| Our Company | WAV Blog | Services | Our Team | Customers | Contact Us | Reports | Newsletter |
WAV Group

Services

Home > Services > Technology Evaluation & Selection > For Multiple Listing Services & Associations > MLS System Review and Selection > RFP

RFP Process

Request for Proposal Process  

Our RFP process is a comprehensive program that begins with understanding your needs and objectives and ends with system conversion and implementation.   The key is to start with a clear understanding of your specific needs and objectives.  Then, with a good foundation we move through the vendor selection process in a way that allows your leadership to clearly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various vendors and systems available.  The result is an optimum vendor selection and a negotiated agreement that will meet your objectives at the best price.  

 

The following chart shows the steps that we normally follow in the RFP process.  In addition, if needed, we can add additional steps as noted to manage the design and conversion process. 

 Process Overview  

Step

 
RFP/Vendor Evaluation Process

 
1

 
Leadership kick off meeting

 
2

 
Requirements review and RFP creation

 
3

 
Reference checking

 
4

 
Create vendor RFP report

 
5

 
RFP review meeting & vendor presentations (4 vendors maximum)

 
6

 
Final review and selection by leadership

 
7

 
Vendor notification & contract negotiations

 

 
Design/Conversion Process

 
8

 
System design advisory/review to MLS

 
9

 
Management of process through conversion

 
10

 
System cutover

 

Our RFP covers over 400 individual areas for each vendor on the company, their services, their products and feature capabilities and their pricing.  The RFP document that will be created and issued to the chosen vendors will break down the MLS system offering into logical areas and functional areas that will allow us to compare the merits of one proposal against the other more efficiently.   Each functional area will have detailed questions that will allow us to make an apples-to-apples comparison.  Examples of areas that will be detailed in the RFP include:

  • Company overview 
  • Customer overview
  • System overview/general specs 
  • Home Page features
  • Listing/photo management 
  • Searching
  • Prospects/contacts
  • Reporting
  • CMA 
  • Email/communication features
  • Mapping 
  • Tax features
  • Financial functions 
  • Flexibility/design/admin features 
  • Distributed processing (if needed)
  • Wireless features
  • Document management 
  • Data management 
  • Service
  • Support 
  • Security 
  • Pricing  

Vendor RFP Report - Review Meeting  

Once the vendor RFP responses are received WAV Group will analyze the RFP responses, interface with the vendors to answer any questions, and create a roll up report that compares each vendor?s responses on all aspects of the RFP.  Each major area will be compared as to product strengths, weaknesses, service differences, price differences, etc.  WAV Group will send the completed report to the board leadership just prior to inviting vendors in to give presentations.  Once we have reviewed the report with your leadership we will determine what vendors  to invite in for live demos.

 

Cell:     716-984-9009

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email:  mike@wavgroup.com

 

 

WAV Group attends all demos and even creates a rating sheet to help your review group to evaluate each vendor on an even basis.  After a final vendor selection has been made WAV Group will help you negotiate an agreement that is "win-win" for you and the vendor to make sure what you saw in the RFP and demos is actually what you get at cutover.  And, if you want, we can even manage the entire conversion process for you.

 

For more information, or to request a proposal, contact:

 

Michael Audet

 

Office:  716-839-4628