Interviews

RFPIO Considers India as the Next Biggest Market in Response Management

Mr. Ganesh Shankar, CEO, RFPIO shares insightful insights on, the Global Proposal Management Software Market Size is Projected to Grow from USD 1.5 Billion in 2019 to USD 3.1 Billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 14.9%. Increasing shift to cloud and AI-based technologies is driving the proposal management software

 

1.What is the present-day challenge in handling RFPs or tenders manually?

When managing RFPs or tenders manually, outdated documents and unsearchable files create inefficiencies in responding to tenders, ultimately affecting deal closure. The lack of a sole knowledge repository results in lengthened processes and introduces communication gaps between Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Proposal Managers.

RFPIO was built to streamline the RFP process, and it has transformed Response Management. As an RFP automation solution, it organises content and provides powerful collaboration, delivering what teams need to craft their best response every time.

The revolutionary software resolves chaos and saves time and resources for those who work around the clock on their tender opportunities.

 

2a. What are the challenges that the Response side faces?

As the saying goes, “Selling is hard, buying is harder”. All businesses would prefer to work with vendors who can give them an instant response to their requirements, but that is not the reality.

Business buying requires decision-making at different stages, combining perspectives from different stakeholders. Every move or decision that is made can impact an organisation and individual stakeholders differently.

Various factors ranging from collaboration, tracking, formatting, and dependencies can impact the Response side. Each client is different with unique requirements, which is a challenge for the proposal manager at a granular level. Response automation software expedites this process and ultimately wins more deals.

 

2b.  What are the challenges that the Issue side faces?

Issuing a manual tender in the market is as demanding as responding to each of them. A lot of time is spent for collaborating with SMEs and consolidating requirements as per the client’s request. For every impediment, the Procurement Manager needs to collaborate easily with their peers or managers to roll out a tender.

 

  1. What are the solutions and products provided to solve major challenges?

Our products — RFPIO and RFP360 — take care of Issue and Response Management holistically. Our sorting features like Autograph can get documents digitally signed by multiple authorities at once.

Our Content Analysis module can validate proposals as per the requirements defined by the client.

These are our key solutions, which are a must for overcoming current Issue and Response Management challenges:

  • Knowledge Management solutions
  • Collaboration tools
  • Project Management solutions
  • Procurement solutions
  • Supplier Management solutions

 

  1. How do new-age technologies like automation & AI maximise revenue and efficiency?

Automation isn’t just about automating routine tasks to save time. The right application of technology helps in decision-making, with data points in mind. Busy Proposal Managers need not work on responses manually, but can rather consolidate them as per the request. Artificial Intelligence helps them optimise content and eliminate dependencies by placing RFx responses and proposals together. This gives Pre-sales Teams new opportunities, and lets them focus on business objectives instead of working on mundane tasks.

Buyers, on the other hand, are enabled by pre-built logic, which can calculate the weighted scores of different vendors through collation of responses and directly apply a cumulative score to all responses. This gives buyers the minute insights to make the right decisions in the buying process. Additionally, our Blind Scoring feature eliminates manual bias in the buying process and levels the playing field for all vendors participating in a tender process.

 

  1. How does automated RFP increase sales-win rates across the board?

AI-driven technologies can help businesses optimise their sales cycles. The primary reason to switch to Response Automation solutions is for the same result. It allows individual proposal respondents to focus on quality responses, rather than them attending to lengthy administrative processes.

Response Automation is becoming a game-changer for higher win-rates in businesses.

 

  1. What is the impact of AI-enabled RFP on annual savings and revenue?

AI-enabled RFP solutions completely eliminate knowledge dependencies. It allows core teams to focus on quality RFx responses, leaving other team members with the bandwidth to focus on new business opportunities. This ultimately leads to higher productivity and increases estimated annual savings on time and effort.

 

  1. What type of customers effectively use automated RFPs and what is their experience?

Customers ranging from healthcare, asset management, telecom, technology and business services predominantly have the need for Response Automation software. Essentially, any  business that performs  B2B transactions can benefit from Response Automation.

 

About RFPIO

The co-founders of RFPIO Ganesh Shankar, Sankar Lagudu and AJ Sunder found themselves surrounded by inefficient processes, time-consuming manual tasks, and unnecessary delays that came with completing RFx and bid responses. After all that time and energy spent in the lengthy response process,, the channel was loathed due to its often single-digit win rates and unpredictable source of revenue. Like any good entrepreneurs, they set out to find a better way.

They began to imagine the competitive edge companies would have if they could be different. Today, RFPIO is trusted by some of the world’s smartest companies to support a variety of response types, create and manage sales proposals, and resolve inefficiencies rooted in decentralized and inaccessible content and knowledge. These companies have embraced a different way to achieve results They’ve untethered their teams from “the way it’s always been done” and embraced efficient collaboration, modern automation, and as a result have unlocked the revenue potential of response management.

RFPIO has been recognized for its growth many times over its six-year history. Earlier this year the company was ranked by Inc. Magazine in its annual Inc. 5000 list; coming in at No. 281 out of 5,000 privately held organisations. RFPIO has grown rapidly, acquiring over 1,800+ new customers in five years. In July 2018, they announced a $25M inward investment by K1 Capital, one of the industry’s leading investors, to enabling the ability to  scale and innovate through continued growth.

The future continues to shine bright for RFPIO. While many in the tech industry are pulling back,  the company has continued hiring to support the growing demand for its solutions. Behind this growth is a team of very talented and happy employees — rating RFPIO among the best places to work by Comparably.

 

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