CCM RFP template: 84 requirement lines you can edit, weight and download

Need to send a CCM RFP and don’t want to start from a blank page? This CCM RFP template gives you 84 ready-made requirement lines in 12 sections, plus a response scale, a pricing schedule and the document structure around them.

It’s vendor-neutral, so it works whether you’re replacing SmartCOMM, Quadient Inspire, OpenText Exstream, Oracle Documaker or an in-house system. Edit it below, then copy the lines or download a CSV. When the answers come back, score them with the CCM vendor scorecard.

How to use the template

Every line has a stable ID, like AU-03, so everyone can point to it in responses, demos and scoring. Before you send it, decide three things per line: keep or drop, Mandatory or Desirable, and how much its section weighs.

Ask vendors to answer each line with one code and a short explanation:

Code	Meaning	Ask them to show
Y	Works today in the proposed edition, no custom code	A document reference, screenshot or demo slot
P	Partly there, or needs configuration or services	What’s missing and who builds it
R	On the roadmap	Target release, and whether it’s committed
N	Not available	Nothing

Treat a Y on a Mandatory line as unproven until you see it. An N or R on a Mandatory line knocks the vendor out before scoring starts.

Build your requirement list

All 84 lines are here, with suggested priorities and weights for a regulated enterprise sending both print and digital. Untick what doesn’t apply, adjust priorities and weights, then copy or download. The CSV comes with columns for each vendor’s response and evidence, so it’s ready to send.

84 requirements across 12 sections. Suggested section weights total 100%.

AU · Template design and authoring Section weight %

1. AU-01 Business users can edit approved content without developer involvement. Mandatory Desirable
2. AU-02 Administrators can lock regulated text, logos and disclosures so only authorized roles can change them. Mandatory Desirable
3. AU-03 Shared components such as clauses, address blocks and footers update every template that uses them. Mandatory Desirable
4. AU-04 One master template can serve variants by state, product or brand. Mandatory Desirable
5. AU-05 Approval workflows with role-based review before publishing. Mandatory Desirable
6. AU-06 Full version history, comparison and rollback for templates and components. Mandatory Desirable
7. AU-07 Audit trail showing who changed which content and when. Mandatory Desirable
8. AU-08 Preview with real test data before publishing. Mandatory Desirable
9. AU-09 Promotion of assets across development, test and production environments. Mandatory Desirable
10. AU-10 Multilingual content management, including right-to-left languages where needed. Mandatory Desirable

CO · Composition and batch production Section weight %

1. CO-01 Batch generation at our stated peak volume within our processing window, with the configuration used to measure it. Mandatory Desirable
2. CO-02 On-demand single-document generation through an API, with stated response times. Mandatory Desirable
3. CO-03 Print output in AFP and PostScript, plus PDF. Mandatory Desirable
4. CO-04 Print stream post-processing: sorting, splitting, merging and inserter barcodes. Mandatory Desirable
5. CO-05 Input in XML, JSON, delimited and fixed-length formats. Mandatory Desirable
6. CO-06 Scaling of production engines in the proposed deployment, with the limits stated. Mandatory Desirable
7. CO-07 Job monitoring, reprint and restart from the point of failure. Mandatory Desirable
8. CO-08 Householding and grouping of documents for one recipient. Mandatory Desirable
9. CO-09 Font, image and resource management across print and digital outputs. Mandatory Desirable

DE · Omnichannel delivery Section weight %

1. DE-01 Email output from the same template as print. Mandatory Desirable
2. DE-02 SMS output, including two-way SMS where needed. Mandatory Desirable
3. DE-03 Responsive HTML for web portals and mobile apps. Mandatory Desirable
4. DE-04 Channel selection based on stored customer preference. Mandatory Desirable
5. DE-05 Fallback to another channel when delivery fails. Mandatory Desirable
6. DE-06 Delivery tracking and status reporting by document and channel. Mandatory Desirable
7. DE-07 Connectors to our named email, SMS and print providers. Mandatory Desirable

