The 4 Best Practices For Creating Effective EV Charging Software RFPs 

When selecting EV charging management software (CPMS), a well-structured Request for Proposal (RFP) process is essential for making an informed decision that will impact your operations for years to come. While our article “The Essential Components of a Successful EV Charging Software RFP” covers what to include in your RFP document, this blog post focuses on how to optimize your overall approach to the RFP process. 

With our experience navigating over 400 CPMS procurement processes across 65+ markets worldwide, we’ve observed a critical insight: the approach you take to vendor selection is just as important as the specific requirements you list in your RFP document.

This is especially true in the rapidly evolving EV charging sector. As Todor Stratiev, Head of Solution Consulting at AMPECO, explains: “Your CPMS selection isn’t a simple commodity purchase. You’re selecting a strategic platform that will grow with your business and adapt to the evolving EV charging market. This requires communicating business outcomes rather than just technical requirements and being open to learning about capabilities you hadn’t considered.”

One of the most important principles to understand is the balance between structure and flexibility in your procurement process. “There’s a scale of how flexible you can be with your purchasing process,” Stratiev notes. “On one side is buying commodity products with fixed requirements, where price drives everything. At the other end is purchasing innovative solutions, where you need to explain what you’re trying to achieve. Choosing a CPMS is much closer to the innovative end of that scale.”

This perspective fundamentally changes how you should approach your RFP process by focusing more on business outcomes and strategic fit rather than just ticking feature boxes. The following best practices will help you design an effective selection process that leads to finding the right long-term partner for your EV charging operations.

4 ways to optimize your CPMS vendor selection process

Based on our extensive experience with charge point operators worldwide, we’ve identified four key best practices that lead to successful CPMS partnerships. These strategies will help you move beyond a traditional checklist approach to find a vendor who truly understands your business needs and can support your long-term growth in the EV charging market.

Share detailed business context with potential vendors. Beyond just technical specifications, explain your current situation, pain points, and strategic direction. This contextual information helps vendors understand not just what you need but why you need it, enabling more tailored responses that address your underlying business challenges.

Structure your requirements in business-oriented formats that clarify the value behind each request. A particularly effective approach is using the format “As a [role], I need [capability] so that [business outcome].” For example: “As a charge point operator, I need granular visibility over my OCPP logs so that I can troubleshoot network issues independently at any time.” This format helps vendors understand your true needs rather than just checking feature boxes.

Create a balance between measurable questions for objective comparison and open-ended questions that reveal vendor thinking. While yes/no questions are easier to score, they limit vendors’ ability to demonstrate alternative approaches that might better serve your needs.

Implement a multi-stage evaluation funnel to efficiently narrow your options from an initial review of 10-12 vendors to a shortlist of 4-5 for in-depth evaluation, and finally to 1-2 vendors for detailed negotiations.

Establish a clear scoring methodology using a consistent scale (such as 1-5) with documented reasoning behind each score. Weight different criteria based on your business priorities, and ensure evaluators capture the rationale behind their assessments. This documentation proves invaluable when justifying your final decision to stakeholders.

Remember that you’re selecting a partner, not just a product. Request testing access to platforms to validate your use cases, submit test support requests to evaluate service quality, and assess communication style and responsiveness. The quality of these interactions often predicts what your ongoing relationship will be like.

Communicate your critical requirements upfront to save time for both you and your potential CPMS vendors. Common CPMS deal-breakers include:

• Inability to support required charging hardware or protocols
• Lack of essential integration capabilities
• Pricing structures incompatible with your business model
• Inability to operate in your target markets
• Unsatisfactory support options
• Lack of client references

For businesses planning to scale, conduct technical due diligence by having experts evaluate the platform architecture. Today’s small network could be tomorrow’s enterprise deployment, so ensure your selected platform can grow with you.

Evaluate the strategic alignment between your business direction and the vendor’s roadmap. The seemingly perfect solution for today might limit your growth if the vendor’s development priorities diverge from your future needs.

Share your complete RFP timeline and evaluation process upfront. Clear expectations eliminate confusion and allow vendors to prepare appropriately. Let vendors know whether they’ll face a second round of detailed questions, need to complete security questionnaires, or participate in technical evaluations. If shortlisted vendors will be invited to deliver presentations or demonstrations, provide specific guidelines about format, duration, and the key scenarios you want addressed.

Vendors who understand exactly how they’ll be evaluated can tailor their proposals accordingly, giving you more relevant information for your decision-making.

External expertise can make all the difference when navigating complex CPMS selection processes. Expert consultants can provide invaluable perspectives for organizations embarking on CPMS selection. These specialists have observed numerous selection processes and know the common pitfalls to avoid. Many have even built CPMS platforms themselves, giving them insider knowledge of what matters most. 

Selecting the right CPMS is a critical decision that will influence your charging network’s success for years to come. By implementing these best practices, you can significantly improve your chances of finding the perfect partner. “Remember that this is a very new sector and solutions are quickly developing,” Stratiev emphasizes. “First, think about your strategy, then consider who is best positioned to help you succeed.”

How AMPECO can support you in your EV charging software procurement

Deep CPMS market experience
AMPECO brings extensive experience to CPMS selection, having guided charge point operators across 65+ markets worldwide. Our Solution Consulting team has participated in over 400 CPMS procurement processes, giving us unique insight into what makes for successful vendor evaluation and platform selection.

Industry-focused platform development
Our platform development is informed by real-world operational requirements: hardware compatibility across diverse charging ecosystems, integration capabilities with existing business systems, scalability architectures that grow with your business, and support models designed for 24/7 charging operations.

Transparent procurement approach
We’ve established a reputation for comprehensive responses to complex RFP requirements and transparent communication throughout vendor selection processes. Our approach focuses on helping you understand exactly how our platform addresses your specific operational needs and business objectives.

Consultation during your selection process
For organizations evaluating CPMS options, AMPECO offers hands-on consultation to help you understand how our platform aligns with your technical requirements, operational goals, and long-term business model. Beyond simply responding to your RFP, we invest the required resources to support your procurement process end-to-end, including deep-dive discussions, collaborative workshops, and even parallel testing or sandbox validation where appropriate.

We also recognize that part of the value in a well-run selection process lies in building internal knowledge. That’s why our team is committed to helping you make informed decisions, offering insights on industry standards, deployment models, regulatory considerations, and best practices across different markets and business types. Whether you’re early in your evaluation or further along, we work to ensure you’re not only choosing the right solution, but doing so with clarity and confidence.