ACTE, Consulting Strategies Partner With ETABid To Offer RFP Tools

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives today announced a partnership with ETABid, an electronic-request-for-proposals tool provider, through which members can get up to 15 percent discounts off charges to use its Web-based sourcing tools.

ETABid said recent internal research showed its travel management company, online booking tool and car rental supplier selection tools cut vendor costs by 51 percent and the time buyers spend on an RFP by 70 percent. Features include a library of customizable questions, pricing models for side-by-side comparisons and an evaluation tool that allows buyers to place weighted importance on different parts of the RFP process. ETABid said it would release additional products for ground transportation and expense and payment systems later this year.

"ACTE buyer and supplier members often express frustration with the traditional RFP process,'" ACTE executive director Susan Gurley said in a statement. "This presents a good opportunity to present an alternative option."

Separately, Deerfield, Ill.-based Consulting Strategies also has partnered with ETABid as the company's distributor in the United States. For a consultancy to partner with an electronic RFP process provider makes sense, said Mark Walton, principal of Consulting Strategies. "We believe that the value of our consulting services lies in the strategic and creative process, not in the physical aspects of writing an RFP," he said. "We're glad to do it, but that's not where our value is. We're pleased to provide the tool because we think it's valuable and will improve the internal efficiency of travel programs."