Procurement is often seen as a gatekeeper.But the real power sitting in our hands is something far bigger:the ability to predict the future.Think about it.Every project is a set of unknowns.Timelines, risks, delivery challenges, cost pressures—nobody has the full picture at the start.But the right procurement process can change that.When you design your RFP to reveal true expertise, you’re not just comparing vendors.You’re asking them to show you what your project will actually look like in delivery.What risks you’ll face.How they’ll handle them.What the path to success will be—step by step.That’s not admin work.That’s foresight.The tragedy is, most procurement processes bury this predictive power under 50-page templates, generic questions, and recycled evaluation criteria.Instead of surfacing clarity, we drown in noise.But if you shift the focus—if you deliberately ask the kind of questions that only experts can answer—you turn procurement into a future-making function.Not just choosing a supplier, but revealing what the outcome of your project will be before the contract is even signed.That’s the level of confidence stakeholders actually want from us.And that’s the difference between procurement as a bottleneck… and procurement as a success maker.
Most procurement professionals don’t realize this, but we are creatures of habit.
We issue RFPs the same way.
We evaluate vendors the same way.
We rely on the same old templates, rating scales, and evaluation methods.
And somewhere along the way, we stop questioning.
- Why do we demand lengthy written proposals… but rarely read every word?
- Why do we trust vendor references when they’ll never give us a bad one?
- Why do we assess key personnel based on CVs… when we’d never hire an employee that way?
The frustrating part? These outdated practices aren’t just inefficient—they’re shaping million-dollar decisions.
Yet, procurement continues to run on autopilot because that’s the way it’s always been done.
But here’s the reality: Better procurement starts with better thinking.
It starts with the people who are willing to challenge the norm.
Who are humble enough to admit that traditional procurement has flaws.
And who are courageous enough to push for something better.
Not everyone is ready for that shift. But if you are, let’s talk.
🔳XPD is built to solve these exact challenges—removing inefficiencies, eliminating bias, and making procurement work the way it should.
If you’re curious to learn how, drop me a message or comment below, and let’s start the conversation.
We spend weeks crafting RFP documents, debating evaluation criteria, and training teams on scoring. But there’s one thing that still gets overlooked—Stress the importance of evaluation comments.
Not just any comments. The kind that can stand up in an audit, hold their ground in a supplier debrief, and actually justify why a score was given.
Because here’s the truth: scores alone mean nothing without justification.
I've seen it happen:
- A supplier challenges the outcome.
- Legal requests the evaluation report.
- Procurement scrambles to defend vague, one-word comments.
At that point, it’s too late. The damage is done. The credibility of the entire process is at stake.
So why does this keep happening? Because strong comments require effort. They demand evaluators to think critically, not just react. They require procurement teams to enforce better standards, not just collect scores.
Let’s flip the script. Instead of treating comments as an afterthought, we should see them as the backbone of evaluation.
💡 A simple mindset shift: Ask evaluators:
“Imagin you're going to court, and the judge asks: Why did you give this specific score?...what would you say!!”
If your comment can't easily answer that, it’s not strong enough.
This isn't just about avoiding challenges—it’s about building trust, improving decision-making, and raising the bar for procurement.
Would love to hear from my network—what’s the worst evaluation comment you’ve ever seen? 👇
If procurement had a “factory reset” button, would we finally fix what’s broken?
Most professionals inherit procurement practices rather than learn them. They step into a role, get trained by whoever came before them, and follow the same processes—without ever questioning if they actually work.
It’s not intentional. It’s just how things have always been done.
But here’s the reality: Copying the past is not a strategy.
What if we started over?
Imagine if we wiped the slate clean. No pre-filled RFP templates. No recycled evaluation criteria. No auto-pilot decision-making. Just a simple question:
If we built procurement from scratch today, knowing what we know now, what would it look like?
Would we still:
- Rely on generic evaluation criteria that all vendors answer the same way?
- Treat procurement training as a checkbox exercise instead of a catalyst for change?
- Accept processes designed for a world that no longer exists?
Or would we start making procurement a "real enabler"—one that actually delivers value instead of just enforcing compliance?
The hard truth? Procurement won’t evolve until we stop blindly repeating the past.
So here’s my challenge: If you had the power to rebuild procurement from the ground up, what’s the first thing you’d change? 👇
Nobody teaches you how to unlearn in procurement.
You learn the process.
You inherit the templates.
You follow the rules.
And before you know it, those early decisions become your default setting.
