DEFENCE & PROCUREMENT

Defence Procurement Brand Shortlist Composition & RFP Entry Rate Survey

Map how defence procurement authorities evaluate vendor credentials, compare shortlist criteria, and weigh RFP entry thresholds, so you can sharpen positioning, convert more tender opportunities, and benchmark entry rates by procurement tier.

Multi-Market sample
Defence procurement teams (Procurement Directors, RFP Evaluators)
15-20 min
Talk to a Survey Consultant
Shortlist entry & conversion gapsIdentify where vendors lose shortlist position before RFP evaluation begins.
Criteria weighting & vendor benchmarksRank the compliance, capability, and pricing signals that drive final selection.
TRUSTED BY LEADING BRANDS
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CONTEXT & RELEVANCE

Why run this survey now

Most defence suppliers don't lose RFP shortlist positions purely on technical capability. They lose them due to procurement office perception gaps, incumbent relationship depth, unclear value differentiation, misaligned compliance positioning, and late-stage brand recognition failures, none of which fully show up in bid tracking systems or contract award databases.

If you are...

  • OEM competing against incumbent primes

  • Tier-2 supplier seeking shortlist entry

  • BD and capture head

  • Portfolio and programme strategy lead

  • Government affairs and policy team

You're likely facing...

  • Shortlist exclusion: brand vs. capability gap

  • RFP entry rate below internal targets

  • Incumbents = trusted/default perception

  • New entrants = capable/unproven perception

  • Evaluation criteria misread at bid stage

This will help answer...

  • Shortlist composition drivers by segment

  • RFP entry barriers by procurement tier

  • Incumbent vs. challenger brand positioning

  • Evaluation weighting: price vs. compliance

  • Switching triggers across renewal cycles

RESEARCH THEMES

What This Survey Investigates

Eight interconnected research themes that map the complete defence supplier journey from vendor registration to contract award.

TENETS 01

Shortlist Formation

  • Shortlist composition by capability tier
  • Vendor registration to shortlist conversion
TENETS 02

RFP Entry Triggers

  • Invitation-to-tender release conditions
  • Capability threshold for RFP eligibility
TENETS 03

Brand Perception

  • OEM reputation signals in procurement committees
  • Brand recall at tender evaluation stage
TENETS 04

Evaluation Criteria

  • Technical versus commercial scoring weights
  • Indigenisation and offset scoring rubrics
TENETS 05

Procurement Friction

  • Approval cycle delays and bottlenecks
  • Inter-agency coordination breakdowns
TENETS 06

Offset & Indigenisation

  • Defence Acquisition Procedure category preferences
  • Make-in-India compliance verification methods
TENETS 07

Competitive Positioning

  • Domestic versus foreign OEM shortlist share
  • Incumbent vendor retention versus new entrant rate
TENETS 08

Post-Award Signals

  • Contract performance benchmarks and review cadence
  • Repeat nomination likelihood after first award
Request a scope validation call

SAMPLING STRATEGY

Tell us about your ideal sample

Help us understand your target respondent profile. Select what applies, we'll design the optimal sample plan based on your inputs.

Sample size
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Target audience
Who should we survey?
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Region
Which regions should we cover?
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Segments
How should we slice the data?
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Discuss sample plan

METHODOLOGY

Survey approach

For the Defence Procurement Brand Shortlist Composition & RFP Entry Rate Survey, we recommend a quant-first design with flexible data-collection modes to balance reach, depth, and verification across procurement hierarchies and vendor segments.

PRIMARY
Online web surveySelf-administered survey shared via email / panels to capture structured responses at scale.
Best for
1
Mapping brand shortlist composition by procurement tier.
2
Ranking RFP entry rates across vendor categories.
3
Benchmarking shortlist inclusion by platform and region.
Deliverables
Shortlist composition matrix
RFP entry rate ranking
Vendor segment benchmarks
OPTIONAL
CATI (phone survey)Interviewer-led telephone interviews to reach owners who are harder to get online.
Best for
1
Senior procurement officers with restricted digital access.
2
Rapid coverage across multiple defence establishment clusters.
Deliverables
Procurement officer coverage
Call-log diagnostics
SELECTIVE
Face-to-faceOn-ground surveys or interviews in key industrial clusters or high-value cohorts.
Best for
1
High-value OEM and Tier-1 vendor shortlisting decisions.
2
Sensitive RFP qualification criteria needing direct verification.
Deliverables
Vendor qualification maps
Procurement cluster insights
OPTIONAL
FGDs
Deliverables
Themes and quotes
Barrier diagnostics
OPTIONAL
Mixed surveysAny 4-mode combo Online + CATI + F2F + FGDs to maximise reach and representation. Mode-specific quotas and weighting for clean comparisons.
Deliverables
Unified dataset
Mode-adjusted analytics
Our Recommendation
Start with: Online web survey as the core quant layer, targeting procurement officers and vendor development leads across defence establishment tiers, supported by CATI for senior decision-makers with restricted digital access.
Consider adding: F2F interviews for high-value OEM shortlisting cohorts and a focused FGD layer to pressure-test RFP entry barriers and committee-level brand exclusion triggers.
Confirm approach
Request timeline

EXECUTION PROCESS

How we execute

A proven 9-step process from scoping to delivery, designed to ensure quality, speed, and actionable insights.

