Column Fodder
Definition
A vendor invited into an evaluation not to win, but to fill the comparison column that procurement requires — the buyer already has a preferred solution. Recognising column-fodder signals early (no access to the economic buyer, requirements written around a rival's feature set, compressed timelines) is a core part of a disciplined bid/no-bid process.
The signals, readable in about an hour
- The language belongs to someone. Requirement phrasing that mirrors one vendor's terminology — their feature names, their way of splitting a capability into sub-requirements nobody else splits.
- A mandatory requirement only one architecture satisfies. Not a hard requirement, a shaped one.
- Weights that favour an installed base. Migration effort scored as risk is a criterion only the challenger can lose points on.
- No access to the authors. One Q&A window, answers published to all bidders, no calls.
- A timeline that assumes the response already exists.
- “Current environment” described in loving detail while the future state stays vague.
How to read the signals
No single one is proof — buyers write clumsy RFPs for innocent reasons. Two together is a pattern worth testing. Four is a decision, and it is not one you win by writing harder.
The three moves that still work
All of them have to happen inside the Q&A window. Ask the one specific technical question only the author can answer — the answer or the refusal both tell you what you need, and it goes on the record for every bidder. Propose an added evaluation criterion rather than fighting a mandatory requirement. And put a win theme on the table early: the sentence you want the committee repeating when you are not in the room.
Related terms
Further reading
- How to Tell If You're Column Fodder — and What to Do About It
- Bid or No-Bid: The 5-Minute RFP Qualification Checklist
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