Biocom Group Purchasing’s Proprietary RFP Process

Member-Focused, Member-Vetted & Member-Selected

The Biocom Group Purchasing RFP is the method used to vet and exclusively endorse the suppliers represented in our portfolio of savings. It is one of the most critical elements of our business model and relies heavily on the expertise and time commitments of key individuals from our member companies. We handle the complete process—from research, advisory committee administration and bid preparation development through contract management—which means your team has more time to focus on building a successful business. Our competitive bid process has been developed specifically for your needs, by member experts statewide. Below is a summary of the RFP process that results in the selection of an endorsed supplier.

Member-Focused, Member-Vetted & Member-Selected

The Biocom Group Purchasing RFP is the method used to vet and exclusively endorse the suppliers represented in our portfolio of savings. It is one of the most critical elements of our business model and relies heavily on the expertise and time commitments of key individuals from our member companies. We handle the complete process—from research, advisory committee administration and bid preparation development through contract management—which means your team has more time to focus on building a successful business. Our competitive bid process has been developed specifically for your needs, by member experts statewide. Below is a summary of the RFP process that results in the selection of an endorsed supplier.

Member-Focused, Member-Vetted & Member-Selected

The Biocom Group Purchasing RFP is the method used to vet and exclusively endorse the suppliers represented in our portfolio of savings. It is one of the most critical elements of our business model and relies heavily on the expertise and time commitments of key individuals from our member companies. We handle the complete process—from research, advisory committee administration and bid preparation development through contract management—which means your team has more time to focus on building a successful business. Our competitive bid process has been developed specifically for your needs, by member experts statewide. Below is a summary of the RFP process that results in the selection of an endorsed supplier.

Member-Focused, Member-Vetted & Member-Selected

The Biocom Group Purchasing RFP is the method used to vet and exclusively endorse the suppliers represented in our portfolio of savings. It is one of the most critical elements of our business model and relies heavily on the expertise and time commitments of key individuals from our member companies. We handle the complete process—from research, advisory committee administration and bid preparation development through contract management—which means your team has more time to focus on building a successful business. Our competitive bid process has been developed specifically for your needs, by member experts statewide. Below is a summary of the RFP process that results in the selection of an endorsed supplier.

RFP Process

Timeline

The general framework of the RFP process includes (3) in-person committee meetings, depending on the product or service being reviewed. Over the course of the meetings, the committee develops a list of eligible candidates and an in-depth questionnaire, requests product or service trials, runs competitive analyses, conducts site visits and reviews results from member surveys. The committee pares down the group to 2-3 final candidates that present in a formal setting. The process can last anywhere between 3-6 months depending on how much due diligence the committee feels is necessary before a conclusive decision can be made.

Committees

The RFP process starts with the selective recruitment of an ad hoc committee comprised of talented and experienced individuals from member companies of all sizes and across all industries. Key members with technical knowledge and procurement expertise in the particular RFP field are invited from small, mid-size and large companies. And as part of our continued efforts to strengthen the Purchasing Group, each of our five Advisory Committees also help to oversee the competitiveness of our current contracts, share feedback and advise us on new business opportunities.

Compliance

We continuously work toward strengthening contract compliance and quality control. We have created systems to better vet our contracts and improve upon the quality procedures needed to ensure our contracts and our suppliers are best-in-class. We strive to help you achieve lower costs while providing you with increased value and we do this by ensuring that our contracts meet applicable procurement standards, establishing best practices, and conducting spend analyses across our membership to identify products, services and suppliers that are the most meaningful in particular contract areas.

Participating in Biocom’s Purchasing Group committee has been extremely valuable, not just for my own professional development, but also for securing aggressive pricing for my company. It’s been an enlightening process to negotiate with the collective bargaining power and combined spending levels of the larger life science community. This leverage has resulted in a level of concessions not encountered previously and has provided me with more knowledge to the advantage of my own negotiations.

Jeff BoldtDirector, Lab Operations, Genomatica