Center for Procurement Excellence

10/07/2026

Awarded. Filed. Forgotten?

Hopefully not.

You can spend six months building an RFP and three years living with the result. So why does the procurement process sometimes seem to end the minute the contract is signed?

Vendor scorecards, customer surveys, performance tracking, and closeouts give you something incredibly valuable:

proof of what actually worked.

And that information may be the best starting point for your next RFP.

Your contract file probably says “awarded.”

But does anything in it say “here’s how it went”?

We’re digging into that in this month’s CPE Newsletter.



https://conta.cc/4dmQp1R

Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Price smarter. Measure performance. Learn what actually worked   NEWSLETTER We Fix Broken RFPS 7 October 2026 The Science of Cost in RFPs: Why Pricing Sho

09/23/2026

Your evaluation matrix added up perfectly.

Great.

Now can you explain—and defend—how you got there?

This week’s CPE newsletter tackles two closely related issues: building evaluation matrices that support better judgment and creating procurement processes that can stand up to scrutiny.

Because “the spreadsheet said so” is not a procurement strategy.

Clear criteria. Consistent evaluations. Good documentation. Meaningful debriefings.

That’s how you build better decisions—and fewer headaches after award.

Check out this week’s newsletter.

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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Build stronger evaluation matrices—and procurements that can stand up to scrutiny.   NEWSLETTER We Fix Broken RFPS 23 September 2026 Your Evaluation Matri

09/15/2026

🔵 Ask the RFP Doctor® | The Procurement Trust Series starts Thursday
Part 1: Trust Is the New Currency

Price used to be how you separated one vendor from another. Then AI made every proposal look flawless — and price stopped being a differentiator.

What's left? Trust. And it's getting scarcer across government, business, and media.

This Thursday, we put real numbers on it: a baseline of how much buyers, end users, and vendors actually trust each other — and why trust is becoming procurement's most valuable currency.

📅 Thursday, September 17, 2026 ⏰ 12:00 PM Central 🎤 Free + live, with open Q&A
🏛️ Produced by the Center for Procurement Excellence

👉 Register free: https://center4procurement.org/ask-the-rfp-doctor-signup/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=trust_series_sep2026&utm_content=video_invite_v2

09/14/2026

Thursday, September 17, 2026
What happens when everyone looks qualified?

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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Can procurement measure trust?   14 September 2026 The Ask the RFP Doctor® series returns on 17 September 2026 with a question every procurement profession

09/11/2026

🔵 Ask the RFP Doctor® | September 2026 Live Webinar
The Procurement Trust Series, Part 1: Trust Is the New Currency

Trust is falling — in government, in business, in media — and procurement feels it first. Meanwhile, AI is driving the cost of routine work toward zero, and price is quietly disappearing as a differentiator.

What separates vendors when every proposal looks perfect? Trust. This new series makes the case — starting with a real baseline of where trust stands today.

🔍 In this session, you'll learn:
• Why trust is falling across government, business, and media
• How AI erases price as a differentiator
• A baseline of trust among buyers, end users, and vendors

📅 Thursday, September 17, 2026 ⏰ 12:00 PM Central 🎤 Live + interactive Q&A
🏛️ Produced by the Center for Procurement Excellence

👉 Register free: https://center4procurement.org/ask-the-rfp-doctor-signup/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=trust_series_sep2026&utm_content=video_invite

09/09/2026

AI can make every proposal polished.

The writing? Great.
The graphics? Impressive.
The promises? Exactly what you wanted to hear.

So when every vendor looks good on paper, who do you trust?

Join us for Part 1 of our new Procurement Trust Series: Trust Is the New Currency as Ask the RFP Doctor digs into trust between buyers, end users, and vendors.

And we’re not just guessing about the trust gap.

We measured it.

When AI can make everyone look good, trust may be the differentiator that matters most.

👉 Join us for Ask the RFP Doctor and see what the numbers reveal.

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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Ask the RFP Doctor 17 September 2026   NEWSLETTER We Fix Broken RFPS 9 September 2026 Your Prime Contractor Isn’t the Whole Supply Chain You evaluated the

09/01/2026

Every proposal now sounds amazing.

AI made that easy.

So what's left to separate great vendors from good storytellers?

Join Dr. Brian Lines as he explores why trust is becoming procurement's most valuable asset—and shares surprising new research on how much buyers, vendors, and end users actually trust one another.

Because your next procurement may depend on something you can't put in a pricing table.



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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence The future belongs to trusted partners   1 September 2026 Save My Seat Save My Seat!   Center for Procurement Excellence | P.O. Box 27565 Tempe, AZ 85285 |

08/19/2026

You know how to write an RFP. But can you prove it? 🎓

The Certified Solicitation Professional™ (CPE™) credential recognizes procurement professionals who understand what it takes to build fair, transparent, defensible solicitations—from scope development through evaluation and debriefing.

If you’ve completed Better RFPs, Better Projects, you’ve already taken the first step.

Now put some letters behind what you know.

👉 Learn more about becoming a Certified Solicitation Professional™ in this week’s CPE newsletter.

Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Turn your RFP expertise into a credential   NEWSLETTER We Fix Broken RFPS 19 August 2026   You’re Building Better RFPs. Now Prove It. If you’re participat

08/17/2026

🚨 Could one checkbox eliminate your best vendor?
It happens more often than you think.

Join us this Thursday for Ask the RFP Doctor® as we explore the difference between mandatory and desired requirements—and why getting it wrong can limit competition and reduce proposal quality.

📅 Thursday, August 20
🕛 Noon CT
💲 Free

Bring your questions—we'll stay for live Q&A until they're answered!



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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Don't eliminate qualified vendors unnecessarily   17 August 2026 Save My Seat Save My Seat!   Center for Procurement Excellence | P.O. Box 27565 Tempe, AZ

08/05/2026

Mandatory or Desired? One word can make all the difference.

Are your mandatory requirements protecting your procurement—or eliminating great vendors before the evaluation even begins?

Join us for this month's Ask the RFP Doctor on Thursday, August 20, from 12:00–1:00 PM CT as we discuss how to distinguish true pass/fail requirements from scored criteria and write RFPs that encourage competition while protecting your agency.



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Email from Center for Procurement Excellence Ask the RFP Dr 20 Aug 2026   NEWSLETTER We Fix Broken RFPS 5 August 2026   Better RFPs, Better Projects Ready to move beyond low-bid procurements? Join NA