Webster University

Industry: Higher Education

Service: RFP

JGL was retained by Webster University to relaunch an RFP process for student dining. The University had launched its own internally-led RFP process after its previous Operator decided to terminate its contract. Unfortunately, no proposals were received and Webster believed they were out of options. The University reached out to JGL to share what had happened and to determine whether we could come up with a new solution.

JGL identified multiple factors that detracted from the previous RFP’s success; a lack of financial information, a mandate that a P&L agreement be maintained, and a condensed proposal development timeframe. We also learned that companies who were invited to the previous process were averse to working within a union environment.

After identifying these issues, JGL spoke with several operators to learn more about their appetite for this particular operation. With these lessons in mind, we re-launched the RFP and invited severl previous, as well as new, bidders. Webster was thrilled to receive four proposals which offered a great variety between smaller regional and large national providers. Webster ultimately transitioned to their new partner who has proven extremely adept at meeting the needs of Webster’s diverse student population and managing the budget.