The Shortlist Problem

The decision happens early

Most enterprise technology purchases look competitive on paper. A formal RFP is issued, several vendors respond, and a scoring panel makes a recommendation. Our research suggests that, in the majority of cases, this process confirms a decision rather than making one.

Seven in ten CIOs told us their shortlist was settled before any formal document was written. The vendors who reached that shortlist did so through prior relationships, peer recommendation, and visible delivery track records in comparable organisations.

What buyers actually weigh

When we asked leaders to rank the inputs that shaped their final choice, peer references came first by a clear margin. Analyst rankings, vendor-commissioned case studies and conference presence ranked well below.

"By the time procurement is involved, I already know who I would be comfortable calling at two in the morning." — CIO, UK financial services

Implications for mid-sized services firms

Mid-sized IT services firms are not disadvantaged by scale in the way they often assume. Buyers repeatedly described choosing smaller partners because they could name the delivery team in advance and expected continuity of senior attention.

The full report sets out:

• How shortlists form, stage by stage, across 14 purchase categories
• Differences between US, UK and European buying committees
• Twelve practical actions for firms seeking earlier inclusion