What solutions achieve our goal? • Does a solution meet all of our needs and most or all of our wants? • Do we need custom or commercial off-the-shelf software? • Does it make sense financially? • Have we done a thorough assessment of the supplier? (See “Supplier Assessment Questions.”) When and where will implementation happen? • When is the best time to implement? • What resources will need to be dedicated to this project (staff, space, etc.), and for how long? • When must vendor resources be scheduled? • How far back from the date of completion goal must orders be placed? • What is the tech savviness of your staff and/or guests? Will they need training and/or tools to adjust? • Where will the back end of the system be installed? • Where will the front end reside? • Is there an existing vendor relationship that needs to be terminated? How will the vendor be notified? SUPPLIER ASSESSMENT You’ve conducted your internal assessment that deter- mined your technology needs, wants, and goals, which informed your request for proposal that was sent to suppliers. After narrowing down the field, now it’s time to make sure any potential supplier can tackle all of the things on your list. Here are some pertinent questions to ask any prospective vendor before signing on. Please provide a list of references that we may contact. • What other operations like ours are doing this? Are they in a similar market? Did they have a similar transition? • How many times have you implemented this version of the system? When was the most recent? What issues occurred and how were they resolved? • What is the best example of your solution already in place? How have other areas seen a return on their investment? May we contact them? What other markets do you serve? • Is our industry a priority? • How do you handle product and feature requests and software roadmaps?
Please provide financial references to show that your company is healthy and sustainable. • How big is your company? How many employees do you have? • What does the company’s future look like? • If there is one thing you could change about your soft - ware, what would it be? What are the payment terms? • Will I have to pay in the off-season? • Can I pay during cash-flow-heavy months? • If commission based, when will I see the money? • How are your reports detailed to make sure I understand how much I owe you? What other solutions does your platform already integrate with? • Can we use our existing hardware—servers, PCs, printers, etc.? Do printers and other peripherals connect via USB, serial, or IP? • This is the most important information we use for report - ing—can your software run similar reports? What reports are recommended as stock? • What database information will transfer? Can we see sample transfers prior to going live? • Is the solution compliant with the latest security and privacy requirements? Please provide details of your support organization. • Is tech support available 24/7, on weekends and holi - days? How can we contact you? • If support is not available 24/7, what is the methodology for emergency escalation? • What time zone do your support personnel operate in? • Will you send someone to be onsite during implemen - tation and the first weeks of operation with the new system? • What training services can you provide? How often are training materials updated? • Do updates cost additional? Are they automatic? How often is the software updated? • How do you measure your service-level agreements (SLAs)? Can you provide a schedule for implementation? • How will we prioritize what we are going to do first, con - sidering shipping times, additional peripherals, or cables? • What can we do to make this transition easiest for our guests?
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