Digital asset management RFP: How to create and use one in 2026

If you’re reading this article, you’re probably considering purchasing a digital asset management (DAM) system. The next step in your journey to finding the ideal DAM partner is to create a request for proposal (RFP), which—from writing the scope to asking the right questions—is what this handy guide will help you do.

Choosing the right platform is more crucial than ever. With distributed teams battling unprecedented content demands, fragmented assets lead to wasted time and inconsistent messaging. In an era of content chaos, using a DAM as your organization's system of record helps create a single source of truth across all content operations. But forward-thinking organizations recognize that a strategically deployed DAM can deliver even greater value by acting as "connective tissue" across their martech ecosystem. With improved control, governance and creative workflows, a strategically deployed DAM drives measurable financial outcomes and significant productivity gains.

Selecting the right DAM vendor requires a structured RFP as it saves you valuable time and ensures company-wide adoption in the long run. But don't waste time starting from scratch. Get a head start on your evaluation process with our free, editable digital asset management RFP/RFI template. 

Why you need a DAM RFP

Besides keeping your key stakeholders aligned, there are several benefits of creating a digital asset management RFP:

Better evaluation of DAM vendors

A DAM RFP standardizes the information you receive, turning a messy or highly subjective comparison into a structured, point-by-point evaluation. By asking every vendor the exact same questions and requiring responses in a uniform format, you can conduct a true apples-to-apples comparison.

Vendors must also map out exactly how they will meet your specific needs: from core features like metadata and search to complex requirements like workflow automation and integrations with your martech stack. With this level of detail, you can easily see which vendors align most closely with your organization's requirements. 

Reduced risk and enhanced safeguards

The DAM RFP process gives your company the opportunity to set clear expectations prior to purchase. This makes sure that both parties are on the same page from the get-go, preventing misunderstandings, scope creep, or disputes down the line. 

Additionally, a detailed RFP lays out the vendors’ policies, procedures, and certifications regarding critical areas like security, data privacy, user access controls, and system uptime. Requiring this information upfront gives stakeholders peace of mind and ensures your digital assets are managed securely and legally.

Clear alignment with business goals

Creating an RFP forces internal alignment, guaranteeing that the final DAM solution directly supports your overarching business strategy. This preparatory stage requires you to clearly define internal needs, pain points, and ultimate goals—whether that's cutting content production costs, speeding up time-to-market, or enhancing brand consistency. By doing this rigorous work, you're positioned to select a vendor who can serve as a long-term strategic partner in achieving those defined business goals.

How to create a DAM RFP: a step-by-step guide

The following step-by-step guide is designed to provide you with a clear, actionable method to make writing a DAM RFP an easy and manageable project. Follow these six steps to gather the necessary requirements, ask the right questions, and establish an objective scoring system to confidently select a DAM solution that drives maximum ROI and ensures high user adoption.

Step 1: Identify and engage key stakeholders

This planning and alignment phase is the most critical step for mitigating risks and ensuring user buy-in. You must identify and gather requirements from the following groups:

• Executive sponsor: Secures the budget, champions the project, and links the DAM to the high-level business strategy.
• Core DAM team: The main administrative team (often marketing/creative operations) that will manage the platform daily, define the taxonomy, and handle asset governance.
• Creative team: Provides insight into asset requirements (e.g. file formats, bulk upload, creative integrations like Adobe CC, etc.)
• IT/Security team: Defines technical infrastructure, security protocols (SSO, data encryption), and requirements for API integrations.
• Legal/Compliance: Establishes rules for asset usage rights, expiration dates, and adherence to regulations like GDPR or CCPA. 

Step 2: Write a clear introduction

The next step is to introduce your company and the reason(s) why you're in the market for a digital asset management solution. This should involve an explanation of what you expect the DAM to do in your organization and the pain points you need help solving. It provides a clear narrative that helps prospective DAM providers quickly determine if they’re a good fit for your scale, complexity, and specific challenges.

For example: “We require a centralized system of record to serve as the single source of truth for all marketing and product assets globally, ensuring brand consistency and automating delivery to our CMS and PIM system.”

You should also use your introduction to set out the legal background for the RFP/RFI. This should include a confidentiality statement and a disclaimer statement. For help on how to sort out the legal elements, download our DAM RFP template.

Step 3: Outline the scope of the project 

This is where you build upon your introduction and detail exactly what you are trying to achieve. You should mention everything related to the desired outcome, including project deliverables, expected implementation time, and required integrations. It’s also important to use this section to detail the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to assess the project’s success. This could include anything from user adoption rate (percentage of end-users actively using the DAM) to reduction in agency costs and time to market (the average time it takes for new content/campaigns to be completed and published).

Step 4: Build a vendor questionnaire

The goal of the vendor questionnaire is to gather specific information from each provider, allowing your evaluation team to make an objective side-by-side assessment. The more precise your questions, the less room there is for vague vendor responses. 

