That&#x27;s what many people think, but it&#x27;s actually not true (at least not in the states I&#x27;ve worked in). There&#x27;s a cottage industry that provides advice on how to navigate through the RFP process, and a lot of the advice is based on controlling what goes into the RFP when it is written. Take a look at this set of slides:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.slideshare.net&#x2F;pmcloughlin1&#x2F;how-to-help-your-customers-write-an-rfp-that-makes-sense-for-you-13915453" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.slideshare.net&#x2F;pmcloughlin1&#x2F;how-to-help-your-cust...</a><p>The most important thing to understand about RFPs is that they aren&#x27;t designed for making the &quot;most fair&quot; selection. They are designed for making the &quot;safest&quot; selection. An RFP is basically a CYA (cover your ass) mechanism for the procurement team. That&#x27;s why collaborating with preferred vendors when the RFP is being written is a very common practice. Teams writing the RFPs rarely have the subject matter expertise necessary. So they receive help (which is a good thing).