Transportation RFP

Transportation RFP

Launching a Freight RFP

Launching a Transportation RFP sourcing event with carriers takes time and resources. There are many variables that can go into receiving custom contracting and relationships also play a key part in getting the RFP completed in a timely manner.


Launching with TLI Specialist

1. Provide Data

2. Review Options

3. Select your Program

4. TLI Manages Future RFPs

Launching & Vetting Direct with Potential Carriers

1. Gather Data

2. Format Data for Carrier

3. Source Carriers

4. Negotiate Rates

5. Analyze Rates

6. Re-Negotiate Rates

7. Upload Contracts

8. Repeat Next Year


Freight RFPs

Technology Integration:

Shippers harness the power of TMS system capabilities by seamlessly integrating them into their ERP or Microsoft PowerBI, unlocking robust supply chain analytics.

Risk Mitigation:

By thoroughly evaluating carriers/providers through the freight RFP process, shippers can mitigate risks associated with unreliable carriers, ensuring a more reliable and consistent supply chain.

Freight RFP

Cost Optimization:

Freight RFPs allow shippers to benefit from their historical shipment data, which is optimized against carrier RFP submissions.

Transparency and Compliance:

RFPs outline terms, conditions, and compliance requirements, ensuring transparency and alignment of expectations between the shipper and the selected carrier/provider. To properly audit freight bills, TLI needs a contract to audit the freight bill against.

Transportation RFPs:

Request for Pricing (RFP) strategies in the less-than-truckload & Truckload industry have changed significantly in recent years. The days of shippers simply providing weights, volumes, or lanes are long gone.


For shippers to get an accurate market-competitive upfront quote - it is imperative to get custom contracts built uniquely tailored to your supply chain program.


This requires detailed information.

Carrier Sourcing RFP:

RFP Form Fill

Items to Consider when Launching an RFP:

What do Carriers Care About?

Carriers pricing technology has significantly improved which enables them to use analytics to measure operating cost, such as calculating the space component to investigate how loaded or dense the cube is.  “Load-ability” lets carriers qualify if your freight fits or stacks ideally with other shippers’ pallets. 


Carriers want to ensure assets and drivers are not tied up, and this has a direct impact on pricing. Pickup & delivery windows, along with the distance from your facility to the local terminal along with the amount of time a driver spends on-site will all factor into the pricing equation.  Carriers have even asked on a recent truckload bid – are drivers allowed to use the shipper’s restroom?


What is meant by Risk?

We must not forget about the risk component! Not all freight is equal, for example even though granite countertops are dense, they still have high cargo liability cost.  Carriers will have concerns over whether the shipper is moving freight that presents excess claims risk, and this directly correlates to how well the freight is packaged along with the overall shippers’ claim ratio. 


Carriers need to balance the physical demands of the driver and those expectations all ahead of time for accurate pricing, as worker’s compensation is also a serious concern.  For example, if there is a heavy snow fall, and that driver needs to tarp that flatbed the premium may be higher than a sunny spring day, if it is not included on the bid launch.

Another important consideration for shippers to remember, is what to do when the RFP results arrive back? Different discount ratios are not very helpful when the bases are all over the place. It is important to partner with a logistics solutions provider who have a rating engine to run simulations for you to keep the pricing comparisons all-in & who can swap in/out carrier contracts based off your actual historical spend.


The Pricing Golden Rule

Shippers may have clients that require unique accessorials such as excess length, hazmat or lift gate services.  It is important to have logistics experts at TLI extract this data to uniquely tailor the contracts to the accessorials that are regularly used. 


The golden rule that carriers live by, is “if I have to guess, I have to hedge.” The pricing for shippers is tedious and poorly managed when measured manually on a shipment-by-shipment basis. This is a sophisticated data-driven market now and to get the ideal pricing it is time to customize it to your supply chain profile. It is important to delegate the RFP to a managed transportation provider like Translogistics that know the shippers best interest, and know what carriers need to price competitively. An expert like TLI also keeps their eye on the market.  Seasonality, along with carrier capacity lead to massive volatility within the logistics industry, knowing when to launch the bid is just as important as knowing what to include within it. 


