Download printable version of Re-tender of Hosting and Management of B2C Website and Database case study

Project:

Re-tender of Hosting and Management of B2C Website and Database

Scope:

 

The client had previously outsourced their website and database hosting to a number of third party suppliers. The client wanted to consolidate to one supplier, reduce costs and encourage innovation from the supplier.

Turnstone was approached by the client to manage the sourcing process and undertake commercial and contractual negotiations.  A key requirement was to run a robust, transparent and auditable process.

The client is Europe's largest trade association in the marketing and communications sector, formed in 1992 to protect the direct marketing industry from legislative threats and promote its development. 

Key Business Benefits:

 

The client saved a large amount of time, as Turnstone undertook the majority of the tendering workload. We worked with the client team to obtain the raw inputs and to gain management approval at the key stages.

Our professional negotiators ensured a fair selection process and put a robust contract in place, with better protection for the clients’ interests.

The negotiator worked with the vendor sales teams to hammer out the best pricing and best terms, resulting in a net saving of almost £200k per year for the client.

Service benefits for the client included:

1. An upgrade to the website including design and functionality
2. Improved contract terms with greater clarity on the suppliers obligations
3. Inclusion of future volume changes
4. Adhoc fees for future work keenly negotiated at time of contract renewal
5. Modernised hardware platform with an agreed upgrade path

The Turnstone Approach:

 

Due to the clients’ position within the industry, a highly inclusive yet rigorous procurement process was required.

With a high number of potential suppliers for hosting, data processing and fulfilment services, Turnstone recommended an RFI process be used first.  This achieved two goals, firstly of inclusion, allowing many suppliers to respond, and secondly it provided rapid filtering. From an initial 30 suppliers, the RFI process shortlisted down to 8. The shortlisted suppliers then entered the more detailed RFP process, allowing for a manageable process.

RFP responses were scored and evaluated using a scoring matrix pre-agreed with the client. A shortlist of 4 suppliers then proceeded to presentations of their proposals.

The presentation allowed the team to meet the potential suppliers and gather further information on the supplier’s abilities. From the presentation the final 2 suppliers were selected for contract and commercial negotiations.

The joint Turnstone / client team made the final selection, with Turnstone managing contract development through to final signature.

Finally, Turnstone undertook all debriefs for unsuccessful suppliers.