6 Steps to Writing a CMMS RFP

For complex or specialized CMMS services, you might need to write an RFP. Writing a CMMS RFP is an involved process, but the steps outlined here will help you through it.

What is a Request for Proposal (RFP)?

At its core, a request for proposal, or RFP, outlines your business requirements and solicits proposals from vendors.

An RFP essentially asks vendors to show you how they can meet your needs, which gives you the information you need for a company that will be the best fit.

When Should You Create a CMMS RFP?

An RFP is best used when you need a specialized, technical solution, such as complex software integration. As such, you’ll only need a CMMS RFP if your maintenance needs are too complex for standard CMMS vendor offerings.

Request for Information (RFI)

In addition, you generally won’t lead out with an RFP. Before requesting proposals, you’ll want to send out a request for information (RFI).

While the goal of an RFP is to assess the capabilities of different companies, an RFI is meant to get a pool of possible candidates together. In an RFI, you’ll ask a set of standard questions to get information about each company’s capabilities, services, outlook, and so forth.

Once you get a qualified pool together, you can then put out an RFP to see how each company would go about meeting your maintenance needs.

Tip: An RFI is a great tool to narrow down your prospects. That way, you’ll only have to manage a small vendor list.

8 Questions to Ask When Creating a CMMS RFP

When creating a CMMS RFP, you’ll ask many questions, both to your team and to CMMS vendors.

Questions to ask yourself and your team:

• What deployment/platform do you prefer? – Does your team need something on-premise, or would you prefer a cloud-based solution?
• What features do you need? – Do you need specialized asset management? Mobile capabilities? Get specific here.
• What integration capabilities do you need? – If you’re already using other types of software to manage your business, like an ERP, integration capabilities may be important.

Questions to ask CMMS vendors:

• What deployment methods or platforms do you offer? – Will the software they provide match your current IT infrastructure?
• What capabilities do you offer with your software? – You’ll want someone who offers software features that match your needs.
• How long will implementation take? – Having a time frame for complete implementation helps you plan and avoid unnecessary downtime.
• What kind of support do you provide? – Do they offer 24/7 support? Can they provide training or help fill skills gaps when implementing the software?
• Can your software integrate with the systems I’m currently using? – Integration with existing software can streamline your management processes.

6 Steps to Writing an Effective CMMS RFP 

The following steps will take you through the process of designing, drafting, and submitting your CMMS RFP.

Step 1: Start by defining your requirements

Before you do anything else, you’ll need to make sure your requirements are clearly defined. The questions above can help you develop a list of maintenance requirements, as can the following considerations:

• Your budget
• Compliance and industry-specific issues
• Software features
• Mobility
• Platform
• The desired level of support

Your specific requirements may range from fairly broad to quite specific, depending on your needs. The idea is to make sure those requirements are clearly defined, regardless of how broad or narrow they might be.

Step 2: Generate a list of likely CMMS vendors

As mentioned, before writing an RFP, you’ll typically put out a request for information. The reason for that is to narrow your search to a handful of likely candidates.

Using the requirements you defined in Step 1, search for CMMS vendors who seem like they might be able to handle those requirements. Using information gathered directly from the vendor and their literature, put together a shortlist (no more than six or seven total) of potential vendors.

Step 3: Outline your RFP

With your requirements in hand and an idea of where your RFP will be going, build an outline. A sample CMMS RFP outline might look like this:

• Overview of your company, including assets, size, and capacity
• Description of existing technical abilities, software, and IT
• Objectives you hope to achieve
• List of requirements
• Submission guidelines
• Timeline with milestones

This outline will make it much easier to write out the details of your software RFP in the next step.

Step 4: Create a detailed RFP document

With a basic outline in hand, it’s time to flesh out the details. You want to get specific enough that potential vendors know exactly what you need, but not so much that you’re telling them exactly how to do their job.

Tip: Details are especially important when describing your capabilities, resources, and requirements. For instance, “work order management with simple cost-tracking functionality” is better than simply putting “work order management” as a required feature.

In addition to including an appropriate level of detail, strive to maintain a professional tone. Doing so helps CMMS vendors take your RFP seriously.

Step 5: Edit

To make certain your RFP is as professional as possible, it’s vital to proofread it before sending it off. That includes checking for grammar and spelling, but you’ll also need to make sure it’s well structured and avoids redundant terms or conflicting requirements. Because of this, it’s a good idea to give it a few passes before submission.