But here’s the real challenge:
By the time you have the experience to know what should change—
You’re often the one expected to defend the status quo.
That’s the trap.
Not bad intent.
Just quiet repetition.
This video is for anyone who’s ever felt that nudge.
The sense that something in your process feels off—
But it’s hard to question it when it’s all you’ve ever known.
Because real leadership in procurement doesn’t start with better templates.
It starts with the courage to rethink the ones we inherited.
In this episode of the RFP Secrets Podcast, we explore the contentious issue of whether to share evaluation criteria and weights with vendors during the RFP process. Host delves into three perspectives: keeping those details confidential, sharing criteria but not weights, and full transparency. Through examples and expert opinions, the episode advocates for full transparency, arguing it builds trust and yields higher-quality proposals. The discussion emphasizes the impact on vendor trust, proposal quality, and procurement efficiency, providing practical insights for professionals navigating their next procurement challenge.
Innovative Procurement Strategies with Thomai Veginis In this engaging episode of the RFP Secrets Podcast, John welcomes Thomai Veginis, Chief Procurement Officer at the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning. Thomai shares her extensive experience in the field of procurement, highlighting her journey through various prestigious roles within IBM, the National Australia Bank, Telstra, and the public sector. She discusses the challenges and innovative approaches in procurement, particularly focusing on the XPD process and its impact on procurement strategies. Thomai emphasizes the importance of fairness, transparency, and the benefits of an expertise-driven project delivery methodology. This episode is packed with insights valuable for procurement professionals and business leaders aiming to improve their procurement practices and achieve the best outcomes. 00:00 Main 00:16 Introduction to the RFP Secrets Podcast 00:31 Meet Thomai Veginis: A Procurement Leader 02:44 Thomai's Journey in Procurement 05:08 Challenges in Procurement Across Industries 08:05 Transitioning from Private to Public Sector 08:48 Fundamentals of Procurement: Public vs. Private 12:16 Exploring the XPD Approach 18:53 Anonymous Proposal Evaluation 25:31 Ensuring Data Security in Virtual Data Rooms 26:04 Adapting Processes During COVID-19 26:30 Building Trust with Executives 27:40 The Importance of a Project Champion 29:02 Effective Proposal Techniques 30:15 Evaluating Supplier Proposals 33:25 The Role of Key Personnel Interviews 38:11 Clarification Phase in Procurement 41:47 Risk Mitigation Strategies 45:16 Final Thoughts and Advice for CPOs
Maximizing RFP Success: The Critical Role of Key Personnel and Past Performance In this episode of RFP Secrets Podcast, host John discusses with Nina Bomberg, Director of Indirect Procurement at Dormakaba, the importance of assessing past performance and key personnel in procurement decisions. Nina shares her insights from 20 years in the industry across various sectors, highlighting the challenges and strategies in measuring vendors' competencies. They delve into the significance of evaluating not just company references but also the capabilities of individual team members assigned to projects. The episode covers strategies for collecting and weighing past performance information, the critical role of pre-planning with key personnel, and ensuring that the right team stays committed throughout the project. The conversation underscores the need for procurement teams to go beyond resumes and engage in detailed interviews with potential vendors to ensure successful project outcomes. 00:00 Introduction to RFP Secrets Podcast 00:16 The Importance of Past Performance in Procurement 01:34 Introducing Nina Bomberg 02:25 Nina's Journey in Procurement 04:03 Understanding Dormakaba 04:20 Challenges in Indirect Procurement 05:59 Evaluating Past Performance Information 10:59 The Role of Key Personnel in Project Success 24:31 Pre-Planning and Implementation Strategies 30:36 Final Thoughts and Best Practices 34:24 Conclusion and Farewell
Exploring the Vendor's Perspective: Anton Scavello CEO of Nura Space on the XPD Procurement Process This episode dives into the vendor side of the procurement process, featuring an insightful conversation with Anton Scavello of Nura Space. Anton shares his journey in the Schiavello Group, his extensive experience with RFPs, and provides a detailed account of engaging with a state government's procurement process using the XPD methodology. He discusses the benefits and innovative aspects of the XPD approach, including anonymous proposals, limited page submissions, targeted demonstrations, and a thorough clarification phase. Anton offers a vendor's view on fairness, transparency, and efficiency in procurement, providing valuable advice for procurement professionals. 00:00 Introduction to the Show and Today's Topic 02:17 Meet Anton Scavello: Background and Career Journey 07:31 Challenges in the Traditional RFP Process 17:06 Insights on the XPD Process 26:19 First Impressions of the Six-Page Limit 27:27 The Impact of Page Limits on Proposals 29:13 Structured Product Demonstrations 31:56 Vendor Evaluation and Fairness 34:52 The Importance of Anonymity in RFPs 37:38 Key Personnel Interviews 42:27 Clarification Phase Explained 49:29 Final Thoughts and Advice