Define the decision frame

Confirm objectives, target cohorts, geographies, and reporting cuts

Step 01

Define the decision frame

Design the instrument

Build workstream modules mapped to outputs (drivers, friction, pricing, retention, trust)

Step 02

Design the instrument

Lock the questionnaire

Review wording, sequencing, LOI, and competitive context; approve final version

Step 03

Lock the questionnaire

Pilot and calibrate

Test comprehension and ease quality; refine quotas and remove friction where needed

Step 04

Pilot and calibrate

Run fieldwork

Execute collection with active quota management and feasibility controls

Step 05

Run fieldwork

Assure quality

Dedupe, attention checks, speed/consistency rules, removals with audit trail

Step 06

Assure quality

Prepare the dataset

Clean data and deliver codebook/variable definitions

Step 07

Prepare the dataset

Analyse and synthesise

Driver ranking, leakage diagnostics, pricing bands, segment insights

Step 08

Analyse and synthesise

Deliver and align

Executive deck (optional dashboard) and leadership readout with recommendations

Step 09

Deliver and align

COMMERCIAL TERMS

Request a Commercial Proposal

Pricing depends on cohort, geography, sample size, approach, LOI, and deliverables. Configure below for an indicative estimate.

Select Sample Size

100

Geography

  • India
  • APAC (Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, NZ, Japan, Thailand)
  • Middle East (UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait)
  • North America (US, Canada)
  • Europe
  • Africa (South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria)
  • LATAM (Brazil, Mexico)

Select Mode of Survey

  • Online
  • CATI
  • Online FGD (5 people per FGD)
  • F2F

Length of the Interview

  • Select
  • 0-15
  • 16-20
  • 21-30
  • 31-45
  • 46-60
  • Custom
Indicative Estimate
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$0.00

+ applicable taxes

Proposal turnaround typically 24–48 hours

Note: Estimate is indicative only. Final pricing is subject to scope finalization after discovery call.

REFERENCE CASELETS

Reference

Real-world examples of survey work in the defence procurement and government contracting space.

CASELET 1

Vendor perception & evaluation criteria mapping in defence supply chains (India)

CASELET 2

RFP messaging & channel preference study for defence MRO entrants (India)

Vendor perception & evaluation criteria mapping in defence supply chains (India)

OBJECTIVE

A mid-size defence systems supplier needed to map how procurement evaluation committees at public sector undertakings and private prime contractors rank vendors on technical compliance, indigenous content, and past performance during pre-RFP shortlisting.

WHAT WE DID

Ran a structured quant survey across 120 procurement and vendor development officers, capturing shortlist criteria weights, disqualification triggers, indigenous content thresholds, and the number of vendors typically evaluated before a preferred supplier list is finalised.

DELIVERED

A criteria weight map by procurement tier, a ranked disqualification trigger list segmented by contract value band, and a vendor positioning corridor identifying the minimum compliance profile required to survive the first shortlist cut.
Talk to Survey Consultant
CASELET 1

Vendor perception & evaluation criteria mapping in defence supply chains (India)

CASELET 2

RFP messaging & channel preference study for defence MRO entrants (India)

Vendor perception & evaluation criteria mapping in defence supply chains (India)

OBJECTIVE

A mid-size defence systems supplier needed to map how procurement evaluation committees at public sector undertakings and private prime contractors rank vendors on technical compliance, indigenous content, and past performance during pre-RFP shortlisting.

WHAT WE DID

Ran a structured quant survey across 120 procurement and vendor development officers, capturing shortlist criteria weights, disqualification triggers, indigenous content thresholds, and the number of vendors typically evaluated before a preferred supplier list is finalised.

DELIVERED

A criteria weight map by procurement tier, a ranked disqualification trigger list segmented by contract value band, and a vendor positioning corridor identifying the minimum compliance profile required to survive the first shortlist cut.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions about this survey mandate.

What decisions will this survey enable?

Who is the buyer vs who are the respondents?

Can we see differences between prime contractors, tier-two integrators and sovereign capability programmes?

How will you measure RFP entry rate beyond simple ratings?

Will the survey map the full defence procurement cycle and drop-offs?

Can this survey inform product and pricing strategy?

How will findings improve our RFP conversion and pipeline win rate?

Still have questions?

Schedule a discovery call to discuss your specific needs and get a custom quote.

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