Property Management: Vendor Processing

Vendor Proposals: Get Them Apples to Apples

As much as we qualify our vendors and hold them to the highest standards when doing work on our projects, it's inevitable that when a request for proposal (RFP) is sent out to multiple vendors, the bids do not come back "apples to apples." I have a recent example with painting nine buildings in a business complex in Orange County. As much as you try to be proactive and spoon feed your vendors with what the project requires, it's inevitable that the bids you receive will all be different. In this example, I had proposals that included different paint manufacturers, pole lights included/excluded, trash enclosure doors included/excluded, differing number of coats to be painted, and of course, differing dollar amounts for each line item. As with anything in property management, each proposal (for any type of work) needs to be scrutinized and matched to the scope of work that is required. It's our job to hand our clients a package that has the correct scope across all proposals and to be able to make a recommendation based upon accurate information. If you can't get your vendors on the same page, you'll be spending more time than necessary to get to the end result.

My answer to this dilemma: meet with your vendors on site (at the same time), walk the project, get recommendations from each vendor, make a decision on the scope, and communicate to your vendors what is expected of them. Give them a date to have their proposals submitted and re-iterate the scope to them in writing after you've met with them. If there are any incidental items they want to include, have them put them as a separate line item in the proposal as an "extra".

Some people think that meeting on site with each vendor at once is uncomfortable and unprofessional. I disagree. In fact, many of our vendors appreciate being able to meet the competition and ensure that their clients (our property owners) are receiving accurate and timely information in order to make a decision. Vendors certainly get frustrated if they've lost a job because their proposal wasn't based on the scope that was intended. This way, everyone knows what is expected of them and the decision to go with one vendor or another will be based on quality and pricing, not whether their numbers are different due to incorrect scope.