IN · Interactive and agent-assisted documents Section weight %

1. IN-01 Browser-based editor for front-office staff, with no desktop install. Mandatory Desirable
2. IN-02 Staff can edit only the sections their role allows. Mandatory Desirable
3. IN-03 Guided, interview-style document completion. Mandatory Desirable
4. IN-04 Launch from our CRM or policy system with data pre-filled. Mandatory Desirable
5. IN-05 Save, resume and route drafts for approval. Mandatory Desirable

FO · Forms and data capture Section weight %

1. FO-01 Responsive digital forms with pre-fill from back-end systems. Mandatory Desirable
2. FO-02 Field validation and conditional logic. Mandatory Desirable
3. FO-03 Save and resume across devices. Mandatory Desirable
4. FO-04 Conversion of existing PDF forms into digital forms. Mandatory Desirable
5. FO-05 E-signature integration with our named provider. Mandatory Desirable

OR · Journey orchestration Section weight %

1. OR-01 Visual design of multi-step journeys such as reminders, follow-ups and escalations. Mandatory Desirable
2. OR-02 Next steps triggered by customer responses or inaction. Mandatory Desirable
3. OR-03 Journey analytics showing completion and drop-off by step. Mandatory Desirable
4. OR-04 State whether orchestration is included in the proposed edition or licensed separately. Mandatory Desirable

AR · Archive and retrieval Section weight %

1. AR-01 Archive of every sent communication in its original form. Mandatory Desirable
2. AR-02 Retention rules by document type and jurisdiction. Mandatory Desirable
3. AR-03 Search and retrieval by customer, date, channel and document type. Mandatory Desirable
4. AR-04 Customer self-service access to archived documents. Mandatory Desirable
5. AR-05 Bulk export of archived documents and metadata at contract end. Mandatory Desirable

IT · Integration and architecture Section weight %

1. IT-01 Documented connectors or APIs for our named policy administration, billing and CRM systems. Mandatory Desirable
2. IT-02 REST APIs for template management, generation and status, with published documentation. Mandatory Desirable
3. IT-03 Tools to map our data structures to template fields. Mandatory Desirable
4. IT-04 Event triggers from our core systems in real time. Mandatory Desirable
5. IT-05 Hosting models available: vendor-hosted SaaS, private cloud, our cloud account, on-premises. Mandatory Desirable
6. IT-06 Data residency in our required regions for production data and archives. Mandatory Desirable
7. IT-07 Release cadence, and the ability to defer upgrades during our critical periods. Mandatory Desirable

SC · Security, compliance and accessibility Section weight %

1. SC-01 Current SOC 2 Type II report and ISO/IEC 27001 certificate. Mandatory Desirable
2. SC-02 Single sign-on through SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect, and role-based access control. Mandatory Desirable
3. SC-03 Encryption in transit and at rest, with customer-managed keys as an option. Mandatory Desirable
4. SC-04 HIPAA support with a signed business associate agreement, if applicable. Mandatory Desirable
5. SC-05 Tagged PDF output conforming to PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289-1), with a roadmap for PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2). Mandatory Desirable
6. SC-06 Electronic documents meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Mandatory Desirable
7. SC-07 Typography rules such as 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent for Medicare Advantage materials (42 CFR 422.2267). Mandatory Desirable
8. SC-08 Taglines in at least the 15 languages required under 45 CFR 92.11, where applicable. Mandatory Desirable
9. SC-09 Fixed placement and bold formatting such as the Regulation Z Minimum Payment Warning (12 CFR 1026.7), where applicable. Mandatory Desirable
10. SC-10 Adverse action notice content that meets Regulation B (12 CFR 1002.9), where applicable. Mandatory Desirable

AI · AI features and governance Section weight %

1. AI-01 For each AI feature, state whether it is generally available, early access or roadmap. Mandatory Desirable
2. AI-02 AI-assisted authoring with human approval before anything is published. Mandatory Desirable
3. AI-03 Audit trail and rollback for every AI-assisted change. Mandatory Desirable
4. AI-04 Readability and plain-language scoring with suggested rewrites. Mandatory Desirable
5. AI-05 AI translation with a review step. Mandatory Desirable
6. AI-06 Detection of personal data in content. Mandatory Desirable
7. AI-07 Which AI models are used, where they run, and whether our data trains them. Mandatory Desirable
8. AI-08 Ability to switch AI features off by role or environment. Mandatory Desirable

