How should total cost enter the decision?

Use a comparable recurring-service scope and show required licenses, setup, consumption, incident work, internal effort, renewal uplift and exit. A cheaper proposal can score well on cost clarity but still fail coverage or authority gates.

Do not automatically give the lowest price a 4. This criterion measures completeness, predictability and fit to the approved budget as well as value for the specified work. If cost is a decisive constraint, document the scope trade-off openly and rescore all candidates against the changed brief.

Run a simple sensitivity test: change a buyer-selected quantity or retention assumption and observe whether the recommendation changes. Do not describe the input as forecast demand unless separately supported.