Technology: How to Assess Catalog Systems

- Produce a written Request for Proposal (RFP). The results of your functional needs analysis will form the heart of a formal RFP. In addition to the functional requirements, the RFP should provide:

• a request to the vendors who get it to indicate if they can meet your requirements as stated; how much and how long it would take to make modifications, and where necessary, to meet some of your needs;
• a profile of the number of orders, customers, SKUs and vendors you must maintain;
• your daily and weekly average and peak order volumes;
• a list of all computer hardware, software and networks in-house;
• an overview explanation of how your business works;
• a timeline for the systems-acquisition process; and
• requests for information about the vendor, including the number of systems installed and terms for training and support.