In 2019, Janet Grant, Director of Events at MaRS Discovery District, realized she needed to bring in external expertise to oversee several pressing procurement initiatives. As a Broader Public Sector (BPS) entity, MaRS was required to go through a formal bidding process for the hospitality services they required. On the top of the list were three categories that needed immediate attention: event staffing, event furniture rentals and catering. It was decided that a Request For Proposal (RFP) was the best approach and would garner the best candidates for the contracts. A member of Janet's finance team had previously worked with RTPS, thought they would be a good fit and highly recommended them.

Action Taken
The proposal was that RTPS would take care of every step of that bidding process. The RTPS team came in "fully loaded”, equipped with all the tools and templates needed to successfully manage the RFP process for each of the aforementioned categories.

The MaRS team found the process to be very thorough and professional, stating that the “pressure was taken off the internal team” while still allowing them to “contribute meaningfully so we could find the right supplier for our needs.”

The Result
“Everyone was prepared to buy into the outcome because of the positive experience of the process. Everyone's opinions were aligned and the decision making process was easier...it was well-understood and well-articulated, and everyone felt good about the final decisions.”