Freight RFQ: build the tender, compare bids, decide by lane

Put carrier bids beside each other by lane, with freight and surcharges shown separately. Review the quoted total, lane coverage, additional charges, unpriced items and service answers. Open a lane to inspect how its total was calculated and the rate-card entry behind it.

Compare the carriers you select and examine different award plans. A low subtotal with missing charges or unquoted lanes is shown with its gaps; it should not be read as a complete all-in offer.

Create an air, road or ocean tender with a closing date, rate-validity period, currency and the lane details carriers need. Enter lanes, use an Excel template, or import lanes from shipments already held in Intellyse. Historical imports group routes, count shipments and show the weight mix behind the demand.

Review the source period and grouping before using the result. Volumes are scaled from recorded history to the rate-validity period; this is an estimate, not a seasonal forecast. Your private planning record stays separate from the lane fields and estimated volumes you choose to share with carriers.

Define freight brackets, minimum charges, surcharges and service questions for the tender. Custom fields and lane-specific restrictions let you ask for relevant details without requiring every carrier to interpret a different spreadsheet. Suggestions from invoiced surcharges can help you include charges your carriers actually bill.

Publish the tender and invite carrier contacts into the portal with the common price grid, notes and documents. Track invitation and submission progress, answer questions and request revised bids. Material tender changes create a new version that carriers must review and resubmit against.

Compare the lowest quoted cost per lane with a main-carrier plan that uses another carrier where the main carrier has no price. See which lanes are covered, what the plan costs and where a carrier is materially more expensive. Check transit and other service answers before accepting the price-led plan.

Apply a plan to the award choices or select eligible template bids lane by lane, including bulk selections. Nothing is awarded until you confirm. Confirmation sends the standard award notifications; if the quotes need work first, request a revision instead. Native and buyer-recorded quotes remain comparison-only.

On the comparison page, ask the Co-Pilot about the selected carriers, lane calculations or the files behind a bid. It can read the comparison and supporting documents to explain a figure; it does not change the tender from that page.

Export the comparison to Excel with the selected carriers, plan, lane prices, freight and surcharges. Keep the original quote and its limitations alongside the decision. Comparing or awarding a bid does not automatically certify an original rate card for use by the invoice matcher.