Page 247 - Writing Winning Business Proposals

238 Appendix A

Gupta thanks them all for their input and remarks that one of Morrison’s
points is especially important—that virtually all of ABC’s production occurs at
this facility, which makes ABC somewhat vulnerable. He also expresses some
surprise that no one has mentioned another possible option:
“What about our two satellite manufacturing facilities? Neither one is on a site
large enough to accommodate our full expansion requirements, but maybe one
of the product lines could be relocated to one of these sites, thereby freeing up
space at the existing facility.”
However, he agrees with Morrison that they will look to the consultants to
develop possible alternatives and that those alternatives will have to be analyzed
very thoroughly and convincingly, especially since ABC most likely will have to
make a major capital investment.
Gupta asks Gilmore what else they can provide that will help him prepare
the proposal. Gilmore requests copies of the site plan; the market forecast data;
samples of various productivity, work center loading, and scheduling reports;
equipment lists; and manning tables. He also asks Gupta to identify the other
three consultants who will bid on the project. Gilmore recognizes one of
Paramount’s competitors, which has strong, diversified consulting capabilities.
Not recognizing the other two, he wonders if Gupta will tell him a little about
them. According to Gupta, they are local companies that specialize in facilities
planning, plant layout, materials handling, and productivity improvement. One
of them helped ABC with a materials handling problem in the past.
“How satisfied were you with their work?” Gilmore asks.
Gupta responds briskly, but not curtly: “Satisfied enough to ask them to bid.”
Gilmore knows that the materials he requested will provide him a good
understanding of ABC’s current situation related to manufacturing capacity. In
addition, to make certain that Paramount’s proposal will be entirely responsive,
Gilmore remarks, he would like to meet individually with each of the people
present to understand their perspectives better and to probe the advantages and
disadvantages of the alternatives they had discussed as well as some others that
might be worth considering. During that visit, he would also like an extensive
tour of the manufacturing operations.
Gupta is pleased with Gilmore’s willingness to take the additional time to do
this and, after polling his group, suggests that the following week would be con-
venient. He also mentions that Ray Armstrong, ABC’s president, will be back in
the office then and Gilmore probably could meet with him. Gilmore says he will
call each person to schedule a specific time. He spends the balance of the meeting
telling the group about Paramount’s overall capabilities, history, and reputa-
tion; its specific expertise in the areas relevant to the proposed study; and the
capabilities of its staff. He then describes some consulting assignments in which
Paramount had been successful in helping clients with similar problems.