Step 6: Submit your CMMS RFP to vendors on your list

Once it’s drafted, proofread, and finalized, send your RFP to the CMMS vendors on your list. Then, allow three to four weeks for them to prepare and submit a response. While you may want prompt replies, that time is necessary to create a well-analyzed response.

Tip: Be wary of any responses that come in a shorter timeframe. If it only takes a week or two for a vendor to respond, they probably didn’t do a very thorough analysis. 

Evaluate the results and request quotes. Once you’ve received proposals from the vendors on your list, it’s time to evaluate each one. As you do, look out for hidden fees, tiered pricing, overly complex modules, and so forth. Those might be hidden throughout the vendor’s response.

When you’ve narrowed it down, you might send out a request for quote (RFQ) to a couple of candidates, to get pricing information and make a final decision on who to hire.

Important Details to Include in Your CMMS RFP

As you draft your RFP, make sure you include the following details:

• Priority levels for individual requirements
• A full description of your organization
• The number and types of assets you need to maintain
• Existing software, hardware, and IT infrastructure
• Capabilities of your personnel

An RFP Example for a CMMS

Suppose a large automotive parts manufacturer wants to implement a new CMMS. They already have one in place, but they want something that will integrate with their other enterprise software. In addition, they’re looking for some new features to streamline their maintenance management, particularly concerning maintenance planning and work order management.

After researching numerous companies and picking a few likely candidates, they draft a (fairly basic) RFP:

Request for Proposal for CMMS Integration with Existing Enterprise Systems

Gerald’s Automotive Parts, Inc.

431 West Westminster Way

Thattaway, CA, 88888

Representative: Carol Andersensson

Phone: 888-888-5338

Email: [email protected]

Company Overview:

We produce automotive parts used by many makes and models of automobiles throughout the nation. To accomplish this, we maintain thousands of mechanical assets in multiple facilities.

We employ over 2,000 people, including operators, engineers, maintenance technicians, IT personnel, and so on. We have been gradually implementing new maintenance management methods, including PdM and condition monitoring sensors, as well as more enhanced enterprise software.

Existing Capabilities:

We have a highly trained team of IT personnel who maintain our information technology infrastructure and keep software updated. They have implemented new software solutions in the past, and work constantly to make sure all systems remain compatible.

Our IT infrastructure includes both wired and wireless connections, allowing for WiFi and cloud-based solutions.

Goals:

We aim to streamline our maintenance management processes by incorporating a new CMMS with our existing enterprise software, all of which is tied together with a central API. Key areas where we hope to see improvement include maintenance planning and work order management. Specifically, we hope to see:

• Greater ease of access to important information when planning maintenance tasks
• Better-informed decision-making by drawing on financial and other data gathered by other systems
• More complete information recorded from work orders
• Improved accountability when reporting on maintenance tasks

Requirements:

The software solution we choose will:

• Be compatible with our existing software, which includes Oracle, Netsuite, Misys, and Sisense (high priority).
• Allow maintenance planners to draw on financial and inventory data when making important maintenance decisions (high priority).
• Include a work order management module that includes cost and MRO inventory tracking (mid-priority).
• Be easy to use for the average maintenance technician with minimal training (mid-priority).
• Include training for maintenance managers (low priority).

Submission Guidelines:

• All proposals should be submitted by the 31st of March.
• Proposals should be limited to 10 pages maximum and may be sent either in paper or as an attachment via email.
• Please list any prior experience you have with similar projects.
• Proposals must be signed by an authorized representative of the company.
• Please include standard terms and conditions (if applicable) with your proposal.

Timeline:

Our Request for Proposal timeline is as follows:

• Request for proposal issuance: 3 March
• Select top proposals: 31 March
• Begin negotiation: 7 April
• Award contract: 21 April
• Completion of the project: 1 June

We reserve the right to award a contract to the company that provides the best value to our organization as determined at our discretion.

When You Don’t Need a CMMS RFP

It’s worth noting that you may not necessarily need to create a formal RFP. Many CMMS vendors—including us at UpKeep — strive to provide straightforward services with simple pricing. In the off chance that our standard offerings don’t quite meet your criteria, an RFP may be necessary to secure the right services, but that’s frequently not the case.

Key Takeaways

To sum things up, keep these items in mind when writing a CMMS software RFP:

• An RFP is a formal document requesting information from vendors on how they can meet your specific needs.
• The best time to create an RFP is when you need specialized services that don’t come standard.
• To create a CMMS RFP, start by describing your requirements and selecting a few vendors, then proceed to outline, draft, and edit your RFP document before sending it off.
• Be sure to include specific information about your company and its needs, assets, capabilities, and current infrastructure.