The Hidden Value of Pre-RFP Activities – How to Shape a Smarter Sourcing Process

Tony:
Hello, today is Tuesday, September 23, 2025. I’m Tony Mangino from TC2 and this is Staying Connected.

In a previous episode of Staying Connected we discussed how the rapid pace of technology change, marketplace shifts, and supplier consolidations are driving the need for a fresh look at RFPs to achieve better ROI.

Today we’re returning to this theme of capturing enhanced ROI in your sourcing activities, but we’re going upstream—to the pre-RFP activities that often get far less attention than they should. Now, these may not be the flashiest part of the process, but they’re where the real value is won—or potentially lost.

To unpack this, I’m joined again by my colleague Larry York, a managing director at TC2. Larry, welcome back.

Larry:
Thanks, Tony. Always good to be here. And I agree—pre-RFP activities are sometimes treated as optional, when in fact they’re among the most strategic actions a sourcing team can take. If you want a high-quality RFP, the work starts long before it’s published.

Three Pre-RFP Activities to Prioritize

Tony:
Exactly. And today we’ll focus on three activities every procurement leader should treat as non-negotiable:

1. RFP Strategy Sessions
2. RFIs – Requests for Information
3. Supplier Capability Sessions

Let’s start with strategy sessions, which set the direction for everything that follows.

RFP Strategy Sessions – Aligning on Vision, Scope, and Objectives

Larry:
The RFP strategy session is where sourcing, business stakeholders, and technical leads define what success looks like.

Before thinking about templates and timelines, you need clarity on objectives, pain points, pricing preferences, reciprocity concerns, contract constraints—the list goes on.

Tony:
Right. Too often teams focus narrowly on cost reduction without considering performance, risk mitigation, innovation, or operational efficiency. Strategy sessions make sure all priorities are reflected in your sourcing approach.

Larry:
A great place to start is with current pain points. What’s not working today—outages, billing issues, rigid terms, poor support? Documenting those gaps creates a target for improvement.

Tony:
Scoping is another critical component. Rather than overloading the RFP, keep it surgical. For example, if North American services are up for renewal but APAC is locked in for two more years, don’t include APAC just to collect pricing. That creates evaluation overhead without actionable outcomes.

Larry:
Exactly. Also consider whether to structure your RFP as one event or as modular tracks—for example, separate RFPs for fixed, mobile, or managed services. This lets you engage vendors with specialized strengths, usually resulting in more competitive offers.

Tony:
And avoid overextending the bidder list. Inviting every supplier may feel comprehensive, but it burdens your evaluation with vendors who have no realistic chance of winning.

Larry:
Agreed. With today’s expanding supplier base, pre-qualifying suppliers is critical. This is why pre-RFP steps like RFIs and capability sessions add such value and ultimately deliver better ROI.

RFIs – Testing the Market and Refining Your Direction

Tony:
That brings us to the next tool—the Request for Information, or RFI.

An RFI helps you understand the market and confirm whether your sourcing strategy aligns with what suppliers can actually deliver. It validates—or challenges—your assumptions before formalizing requirements.

Larry:
Exactly. RFIs are invaluable when entering unfamiliar territory—say, transitioning from MPLS to an internet-first WAN, exploring SD-WAN, or SASE. RFIs let you hear directly from suppliers: their architectures, pitfalls to anticipate, and pricing approaches.

Tony:
And critically, they help you determine which suppliers and solutions are worth taking forward.

Larry:
Right. The market evolves quickly—providers get acquired, new ones emerge, services shift. Analyst reports are often outdated. RFIs give you a real-time snapshot of supplier capabilities.

Tony:
Practically speaking, RFIs also fine-tune the RFP itself. For example, If multiple suppliers tell you your solution design is outdated, that’s valuable feedback. You can adjust requirements to include optimal design elements and what the marketplace can actually support.  RFIs are also a great way to gather intel on supplier pricing constructs and indicative or directional costs for the various solutions.

Larry:
Think of the RFI as market intelligence. You’ll enter the RFP with a smaller, more qualified bidder list, more crisp requirements, and an understanding grounded in today’s realities. That avoids wasted evaluations and elongated project timelines.

Supplier Capability Sessions – Engaging the Market Early

Tony:
Our third pre-RFP activity is Supplier Capability Sessions—these are structured meetings with prospective suppliers, usually after the RFI, or sometimes, in place of one.

We’re not talking about generic sales pitches; we recommend structured conversations that reveal how suppliers would address yourunique requirements.

Larry:
Exactly. They’re like a dress rehearsal before the formal bid. Suppliers showcase how their capabilities align with your needs, and you assess their grasp of your challenges.

But the key is structure. Don’t just invite vendors to present their standard slides. Prepare an agenda with use cases tied to your unique requirements and problem statement(s).

Tony:
And set expectations early. A short pre-meeting call goes a long way. Share the agenda, explain the context, and clarify what you’re hoping to learn.

Larry:
Afterward, send a structured questionnaire so you can compare supplier responses apples-to-apples. It forces vendors to engage deeply and gives you measurable inputs.

Tony:
Then compile a summary of what you learned. This feeds directly into RFP design—providing insight into service models, pricing, deployment timelines, and risks.

Larry:
Done well, capability sessions reveal gaps in assumptions, highlight new value levers, and surface differentiators you might otherwise miss. Like RFIs, they ensure only viable suppliers participate—streamlining evaluation and delivering faster results.

Final Thoughts – Strategic Preparation = Strategic Outcomes

Tony:
So let’s bring it all together. Whether you’re sourcing global network services, UC, managed security, or anything else—the time you spend before the RFP dramatically impacts what happens after.

To recap, the three high-value activities every team should conduct are:

1. RFP Strategy Sessions – to define objectives, scope, and structure.
2. RFIs – to gather market intelligence and qualify vendors.
3. Supplier Capability Sessions – to assess solution alignment and further refine requirements.

Larry:
That’s right. Investing in these steps leads to better RFPs, stronger proposals, shorter cycles, and superior outcomes. It’s the difference between simply running a sourcing process and implementing a thoughtful strategy.

Tony:
Larry, thanks again for joining us. I know our audience—many working through major network transformations—will find this guidance timely and actionable.

Larry:
Always a pleasure, Tony. Looking forward to our next discussion.

Tony:
To our listeners, if you would like to learn more about how to leverage these pre-RFP activities to maximize the outcome of yournext RFP, or if you’d like to discuss other technology strategy, sourcing and cost reduction needs with Larry, me, or any of our TC2 and LB3 colleagues, please give us a call or shoot us an email. 

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