Creating an RFI or RFP for an enterprise purchasing project often requires painstaking attention to detail and can be challenging and time-consuming, even for a seasoned procurement professional. Popcorn RFP’s signature “kernels” are designed to help you draft RFIs and RFPs efficiently – either independently or with your team – and adhere to diverse institutional requirements. By leveraging the power of kernels, you will quickly and seamlessly create purchasing documents, which also encourages more high-quality vendor responses tailored to your organization’s unique needs. This post will highlight some of the key benefits of using kernels in Popcorn RFP. You can get started anytime by creating a free account.
Benefit #1: Reduce frustration in the procurement process
Kernels allow you to create new RFx documents efficiently, without entering the same information multiple times in different sections, shuffling back and forth between documents, or searching through old templates to copy and paste relevant text.
Think of a Popcorn RFP kernel as a recipe. When you begin a new purchasing project, you select a kernel relevant to your project from the community Kernel Library. The kernel will then prompt you with questions to answer in order to create the RFP or RFI while offering hints to help you identify relevant information for each section of your RFx. Kernels enable you to quickly input basic information – for instance where your institution is located – and they automatically add that information to all relevant sections of the text with a single click. This frees you to focus on the critical details of your project. Kernels streamline the RFx process whether you are working on your own or as a team. With Popcorn RFP, you and your colleagues will be able to collaborate on a single document, without the hassle or privacy risk of sharing files via email or in the cloud (for more information on working with colleagues, see this blog post). Once you’ve created a draft RFI or RFP, kernels also allow for straightforward editing in one location.
Benefit #2: Easy Customization
Every procurement project is unique. With the community Kernel Library, you can benefit from pre-existing recipes that work for many procurements. Some kernel questions prompt you to include text that will be the same across all RFx documents, but aspects of each kernel are also customized depending on your institution type and the kind of service or product you are purchasing.
Don’t worry if you don’t find a kernel that is exactly right in the community library. You can easily request a customization of an existing kernel, or you can upload previous RFI or RFP templates and we’ll create a private kernel to your specifications. The number of private kernels available to you depends on your plan type.
Both our Kernel Library and the option to request custom kernels enable you to easily tailor your RFx to your project using our efficient, integrated software.
Benefit #3: Save Time and Money
Ultimately, the greatest advantage of kernels is that they can save you and your organization time and money. Kernels let you have the best of both worlds by combining rigidity and flexibility. They are intuitive and easy to use. And they allow you to work quickly, with little room for error. Instead of reinventing the wheel with every new RFI or RFP, with kernels, starting new projects is a breeze, and you can focus quickly on the requirements and essence of the purchasing project.
To get started, jump right in by signing up for a free account. In just a few minutes, you’ll be leveraging the power of kernels for your organization. Or if you’d like more information about the different free and paid plans to facilitate procurement that’s faster, smarter, and more collaborative check out this blog post.
