The Decision Journey

Markus, Account Executive at a provider of energy monitoring and optimisation systems, had been tracking a port logistics operator for most of the year. The operator ran three bulk terminals on the Norwegian west coast and had been signalling publicly that energy costs were a strategic priority. Markus had sent a note to the Director of Infrastructure in April. He was told the timing was not right. In September, an RFQ arrived.

The document was detailed. It specified integration requirements with the operator's existing control systems, referenced particular measurement intervals that are non-standard in the industry, and included evaluation criteria that weighted total cost of ownership over a five-year horizon rather than upfront investment. Markus recognised the structure immediately. This brief had been written by someone who already understood the problem well. He submitted a strong response and was shortlisted to three.

He did not win. In the debrief, the Director of Infrastructure was candid. A competing provider had been engaged informally since the previous autumn. They had participated in two internal workshops as the operator was thinking through its energy strategy. They had helped frame the evaluation criteria. By the time the RFQ was issued, the operator already understood how they thought about the problem. The decision had not been made. But the conditions for the decision had been shaped.

Markus had a strong solution. His pricing was competitive. His references were relevant. None of that was the issue. The issue was that he entered the process at Evaluation, responding to a brief that had been written without him. His competitor had been present during Exploration, when the brief was still being defined.

The debrief question Markus asked was the wrong one. He asked the Director what he could have done differently in the proposal. The question he needed to ask was why he had not been in the room the previous November.