Vendor Selection and Evaluation Framework

Build a vendor selection and evaluation framework for [Company]. Include: 1) Requirements gathering — stakeholder needs assessment template, must-have vs nice-to-have criteria, technical and business requirements documentation. 2) Market research — vendor landscape mapping, longlist to shortlist methodology, industry analyst input, peer reference gathering. 3) RFP/RFI process — template design with weighted sections, distribution timeline, Q&A management, evaluation committee formation. 4) Evaluation criteria — weighted scoring matrix across: functionality (30%), cost (25%), vendor stability (15%), implementation (15%), support (10%), innovation (5%). Adjust weights per category. 5) Demo and POC — structured demo scorecard, proof of concept success criteria, technical evaluation checklist. 6) Financial analysis — TCO calculation (license, implementation, maintenance, training, integration, exit costs), ROI projection, payment term negotiation points. 7) Risk assessment — vendor financial health check, security and compliance audit, business continuity evaluation, lock-in risk analysis. 8) Decision and negotiation — consensus building process, final selection presentation template, contract negotiation checklist. 9) Ongoing management — quarterly business review template, annual renewal evaluation criteria, performance SLAs.