Unlocking Government Contracts: Overcoming SME Procurement Challenges In this episode of the RFP Secrets Podcast, we delve into the hurdles faced by small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in winning government contracts. The discussion covers the procurement process, challenges such as resource constraints and biases, and offers practical recommendations for both vendors and government clients on improving the procurement process. Key strategies include focusing on unique risk identification and value-added proposals for vendors, and implementing anonymous evaluations and limiting proposal pages for clients. 00:00 Introduction to RFP Secrets Podcast 00:27 Challenges for SMEs in Government Contracts 01:10 Defining SMEs and Their Importance 02:50 Understanding Government Procurement 03:33 The Procurement Process Explained 07:54 Challenges SMEs Face in the RFP Process 08:49 Resource Constraints for SMEs 13:18 Bias and Fairness in Evaluations 19:36 Recommendations for Vendors 31:53 Recommendations for Government Clients 45:02 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Steering Your RFP Process: Strategies, Pitfalls and Roadmaps
In this episode, the speaker discusses the Request for Proposal (RFP) process in depth, its common problems, ways to mitigate them, and recommended practices to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. Key issues explored include developing scope of work, selecting the evaluation panel, RFP structure, having a realistic schedule, and clearly defining evaluation criteria. The speaker also introduces two helpful tools: the Request for Needs (RFN) and stressing the importance of the Q&A period. Several anecdotes and practical tips are offered to underline the importance of having a fair, structured, and realistic RFP process in securing proposals from high-performing vendors.
00:16 Introduction to the RFP Process
01:09 Understanding the RFP Process
03:11 Challenges in Developing the Scope of Work
05:19 The Impact of Poor Scope of Work
07:01 Strategies to Improve Scope of Work
13:58 The Importance of RFP Structure
16:53 Making Information Available for Vendors
17:11 The Importance of Submittal Forms
18:15 Key Sections in the RFP Proposal Document
20:34 Understanding the Schedule in RFP Process
21:10 The Impact of Unrealistic Schedules
22:55 The Perception of Vendors of the Client and Their Procurement Process
24:24 Selecting the Evaluation Panel
28:53 Avoiding Biased Evaluators
31:08 Recap and Final Thoughts
Redefining Vendor Proposals: Anonymity in Tender Practices
In this episode we explore the groundbreaking idea of anonymous proposal evaluations for vendor proposals in tenders on the RFP Secrets podcast. He discusses the XPD procurement approach, which shifts from traditional practices by replacing company information with anonymous identifiers, leading to a novel selection and clarification process. John also touches on how this approach could improve the response quality, fairness of the process, force vendors to prove their expertise and capabilities without using their names. John emphasizes that the technique helps protect evaluation teams from bias and positively influences vendors by indicating a fair playing field.
00:16 Introduction to Anonymous Evaluation for Vendor Proposal
00:52 Overview of the XPD Procurement Approach
02:58 Traditional RFP Process and its Limitations
05:17 The Impact of Branding and Company Name on Evaluation
07:26 The Power of Anonymity in Proposal Evaluation
09:56 The Shift in Mindset Required for Anonymous Evaluation
10:46 Benefits of Anonymous Proposal for Vendors
11:22 Client Perspective on Anonymous Proposal Evaluation
16:06 The Impact of Anonymous Proposal on Evaluation Quality
16:19 Conclusion and Recap of Anonymous Proposal Evaluation
Redefining Procurement Practices: An Insightful discussion with Chris Sawchuk
In this episode of the RFP secrets podcast, host John Matta discusses the pressing issue of separating 'procurement success' from 'business success' with Chris Sawchuk, a procurement expert with 24 years of experience. They speak about the crucial role that procurement plays in vendor selection and accountability, and how it greatly influences the outcome, so much so, that it's time to look at procurement through a holistic perspective rather than just procedural compliance. They delve into key topics such as the importance of focusing on individual team expertise during selection rather than companies at large, and the questioning the reliability of contracts in ensuring performance. They also highlight the need to bridge the gap between procurement teams and end users as their contributions should be celebrated when things go well, and they should be held accountable when there are discrepancies.
