# How to find a supplier with experience that actually fits

A polished portfolio is a starting point. Learn how to find relevant suppliers through past projects and check what they actually delivered.

Search for a software company or digital agency and the results quickly start to sound alike. Everyone designs, builds and cares about quality. How do you find a few suppliers worth speaking to?

Start with the problem they need to solve. A website shared by several branches calls for experience with editorial workflows. A booking system needs someone who understands availability and what happens when several people try to reserve the same slot.

## Search by work delivered

The [supplier directory](/en/app/#/directory) is a starting point for finding companies named in similar Polish public contracts. Look at the buyer, the contract scope and when the agreement was signed.

An award record is a lead to investigate. It does not establish that delivery went well or tell you which members of today's team worked on it.

## Make a short profile for each candidate

Record four things: a relevant project, the supplier's role, available evidence and an unanswered question. This gives you something more useful to compare than the appearance of company websites.

Three questions make a good opening conversation:

- Which project is closest to ours, and why?
- What did you deliver, and what came from the client or another partner?
- Who from the proposed team worked on it?

Ask to see part of the delivery process: a testing approach, a piece of documentation or a handover example. Anonymised material can be enough. You are trying to understand how the company works, not gain access to another client's confidential information.

## Check whether the timing works

Ask about team availability, the earliest realistic start and day-to-day communication. Relevant experience is useful only if the supplier can put the right people on your project.

Finish with a shortlist supported by reasons, rather than a ranking of “best agencies”. For a public tender, this is market research; participation and selection follow the rules of the particular procurement process.

Źródło: https://tender.rtfct.com/en/blog/how-to-find-a-digital-project-supplier/