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? 👇