Event supplier scoring matrix
Three proposals are on the table and the committee is leaning towards the one that presented best, not the one that scored best.
…
The short answer
The matrix turns your weights and scores into a normalised percentage for each supplier, so criteria can carry different importance without anyone doing the arithmetic by hand. Mandatory criteria are checked separately, and a supplier that fails one is listed but not ranked.
A missing score counts as no credit and is flagged, never treated as a perfect mark. If the weights add up to zero, or a weight is left blank, no ranking is shown at all.
What to enter
- The highest possible score, for example 5 on a scale of 0 to 5. Every score is out of that number.
- The suppliers being scored, and the criteria with a weight for each. Weights can add up to any total because the result is normalised.
- For a mandatory criterion, tick Mandatory and give the lowest score that counts as meeting it.
- One score per supplier and criterion, with a note of the evidence: a page of the proposal, a reference call, a document sighted.
How the percentage is worked out
Each score is multiplied by its criterion weight and the results are added. That total is divided by the best possible total (all weights multiplied by the highest score) and shown as a percentage.
Because a blank score cannot be assumed, the tool shows two figures: one where missing scores count as no credit, which is used for ranking, and a best case where every missing score would have been perfect. The gap between them shows how much a missing score could change the result.
Reading the result
- Rank 1 is only provisional while any score is missing, and the status column says so.
- A mandatory criterion that is not yet scored is shown as unconfirmed, not as met.
- A score with no evidence note is flagged as unsupported, so the committee can see which judgements rest on nothing written down.
- Equal percentages share a rank. The tool does not break ties or recommend a winner.
Settle before scoring
- Agree criteria and weights before proposals are opened, so the weights are not adjusted to favour a result.
- Decide who scores, whether they score separately first, and how a conflict of interest is declared.
- Decide whether price is a criterion here or compared separately, and say so to suppliers in the request for proposals.
Limits
The weights and scores are judgements, and the tool cannot tell whether they are fair or well evidenced. It does not choose a supplier. Put quotations on a like-for-like basis first with the supplier quote normaliser, and record the choice and reasons in the decision log.
Worked example · Fictional example
Three fictional AV suppliers
Fictional suppliers and scores, to show the calculation.
A fictional committee scores on a scale of 5 with four criteria: technical fit (weight 40), price (30), insurance cover (10, mandatory, pass mark 3) and similar events delivered (20).
Supplier One scores 4, 3, 4 and 5 and reaches 78.0%. Supplier Two has the best technical score but scores 2 on insurance, so it fails the mandatory criterion and is listed but not ranked. Supplier Three has only two scores: 54.0% as it stands and 84.0% at best, with the mandatory insurance criterion unconfirmed, so its rank is provisional.
| Supplier | Score (missing = no credit) | Best case | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier One | 78.0% | 78.0% | Rank 1, all scored |
| Supplier Two | Not ranked | Not ranked | Fails mandatory: insurance cover |
| Supplier Three | 54.0% | 84.0% | Rank 2, provisional: 2 scores missing, insurance unconfirmed |
Use this yourself
Supplier scoring sheet
List criteria and weights down the side and suppliers across the top. Write a score and a one-line evidence note in every cell, and leave a cell empty only if you have not scored it.
| Criterion | Weight | Mandatory? Pass mark | Supplier 1: score and evidence | Supplier 2: score and evidence | Supplier 3: score and evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted total as a percentage of the best possible | |||||
| Mandatory criteria met? (yes, no, not yet scored) |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- The criteria and weights are agreed, two or three people are scoring, and the committee is comfortable recording evidence for each score.
- The decision is routine and the main task is to make the reasoning visible.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Suppliers answered different specifications, so scores cannot yet be compared fairly.
- The decision will be questioned by a board, a funder or a losing supplier, and the evaluation needs a clean record.
- Several workstreams are being evaluated at once and someone must keep one method across them.
Need the evaluation run to one method?
A project lead can agree the criteria and weights with your committee before proposals arrive, collect the evidence against each criterion and prepare the scored comparison. The scoring judgements and the supplier decision stay with your committee.
Questions organisers ask
Why does a missing score not count as a middle mark?
Any value would be a guess. A missing score counts as no credit and is flagged, and the best case beside it shows how much the gap could matter.
What if my weights add up to zero?
No ranking is shown, because there is nothing to normalise. Give at least one criterion a weight above zero.
Can a supplier that fails a mandatory criterion still win?
The tool lists it but does not rank it. Whether to accept it anyway is your committee's decision, ideally recorded with the reason.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.