MI · Migration and implementation Section weight %

1. MI-01 Tooling that reads our current platform's templates natively, not only PDF or Word output. Name the supported source platforms. Mandatory Desirable
2. MI-02 Analysis of duplicate and near-duplicate templates before conversion. Mandatory Desirable
3. MI-03 Conversion of business rules, with a stated approach for rules the tool cannot convert. Mandatory Desirable
4. MI-04 Output comparison tooling for parallel testing old against new. Mandatory Desirable
5. MI-05 Whether migration tooling is licensed to us, run as a service, or both. Mandatory Desirable
6. MI-06 A named implementation plan with roles, phases, gates and our responsibilities. Mandatory Desirable
7. MI-07 References from at least two customers who migrated from our current platform. Mandatory Desirable

CM · Commercial and contract terms Section weight %

1. CM-01 Licensing metric stated: environments, author seats, page or document volume, connectors, or a combination. Mandatory Desirable
2. CM-02 Overage rates and how volume tiers are measured. Mandatory Desirable
3. CM-03 Cap on renewal price increases for the contract term. Mandatory Desirable
4. CM-04 Exit terms: export of templates, content and archive in open formats at no extra charge. Mandatory Desirable
5. CM-05 Service levels for uptime and support response, with credits. Mandatory Desirable
6. CM-06 Transition pricing for any overlap period with our current platform. Mandatory Desirable
7. CM-07 Named support model and customer success resources. Mandatory Desirable

Free to reuse. Regulatory lines use US rules as examples, so swap in the rules that apply to you.

Wrap it in a standard RFP

Vendors answer faster and more consistently when every section below is in the document.

1. Introduction: who you are and why you’re running the project.
2. Current state: platforms, template count, annual volumes by channel and key integrations.
3. Scope: document types, channels, regions and languages.
4. Instructions: format, deadlines, contacts and the Y, P, R, N scale.
5. Requirements: the lines you built above.
6. Proof of concept: the templates and test data you’ll provide, and how you’ll score the result.
7. Pricing schedule: your own unit table (below).
8. References: at least two customers of similar size, ideally one that moved off your current platform.

Make every vendor price the same units

CCM vendors price in different ways. G2 says Quadient prices mainly on volume and users, TrustRadius reviewers mention pay-per-page, and Oracle lists per-document or per-processor options on Celent. Your own schedule makes the quotes comparable.

Unit	What to ask for
Environments	Price for each: development, test, staging, production, disaster recovery
Author seats	Price per designer, business author and front-office user
Volume	Price per page, document or transaction, with tier limits and overage rates
Connectors	Price per packaged integration and per API call tier
Services	Implementation, migration and training, with day rates
Term	Price for each year, plus the renewal cap

Our CCM software pricing guide explains what drives each unit.

Ask about AI controls, not just AI features

AI moves fast, so the template makes vendors label every AI feature as generally available, early access or roadmap. IDC’s Amy Machado said in September 2026 that buyers should also weigh how AI “capabilities address governance, authorization, auditability, and data protection.” That’s why audit trail, rollback and model disclosure are Mandatory.

After the RFP: knock out, score, then test

Agree your weights before the RFP goes out. Drop anyone who fails a Mandatory line, score the rest with the CCM vendor scorecard, and only then open the pricing.

Take your top two or three to a proof of concept. Give each the same three hard templates and test data, and score the output, not the slides. If you outsource print and mail, visit the sites too: Kemal Carr of Madison Advisors says the sponsor, sourcing manager and a print and mail expert should all attend.

Migrating as part of the project? Read the CCM migration guide so your migration lines match your plan. Still building a shortlist? Start with the customer communications management software guide, the CCM benchmark, SmartCOMM alternatives and the cloud CCM options. For the accessibility lines, see accessible customer communications.