A supplier shortlist is a document, not a list of names. This page describes its parts and the question each part answers, so that you know before commissioning what you can do with it. It shows structure only: no company, number or finding on it is real, and the headings below are field names.
A shortlist turns a brief into candidates tested against the criteria you agreed, on the same terms for each. It is organised so that you can compare candidates side by side and see where a statement stops being a fact and becomes a reading. It lists candidates matching criteria in the reviewed sources and makes no claim to cover a whole market.
It is built to be handed to a colleague who was not in the briefing and still be understood.
The product or specification as understood, the must-haves, the exclusions and the markets covered. This page is the yardstick for everything after it.
One profile per candidate, in the same field order, so differences are visible without reading closely.
Candidates against criteria, each cell labelled with its evidence class.
A list of the points the sources did not settle, so a gap is not mistaken for a pass.
Where each statement came from, and what the sources cannot show.
The same fields for every candidate keeps the comparison honest.
Name as stated and as recorded, entity type and website, with a note if the two differ.
What the candidate says it makes or sells, and what the records show as its declared activity.
One line per must-have criterion, each marked verified fact, inference, unavailable or client-provided.
Certificates and standards the candidate states, marked as claims to be evidenced with the issuer.
What the sources did not establish about this candidate.
Check it still describes what you need. If not, say so before using the rest.
They show where a candidate cannot yet be compared, not where it fails.
They become the first message you write to each candidate you take forward.
Research reports what can be established from public and provided sources. It is not a guarantee about a counterparty's future conduct and not legal advice.
No. It sets them against the criteria you agreed. Weighting and a preferred option belong to a comparison or recommendation, which is a separate deliverable.
No. The number follows from the criteria and the sources reviewed, and no number is promised.
No. Published prices are a separate Pricing Research product.
No. It means the candidate matched the criteria in the sources reviewed.
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Tell us what you need to find out and by when. We confirm scope before any work starts.
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