much more of the solution decisions up to the bidders.
We thought it would be an overnight success. We thought buyer and sellers, in what was a stale outsourcing marketplace, would embrace it. They didn’t. We built it, but nobody came.
Over the years, we helped a few progressive clients with RFS processes, but the vast majority of the deals in the industry continued to happen the old-fashioned way. In the past six months something has changed. I’ve seen an impressive surge in demand for RFS processes. I’d say that close to 50 percent of the new deals we see are using the RFS method, or a hybrid method that combines RFP and RFS. Why is this happening, and why now?..”
http://www.cio.com/article/2939018/outsourcing/request-for-solution-an-idea-that-capitalizes-on-market-disruption.html
Contributors: Open SourceCategories: Industry Articles, SIG U Resource
SRC Type: eSourcing and Tools, Outsourcing, Procurement Operations