Implementing an AGV System

Obtaining AGV System Proposals

Depending on your circumstances, you may approach obtaining vendor proposals in different ways. The proposal stage of an AGV project is an ideal time to interact with an AGV vendor. This experience is an often overlooked opportunity to ‘size up’ a vendor with respect to intangibles such as quality relationship, communication, integrity and support. These values may mean the difference between a rewarding experience and an unnecessarily challenging one.

Method #1 – Best Concept Approach
The most common practice for obtaining proposals for an AGV project is to permit each invited vendor to recommend the best concept. Remember that AGVs are not commodities. Therefore, each AGV company has different product and technology to work offer. What may be a strong point, may be a weak point for another. Letting each make their own recommendations opens up the possibilities to see alternate concepts which may be better than the initial concept.

To implement this approach, you will need to do more up front with each of your invited bidders. In many cases, it makes sense to screen the potential vendors after an initial concepting/budgeting phase. Then work more closely with the finalists to provide them with an adequate opportunity and information to develop their best concept to bid. Your main responsibility is to insure each bidder is provided with the same set of requirements without dictating a solution to them.

Method #2 – Specified Concept Approach
There are times when it is preferable to specify an AGV solution to a set of invited bidders. More often than not, this occurs when a consultant is involved in the process. Usually, the consultant develops the AGV system concept working with you and then translates it into a bid specification document.

The advantage of this approach is in working with an unbiased consultant to evaluate the risk/benefit rewards of various concepts before deciding on an approach to be specified in the bid request document. Each bidder can then be judged as to how well their proposal response meets the evaluation criteria established for the specified concept.

A consultant does not have to be involved in a ‘specified concept’ approach type AGV procurement process. Should a potential user be so inclined, they may develop their own bid specification. This document would define the system concept to be bid in such detail that all invited bidders would have to provide the necessary controls and equipment to meet the specific concept requirements. Typically, this restricts the bidders to proposing the same type of equipment and similar controls system capabilities.

The downside of bidding a specified concept is that unless there is an overriding reason to require a high level of bid conformity, the end user may well loose the opportunity to benefit from each bidders unique concepting expertise.