How to build a high-value localization RFP: A guide for procurement professionals

Stop us if this sounds familiar: your organization is pushing into new markets and your localization needs are growing. It’s your job to find the right partner to meet those needs, ASAP.

Maybe you go with a vendor your team’s used before. Maybe you pick the one who replies first or quotes the lowest rate. On paper, it seems fine.

But then the project gets more complex. The vendor can’t scale like you need them to. Internal teams start to flag quality issues, and the cost of fixing them creeps higher.

If this keeps happening, the issue might not be your team…or even the vendors. It might be your RFP process.

This guide shows you how to run a localization RFP that helps you define exactly what you need so you can find an LSP that’s the perfect fit for your business.

Step 1: Align internally around what you’re solving for

If you skip this step, someone on your team will end up frustrated with the vendor—guaranteed.

Localization touches too many functions to treat as a siloed purchase. Marketing might want culturally adapted brand content. Product might care more about fast turnaround for UI updates. Customer service might need on-demand translations for urgent problems. All are valid, but if you only include one set of needs, the vendor’s response won’t reflect the full picture.

Before you send anything out, meet with the teams who create, manage, or review global content.

Here’s what you need to gather from each group:

Content owners: What types of content need to be localized, such as web, UI, manuals/instructions, multimedia, or legal? Which languages are in scope now, and which are planned? Is this a one-time push or a recurring need?
Marketing and brand teams: What level of adaptation do they need? Do they expect services like transcreation, MT post-editing, subtitling, or cultural consulting?
Engineering and product leads: What tools are in place—CMS, TMS, CAT tools, APIs? Are there integration points or manual pain points the vendor should know about?
Finance or budget owners: What pricing models will be considered, such as per word or retainer? Are there any fixed constraints or deal-breakers?

Strong alignment now sets the foundation for a smoother selection process later.

Step 2: Write your RFP document

Once your team is aligned, it’s time to create a document that gives vendors what they need to respond thoughtfully and gives you what you need to compare them fairly.

Start by providing full context in the scope section of the RFP document. Explain your company’s background, your global goals and what prompted the RFP. That alone will help vendors decide if they’re a fit.

Then get into the details. The information you give in your RFP should cover:

Project scope: Content types, languages, formats, volumes, and frequency
Services required: Translation, MT post-editing, transcreation, subtitling, DTP, consulting or a mix of the above?
Technology stack: Tools in use and integration requirements. If you need recommendations, include that as well.
Timeline: Key dates for procurement milestones like vendor selection and onboarding
Budget model: Even if you’re not ready to share numbers, include your desired pricing approach.
Evaluation criteria: What you’ll weigh most heavily in your decision
Submission instructions: Let vendors know what they should submit, and where and how to submit it.

Remember, the more relevant context you provide, the more useful the responses will be.

Pro tip: Don’t send out something generic and hope for the best

A generic or recycled RFP makes it harder to spot the right fit. If you want useful answers, give vendors something specific to work with.

Step 3: Ask the right questions

The quality of your RFP responses depends on the quality of the questions you ask in the questions section of your RFP document. If your questions are too broad or generic, you won’t learn much about how a vendor actually works.

Focus your questions on how they would support your business. Ask how they’ve handled similar content types, how they measure quality, and what they do when something goes wrong. Push for details. A good partner won’t mind explaining how they operate.

Here are key areas to explore:

Experience and client fit: Ask for examples that match your industry, languages, and content volume
Quality management: Understand how they choose linguists, review translations, apply feedback, and maintain consistency
Workflow and visibility: Learn how they handle updates, version control, and cross-team communication
Tech capabilities: Check whether they support your file types and can integrate with your systems, and ask how they are implementing AI
Security and compliance: Especially important if you work in regulated industries

Pro tip: If you can find the answer on their website, don’t ask

Instead, use your RFP to uncover how a vendor operates in real-world scenarios. For example, ask about how they adapt to shifting priorities, respond to feedback, and deal with deadlines under pressure. That tells you far more than a list of services (which you can get from even the most basic website) ever will.

Also, you don’t have to start from scratch. Our free localization RFP template gives you the structure, questions, and criteria to get started.

Download it here.

Step 4: Answer vendor questions

Let the RFP respondents ask questions and be detailed in your responses. Share those responses with all your vendors so the field can remain equal. Sometimes buyers keep their responses vague because they don’t have full answers yet or don’t want to share too much, but that can actually hurt the buying process and cause execution surprises down the line.

Step 5: Choosing your winner

Evaluating RFP responses sounds straightforward. But without a clear comparison structure, strong proposals can get overlooked while flashy presentations or low bids take the lead for the wrong reasons.

Start by reviewing each proposal individually before bringing your review team together. A structured scorecard is essential. It should reflect the priorities your team aligned on earlier.

For some organizations, pricing models and discounts carry more weight.
For others, the ability to handle high volumes and automate workflows is the deciding factor.
Some businesses may care most about how a vendor will maintain brand voice across languages.

Assign weight accordingly and apply it consistently.

Look closely at how each vendor responds. Is it thoughtful, well-written, and organized? Did they show they understood your business, goals, and content types? A great proposal will go beyond describing services and speak to how they’ll work with your internal teams. Vague or boilerplate answers, recycled copy, or overused buzzwords are a red flag.

Look closely for pricing clarity. Are all costs spelled out? Do they differentiate between base services and add-ons? Lack of transparency here tends to show up later in rushed jobs, change orders, or unplanned fees.

If you’re down to a few strong contenders, consider running a small, paid test translation project so you can see first-hand how they operate. This helps you evaluate communication, quality, turnaround time, and how well they follow instructions.

You should also check references, particularly from similar industries or teams with similar goals. Ask how responsive the vendor has been, how problems were handled, and what the working relationship is like over time—not just in the first month.

Pro tip: Don’t equate capability with confidence and polish

A slick proposal might catch your eye. But what you really need is a partner who can keep pace with your team, handle shifting priorities, and support your goals without creating new problems. Look for that; everything else is just window dressing.

A better RFP leads to a stronger vendor relationship

A well-constructed RFP doesn’t just collect information. It sets expectations, reveals meaningful differences between vendors, and makes your final decision easier to defend. A good RFP can even eliminate vendors who are not a good fit for you before you get a response.

If you want to dig into each step in more detail, our free ebook walks you through the full process. It’s designed to help you create an RFP that’s practical, repeatable, and built for long-term success.

Download the ebook here and take the stress out of vendor selection.