Winning by the margins

Request For Proposals (RFPs) are won in the trenches of fine print. That is to say that strategy alone doesn’t win anymore; data does. 

Whether advising a transportation agency, a local government, or a multinational brand, consulting firms are expected to go beyond frameworks and deliver pre-validated insights, modeled scenarios, and actionable intelligence. The homework has to be done before you get into the meeting room, and when the client brief spans multiple regions with varying data quality, the challenge compounds.

That’s exactly what one global consulting firm faced when pursuing a high-stakes transport and retail optimization project. The decision to include location intelligence in their proposal helped secure a multi-year engagement. Let’s explore how.

Regional optimization at scale

The client was a public-private partnership focused on sustainable infrastructure, looking to focus on a few areas:

• Rationalize public transport and retail planning across two countries
  
  
• Integrate real-world behavioral data into decision-making
  
  
• Promote equitable access and mobility across urban and rural regions
  
  

The RFP required bidders to demonstrate a strong data foundation, scenario modeling capabilities, and a plan for aligning commercial and public objectives. The firm saw an opportunity, but also a risk. If they didn’t have the right data inputs, their models would be generic at best.

Uneven data, tight timelines

Despite having deep expertise in infrastructure planning, the firm hit several roadblocks when it came to location intelligence. This included inconsistencies in POI data, which made it difficult to model retail proximity or service density. Limitations in mobility data, which meant they couldn’t predict commuter flows or foot traffic accurately. Lastly, manual data sourcing and validation, which put pressure on their team to meet tight deadlines.

In short, to be credible and competitive, they needed a way to bring fast, consistent, and granular insights into their proposal.

Partnering for data intelligence

With Echo, the consulting team gained access to:

• Validated POI datasets across Germany and Austria, standardized and categorized
  
  
• Behavioral mobility data, showing how people move through cities and regions
  
  
• Location-specific indicators like footfall, dwell time, and catchment area reach

We also helped map competitor infrastructure and retail clusters, enabling the consultants to simulate scenarios like:

• “What happens if a new transit hub opens near a low-footfall retail center?”
  
  
• “How would adjusted zoning impact accessibility for underserved districts?”
  
  

RFP won, project secured

With Echo’s data layered into their proposal, the consulting firm stood out in three key areas:

1. Credibility: Real-world data demonstrated feasibility and localized insight
   
   
2. Speed: Echo’s plug-and-play datasets saved weeks of prep time
   
   
3. Strategic Value:  Models could project impact across regions with actionable precision
   
   

The result? They won the bid.

More than that, they entered a multi-year engagement to guide retail + transport planning. And after this successful win, they gained a repeatable blueprint for scaling similar proposals in other markets.

Why this matters for consulting firms

Location intelligence is a strategic edge in high-value proposals.

Here’s a breakdown of Echo’s location offerings and what benefits they bring

• Clean POI + footfall data → Deliver faster, more localized proposals
• Multi-country datasets → Serve global clients without fragmented sourcing 
• Custom filtering and segmentation → Align insights with client KPIs
• Scenario-ready behavioral metrics → Move from static maps to dynamic modeling

Whether you’re pursuing a smart city brief, a commercial network study, or a sustainability transformation project, your recommendation is only as strong as your inputs.

Want to win more RFPs with less manual work?

Echo Analytics partners with leading consultancies to provide plug-and-play datasets that elevate your proposals and help you secure long-term engagements. Talk to our to our team to learn more about how we can be your go to provider for location intelligence.