What do Carriers Care About?

Carriers pricing technology has significantly improved which enables them to use analytics to measure operating cost, such as calculating the space component to investigate how loaded or dense the cube is.  “Load-ability” lets carriers qualify if your freight fits or stacks ideally with other shippers’ pallets. 


Carriers want to ensure assets and drivers are not tied up, and this has a direct impact on pricing. Pickup & delivery windows, along with the distance from your facility to the local terminal along with the amount of time a driver spends on-site will all factor into the pricing equation.  Carriers have even asked on a recent truckload bid – are drivers allowed to use the shipper’s restroom?


What is meant by Risk?

We must not forget about the risk component! Not all freight is equal, for example even though granite countertops are dense, they still have high cargo liability cost.  Carriers will have concerns over whether the shipper is moving freight that presents excess claims risk, and this directly correlates to how well the freight is packaged along with the overall shippers’ claim ratio. 


Carriers need to balance the physical demands of the driver and those expectations all ahead of time for accurate pricing, as worker’s compensation is also a serious concern.  For example, if there is a heavy snow fall, and that driver needs to tarp that flatbed the premium may be higher than a sunny spring day, if it is not included on the bid launch.

Another important consideration for shippers to remember, is what to do when the RFP results arrive back? Different discount ratios are not very helpful when the bases are all over the place. It is important to partner with a logistics solutions provider who have a rating engine to run simulations for you to keep the pricing comparisons all-in & who can swap in/out carrier contracts based off your actual historical spend.


The Pricing Golden Rule

Shippers may have clients that require unique accessorials such as excess length, hazmat or lift gate services.  It is important to have logistics experts at TLI extract this data to uniquely tailor the contracts to the accessorials that are regularly used. 


The golden rule that carriers live by, is “if I have to guess, I have to hedge.” The pricing for shippers is tedious and poorly managed when measured manually on a shipment-by-shipment basis. This is a sophisticated data-driven market now and to get the ideal pricing it is time to customize it to your supply chain profile. It is important to delegate the RFP to a managed transportation provider like Translogistics that know the shippers best interest, and know what carriers need to price competitively. An expert like TLI also keeps their eye on the market.  Seasonality, along with carrier capacity lead to massive volatility within the logistics industry, knowing when to launch the bid is just as important as knowing what to include within it. 


Common Transportation RFP Questions

(Click on the question to expand the answer)

  • How long does it take to launch an RFP with TLI?

    If the data is provided properly from the shipper on the front end. Typically it takes the carriers 2-3 weeks to price accordingly. Within another two weeks of contracts being published shippers can begin routing freight using their new custom contracts.

  • What if I do not like the carriers you come back with?

    The customer is always right! TLI runs simulations through the rating engine & can provide you scenarios with your existing spend priced out against any carrier options you care to include.

  • Why am I being asked for dimensions?

    While this is not important in the truckload RFPs, in the less-than-truckload market dimensions are used to determine class. Dimensions help carriers have accurate cube/density data so they develop an accurate pricing program.

  • Why are you asking me for pictures of my freight?

    Carriers want to see the packaging & configuration. Red flags to carriers would be overhang, not enough banding or lack of corner boards.  Having proper protection of your precious cargo will ensure that the freight moves through the network claim free.

  • Why are you asking for three months of shipment data?

    Carriers want to see if vendors or consignees are already customers within their network.  They want to get visibility of lanes and customize the hundred weight pricing aggressively based off excess capacity.  Different markets have different labor cost, and weather so these factors collectively impact the price.  Using historical data will also enable a true comparison, as the existing sample can be rated against the new contracts, so you know the savings or price impact to the penny.

  • How can I be a Shipper of Choice?

    Always provide accurate information when routing your freight. Package your pallets well. Leverage data that a managed transportation provider can equip you with to consolidate loads.  Pay your invoices within your net terms. Be respectful to drivers!

Launch a RFP Today

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