Selecting a pharmacy benefit manager isn’t about choosing the vendor with the most rebates or slickest presentation. It’s about making a defensible, fiduciary-grade decision based on transparency, alignment, and timing discipline. Below is the perfect timetable for PBM RFPs, with practical checkpoints to avoid costly mistakes.

January to March: Design the Process with Purpose

The first quarter is where leverage is built.

• Draft the RFP with clear, measurable requirements tied to financial and operational accountability.
• Select invitees based on performance and transparency. Decide whether to include the incumbent.
• Require full disclosure from consultants and vendors on all PBM relationships and revenue streams. This is a baseline requirement for fiduciary oversight.
• Clarify objectives early. The end goal is auditability and alignment with the plan’s financial interests, not just the appearance of savings.

Rushing this setup invites downstream failure. Plans that skip or delay this step often end up renegotiating under pressure or settling for status quo.

April to May: Distribute with Discipline

This stage is about enforcement.

• Release the RFP and allow a minimum of three weeks for responses.
• Avoid Excel-based distribution. Use a secure RFP platform to reduce version confusion, data loss, and exposure risks.
• Require structured responses that bind the PBM to disclosed pricing, service guarantees, and contractual terms.

Firms that resist or withhold key information are self-selecting out. Let them.

June to July: Evaluate and Extract

Now the focus shifts to assessment and leverage.

• Score only what can be verified. Eliminate vendors who offer soft promises with no contractual commitment.
• Prioritize fiduciary alignment. Vendors that operate on radical transparency, pass-through pricing, and contract clarity should move forward.
• Conduct interviews with purpose. These are not meet-and-greets. They are working sessions to confirm commitments and gain pricing or service concessions.
• Select semi-finalists. Selections are based on binding contract terms and pricing not vague claims or verbal assurances. If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t count.

This is where most plans get swayed by presentations or legacy comfort. Don’t lose leverage. Keep the process objective.

August: Finalize and Sign

This is the decision point.

• Select the winning PBM based on documented commitments, not who talked the best game.
• Execute the agreement immediately. All terms should already be finalized through prior documentation rounds.

If your advisor is still negotiating at this point, the process was mishandled. A PBM should never be chosen before their contract terms are locked in writing.

September to December: Transition with Precision

This phase ensures readiness by go-live.

• Refine plan design. Adjust formularies, prior authorization rules, and benefit carve-ins or carve-outs.
• Test system integration. Ensure eligibility feeds, accumulator syncing, and claims adjudication are working as intended.
• Prepare member communication. This includes ID cards, digital tools, benefit summaries, and support resources.
• Launch open enrollment with full confidence in operational execution.

Waiting until the fourth quarter to begin implementation planning puts the entire program at risk.

The Takeaway

A PBM RFP is not a paperwork exercise. It is a financial event with significant implications for cost control, member outcomes, and fiduciary liability. The perfect timetable is built on discipline, transparency, and accountability.

Start the RFP process at least 12 months before your planned go-live date, regardless of organization size. Compressed timelines undermine leverage, introduce risk, and limit your ability to enforce accountability.

Follow this timeline, and you take control of the process. Ignore it, and you risk letting someone else control your outcome.