Longlist and Shortlist

In brief: Longlists and shortlists are stages in system selection. The longlist includes all broadly suitable vendors, while the shortlist contains the three to six leading candidates invited to give presentations and undergo more detailed evaluation.

How to build a longlist and shortlist

• Longlist: Review the market using screening criteria such as industry, company size, deployment model and budget.
• Shortlist: Evaluate the longlisted vendors against weighted requirements, for example using a vendor questionnaire.
• Final stage: Presentations using your own use cases, reference calls and, where appropriate, a Proof of Concept.

Tip

Overly long shortlists take up time and dilute the comparison. Three to five vendors are usually enough to make an informed decision.

See also

• PIM selection
• Requirements specification / Requirements catalogue
• Proof of Concept (PoC)
• PIM vendors