Here are ten ideas to get you started:

• Can you provide an overview of your DAM solution and its key features?
• How does the system facilitate digital asset organization and classification (e.g. taxonomy support, version control, automated tagging)? How does your solution ensure the discoverability of assets?
• What are the AI capabilities available in your DAM and how do they help with content creation, management, discovery, and distribution?
• How will the DAM solution integrate with other systems we use to build a connected ecosystem?
• Detail the development roadmap of your DAM for the next 18-24 months. Include expected timescales for major feature development. How do these planned improvements align with current and future enterprise needs?
• Outline your standard implementation process, including expected timelines, required client resources, and project management approach.
• Describe the initial onboarding process and the ongoing training resources available (e.g. dedicated onboarding manager, training portals, frequency of check-ins, etc.)
• Detail your tiered support structure, including guaranteed response times (i.e. specified in SLAs), availability hours, and methods of contact.
• Provide three recent client references from companies of a similar size or industry that have implemented this DAM solution.
• Provide details of pricing, including a breakdown of one-off implementation/migration costs, recurring monthly or annual charges, user licenses, and costs associated with exceeding storage or bandwidth limits.

Download the DAM requirements checklist to compare vendors against the most critical features, including AI, workflow, and distribution capabilities. 

Step 5: Communicate timelines and submission instructions 

The final section of your RFP must clearly outline the selection process, deadlines, and submission requirements. Most DAM RFP's include the following timelines: 

• RFP release date
• Last day for questions and clarifications
• RFP due date / submission deadline
• Shortlist contact date
• Onsite / virtual demo date
• Award announcement date

Step 6: Evaluate and shortlist vendors

The best way to evaluate vendors is to establish a structured scoring system which assigns specific weights to requirements based on their business criticality. For instance, you might place a higher value on integrations and security than on general features. Be sure to list your go/no-go requirements. Any vendor that fails to satisfy these should be immediately removed from consideration. 

Your evaluation should heavily prioritize usability and user adoption. A DAM system is only effective if people use it, making an intuitive, consumer-grade user experience non-negotiable. To gather more information, you can request demos from vendors and assess if the platform simplifies daily tasks and complex workflows, as poor usability is often the leading cause of low DAM adoption. 

Finally, look at the financial picture. You need to consider the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) across a five-year period, rather than just the initial price tag. Ask vendors to explicitly connect their proposed solution to the KPIs you defined earlier, proving how their features will generate ROI. For instance, by reducing time-to-market or increasing content reuse. Successfully completing these steps will narrow your field down to a shortlist of two or three vendors who represent the strongest strategic and technical fit.

Download our free DAM RFP/RFI template

Our free DAM RFP/RFI template is designed to save you valuable time in the procurement process by providing a comprehensive, structured document. It includes all the essential components explained in this guide, allowing you to gather all the information you need and ensure you ask all the right questions to prospective vendors.

Download the free digital asset management RFP (RFI) template. 

Common mistakes to avoid in a DAM RFP

While following a structured, step-by-step process is the best way to ensure success, it’s equally important to be aware of the common pitfalls that can derail a DAM RFP: 

• Vague scope and requirements: Failing to clearly define what the DAM must achieve (e.g "We need a better place to store product photos"). This results in generic vendor proposals that don't address your specific challenges, making side-by-side comparison impossible.
• Ignoring essential integrations: Overlooking the need for the DAM to connect with your existing martech ecosystem (CMS, PIM, Adobe Creative Cloud, etc.) can lead to a costly, complex, and failed implementation post-contract.
• Missing key stakeholders: Excluding important teams like legal, IT, or the creative team from the initial planning phase can result in poor adoption or system failure due to overlooked needs (e.g. security, file formats, or usage rights).
• Focusing solely on cost: Making price the primary decision factor rather than focusing on the Total Cost of Ownership, long-term vendor partnership, and feature alignment. Cheaper solutions often lack comprehensive features, resulting in added costs later.
• Poor usability: Selecting a system that is technically sound but difficult or frustrating for end-users to navigate can lead to low DAM adoption.

Conclusion: Use a RFP to evaluate which DAM is the right strategic partner

This guide lays the essential groundwork for a successful digital asset management procurement project. By bringing in the right stakeholders, setting a clear scope, and asking smart questions, you can look past simple feature lists and find a solution that delivers real, long-term value.

Ultimately, picking the right vendor means choosing a trusted, strategic partner, not just a software provider. Bynder delivers on that partnership by offering the right mix of features and support designed to ensure high adoption and maximum ROI:

• Consumer-grade UX: Bynder's intuitive platform guarantees high user adoption across your organization.
• Robust integrations and connectivity: Bynder functions as the system of record at the heart of your martech stack, ensuring content flows effortlessly from creation to distribution. Built on an open, composable architecture, Bynder offers connectivity to essential tools like your CMS, PIM, and CRM through a library of over 140 pre-built integrations.
• Enterprise-grade partnership and support: Bynder provides a comprehensive partnership that includes 24/7 support. Our team of over 100 customer success managers fully manages implementation, user training, and ongoing consultation to ensure fast deployment, high adoption, and long-term success. 
• Industry-defining AI: Bynder's AI Agents and AI search capabilities help users find content faster and automate high-impact tasks at scale with full human oversight. This increases productivity, enhances compliance, and maximizes content reuse, driving ROI.

See Bynder's enterprise digital asset management solution in action

More than 4000 organizations around the world use Bynder as their digital brand portal to deliver outstanding content experiences. From centralized file storage and secure resource sharing to improved brand consistency and collaboration, our tailored solution can meet every client’s needs. Why not see what Bynder can do for you with a free demo?