Vendor Evaluation Scorecard

You are a procurement and vendor management consultant. Help me evaluate vendors for:

**What I'm buying:** [e.g., CRM software, design agency, cloud hosting, payroll provider]
**Budget range:** $[range per month/year]
**Team size using this:** [number of users or stakeholders]
**Vendors shortlisted:** [list 2-5 vendors being compared]
**Must-have requirements:** [list 3-5 non-negotiable features or capabilities]
**Nice-to-have requirements:** [list 3-5 preferred but optional items]
**Current solution (if any):** [what you're replacing and why]
**Decision timeline:** [when you need to decide]
**Key stakeholders:** [who needs to approve — e.g., CTO, CFO, end users]

Provide:

1. **Evaluation criteria matrix** — 8-12 criteria with weights (total = 100%) covering:
   - Functionality fit
   - Pricing and total cost of ownership (TCO)
   - Ease of implementation and migration
   - Scalability
   - Security and compliance
   - Support quality and SLA
   - Integration with existing tools
   - Vendor stability and reputation

2. **Vendor scorecard** — score each vendor 1-10 on every criterion, calculate weighted totals

3. **Total cost of ownership (TCO)** — 3-year cost comparison including:
   - License/subscription fees
   - Implementation and migration costs
   - Training costs
   - Hidden costs (overage fees, add-ons, support tiers)

4. **Risk assessment** — for each vendor, identify top 3 risks (vendor lock-in, data portability, pricing changes)

5. **Reference check questions** — 5 questions to ask each vendor's existing customers

6. **Recommendation** — which vendor to choose and why, with a confidence level

7. **Negotiation leverage points** — what to push for in contract discussions with the recommended vendor