The EXA Way Supplement

Capture and Proposal Capability Maturity Model

Page 436

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This supplement provides insights into the CPCMM assessment. The segments below consider the factors that govern the strategic position assessment, the pursuit quantity assessment, and the pursuit quality assessment. The more questions you answer affirmatively, the closer your organization is to achieving a Level 4 CPCMM rating.

Strategic Position

Does your executive team: 

1. Consider C&P to be one part of the broader strategic business development function?
2. Appoint a vice president responsible for corporate-wide C&P processes, activities, and performance?
3. Understand and respect the essential procurement laws, rules, and corporate procedures for complex pursuits?
4. View C&P performance as a corporate-wide responsibility?
5. View the company’s C&P capability as a strategic differentiator that enables it to win more bids?
6. Track every capture pursued and abandoned, and every proposal submitted and not submitted, and every bid won and lost?
7. Track win rate by capture leader, proposal leader, group, and department?
8. Present the corporate-wide win rate as a key performance indicator on the corporate dashboard?
9. Assess and record how well capture plans are prepared, presented, and executed?
10. Review C&P performance annually, identify root causes in areas of underperformance, implement corporate-wide initiatives to address identified underperformance, and monitor progress on initiatives quarterly?
11. Regularly participate in major capture gates and reviews?
12. Assign an executive sponsor for every major pursuit who coordinates and collaborates with the Capture Leader and Proposal Leader on at least a weekly basis?
13. Take the time to understand and challenge the win strategy early in the capture cycle? 

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Pursuit Quantity

Does your organization: 

1. Have a dedicated C&P centre with qualified and experienced Capture Leaders and Proposal Leaders without having to deputize other employees to carry out C&P roles?
2. Have enough qualified staff to pursue opportunities in normal circumstances without some people routinely working overtime?
3. Have procedures that are thorough and detailed enough such at a newly hired employee, who is fully qualified and capable in their C&P field, could carry out their role with minimal on-the-job procedures training.
4. Have access to a surge capacity when C&P demands occasionally exceed normal levels?
5. Automate the capture process and the proposal development process through continually updated technologies and procedures?
6. Have a robust and secure document collaboration system that allows multiple people who are dispersed across other companies, geographies, and time zones to work on the documents?
7. Have a low employee turnover rate in the C&P group?
8. Have Capture Leaders that normally pursue sound opportunities that are aligned with the company’s strategic goals and business targets?
9. Conduct gates and reviews thoroughly and objectively.
10. Require executives to reject a pursuit early in the cycle if it does not meet the company’s strategic goals and business targets?
11. Routinely cross-train C&P employees so they can cover each other’s roles when one employee becomes unavailable or during surge conditions?
12. Have development practices that hire, train, and promote C&P personnel?
13. Have a fully indexed and accessible library of all previous proposals?
14. Manage the configuration of all client and internal documents?
15. Routinely write plans and other low-risk material based on the draft RFP before the procurement authority releases the final RFP?

Pursuit Quality

Does your organization:

1. Have clearly defined, thorough, detailed, stable, and audited processes that govern which opportunities the company pursues?
2. Have clearly defined, thorough, detailed, stable, and audited processes that govern how the C&P organization develops and delivers proposals?
3. Make the above processes scalable and adaptable based on pursuit size and complexity?
4. Train employees on the above processes and ensure they follow those processes.
5. Conduct lessons learned exercises after each pursuit?
6. Apply lessons learned across the entire enterprise, and require executives from every department to fulfill their lessons learned action items?
7. Always maintain an updated copy of the live RFP and other root documents for every proposal?
8. Use traceability tools to ensure the proposal addresses every RFP requirement?
9. Execute proposal developments as projects in accordance with industry standard best practices?
10. Make people accountable for completing their own and their subordinate’s milestones?
11. Have clear and open communication between the C&P team with other departments?
12. Track opportunities before they become known by the broader community?
13. Develop the proposed solution iteratively with increasing detail and complexity?
14. Develop the solution with full awareness of competitors and the client’s needs?
15. Have a centralized competitive intelligence capability?

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***Disclaimer: The information presented in this supplement is for information purposes only. It is not intended, and may not be used, as legal or business advice. The author makes no representations of warranty, accuracy, or fit for purpose of the information herein. Use at your own risk.