00:16 Introduction and Guest Presentation
00:42 Engaging with the Guest: The Icebreaker
02:21 Diving into the Topic: Accountability in Procurement
03:11 Understanding the Disconnect in Procurement Practices
04:17 Exploring the Differences between Public and Private Procurement
06:33 The Impact of COVID-19 on Procurement Practices
07:42 The Role of Tendering Practices in Procurement
08:20 The Inconsistency of Project Outcomes
11:15 The Importance of Supplier Management
16:58 The Role of Key Personnel in Vendor Performance
19:42 The Importance of Accountability in Procurement
44:12 The Role of Contracts in Vendor Performance
52:30 The Future of Procurement: AI and Intelligent Tools
53:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
In this episode, we dive into the game-changing world of large-scale project delivery through the lens of the eXpertise-based Project Delivery (XPD) approach. We introduce the core principles of XPD and its emphasis on expertise-based vendor selection, highlighting its unique alignment with the demands of large-scale projects. Our guest expert shares best practices, dos and don'ts, and key strategies for success, emphasizing the role of project leadership and cross-functional collaboration. We explore real-world case studies, discussing the challenges faced and the tangible outcomes achieved with XPD. We also address common challenges and resistance, offering practical strategies for managing change. Our Q&A session invites listener inquiries, and we wrap up by summarizing key takeaways and envisioning the future impact of XPD on procurement and project delivery in large-scale endeavors.
In this episode, we dive into the intricate world of evaluating large vendor proposals within the tender process. As businesses seek to secure the best solutions and partnerships, the challenges posed by extensive documentation and multifaceted criteria can often seem overwhelming. Join us as we unravel the complexities of this process, explore key challenges, and uncover effective strategies to ensure fairness, transparency, and successful outcomes.
In this episode I'm sharing one of the most exceptional true story I've ever heard in procurement that hopefully can help organisations get a feeling of how vulnerable the current procurement process is.
If you think tender evaluators are fully reading every page those lengthy vendors proposals then ... think again. And if you got convinced that this is what's happening in your procurements, then I'm sure you understand the implications of that on the success of projects' outcomes - and you should seriously do something about it.
Attention Procurement Professionals: Are you tired of sifting through countless RFx responses that all look the same? Do you struggle to differentiate between vendors and select the best fit for your organization? If so, then it's time to sharpen your evaluation criteria!
Join us for RFx Excellence: Mastering the Art of Evaluation Criteria, where you'll learn how to create effective evaluation criteria that will help you identify the right vendors for your organization. We will share our best practices for crafting evaluation criteria that will help you make informed decisions and select the best vendors for your project/service.
During this event, you'll discover:
1. The key components of effective evaluation criteria for procurement
2. How to assign the proper weighting on your evaluation criteria
3. Tips for evaluating vendors based on their strengths and weaknesses
4. Best practices for ensuring fairness and transparency in the evaluation process
Whether you're a seasoned procurement professional or just starting out, this event is not to be missed. You'll walk away with practical tips and strategies that you can start using right away to improve your procurement process and select the best vendors for your organization.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your procurement process to the next level.
Experience the power of RFP Secrets LIVE, a virtual event series that will transform the way you approach projects and services. Join John Matta, CEO of Simplar Australia, and John Savicky, Director of Sourcing & Research at Simplar Institute US, for a fortnightly session packed with valuable insights and practical strategies.
At RFP Secrets LIVE, we believe in breaking down the barriers to success by sharing our proven philosophy and framework for consistent and effective project delivery. You'll gain access to first-hand procurement insights from our cutting-edge research, helping you to unlock new levels of efficiency and productivity.
Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to learn the mechanics behind this global award winning procurement approach. Register now for RFP Secrets LIVE and start transforming the way you approach projects and services today!
The traditional RFP process has been there for decades with very light changes if any at all. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it delivers average results and sometimes it brings unforgettable experience.
In this live event, I'd like to share with you how can we change the status quo of the RFP process and:
1. Start to see more consistent successful outcomes
2. Award highly complex and risky projects with massive confidence
3. Increase fairness and transparency to an unmatched level
4. Streamline the tedious RFP process both for you and your vendors
5. Minimise projects risks to an unprecedented level
The XBD Best-Value Procurement Approach is the concrete formula that has been tested and refined over two decades now, with more than 3,000 successful projects and billions of spend.
This could be the one session that changes your procurement career