Overview
RFPs can be a time sink, we know. So we created a time-saving, user-friendly UI that allows you to upload an RFP spreadsheet as an Excel or CSV file in whatever format the customer uses. Instead of spending days reworking and pricing an RFP, a broker rep can upload it as it is and get accurate rates in minutes - and then export, edit, and re-upload if necessary, while keeping the original spreadsheet intact. You can even flag high-risk lanes by margin and confidence. The tab also keeps your RFPs nice and organized for quick status reviews.
You can find the RFP tab under the Pricing tab, which also includes quotes, pricing rules, and Sales Insights.
The RFP Process
Step 1: Upload a New RFP
On the Pricing tab, go to the RFP tab:
Click Add new RFP:
Click to upload and select your raw, direct-from-the-shipper RFP file, or drag and drop it to the upload window:
If your RFP includes multiple tabs, select the tabs you want to include in your upload:
Click Next. This will take you to the next step: column mapping.
Step 2: Column Mapping
This is where you match columns from your spreadsheets to the fields Intelligence uses to get rates for RFPs.
Select whether to include a Fuel Breakout in your export:
Map data columns from your upload.
Fields from the shipper RFP will be auto-mapped to fields used by the Triumph system:
Where field titles don't match, you can select a corresponding field, so it's not a problem if the customer uses a different field title:
If any of the lanes are multi-stop, you can add more stops by clicking Intermediate Stop(s) at the top right and map those fields too:
If you need to add customer comments or other columns for the sake of context, click Add Context Column at the bottom of the screen. Information added here is just for the sake of context and will not be included in rate calculations.
Click Proceed. This will take you to the next step: verifying your mapping and entering contract specifics.
Step 3: Summary
Here you can verify your column mapping and add contract dates and (if not already specified) transport types.
Review your columns and make sure they're mapped correctly.
Fill in all required fields under Properties to Specify. If the shipper did not specify a transport type because all of the loads are the same type, you can add that here:
Select whether your output should provide flat or per mile rates:
Select a currency type. USD is the default.
Click Proceed.
If your customer has listed multiple vehicle types, you will see this window, where you can map them to Triumph transport types. When you're finished, click Proceed:
This will take you to the next step, where you will set up a fuel schedule.
Step 4: Fuel Schedule
On this page you can adjust your fuel baseline to match the customer's fuel calculations. At the bottom of the page we've included a sample from one of the lanes in the RFP for you to review.
Select a national or regional fuel index. If the shipper uses a regional index, Intelligence will compare to prices near the pickup location:
Add a baseline fuel cost to match the shipper's:
Select whether to price for freight alone or all-in, with fuel cost included:
Select a cent interval for your fuel scale:
When everything looks good, click Proceed to process your RFP.
Step 5: Review and Publish your RFP
You're ready to look over your RFP and publish it to an export that you can send to your customer. You can also edit rates here, or upload an edited copy of your spreadsheet. On the left, you'll find margin information for your brokerage and the general market for the state of comparison.
Review your lanes and make any necessary changes to prices or markups. Fields with numbers in blue can be edited. The default markup is based on your pricing rules.
You can click to edit one lane at a time, or edit several by selecting them using the checkboxes on the left and the edit buttons at the bottom right:
Click any lane to see projections for the contract start and end date, a graph of price changes for the lane over time, and other details:
You can also change the baseline costs used to figure the Sell Rate. For example, you can choose to start with the Triumph Market Rate over the Verified Buy Rate, or to request projections for the start or end date of a contract. Click the text in the Sell Rate Baseline column to bring up a drop-down list of baseline choices:
You can also make changes in Excel and upload a corrected RFP.
Publishing your Lanes
When your lanes look good, it's time to publish and finalize them. Publishing lanes marks the RFP as Complete and allows you to export only published lanes when you export to RFP format (the format used by the shipper in the original upload).
Select the lanes you want to publish to your RFP with the checkboxes on the left. Sometimes you may want to no-bid certain lanes. If you publish the lanes you want to bid, and export the RFP published lanes, the lanes that are unpublished will go back to the RFP as no-bids.
At the bottom right, click Publish:
Uploading an Edited RFP
Uploading an updated RFP is easy. If your RFP is already open, just click Upload Round [number] on the upper left, then follow the steps for uploading a new RFP.
You can also start from the RFP tab:
Go to the RFP tab and find your RFP
Click the corresponding three-dot menu.
Select Upload Round [number]:
Follow the steps for uploading a new RFP.
Exporting an RFP
You can export an RFP in multiple formats, depending on the purpose:
Triumph format exports all columns into an Excel file that uses our standard columns. This is good for editing and re-uploading.
RFP format exports to an Excel sheet that matches the formatting of your original upload, i.e. the RFP you received from the customer. RFP format allows you to include all lanes or published lanes only in your export. Sometimes you may want to no-bid certain lanes. If you publish the lanes you want to bid, and export the RFP published lanes, the lanes that are unpublished will go back to the RFP as no-bids.
To export from the main RFP page, click the three-dot menu and select your export type:
To export from the RFP detail page, select your export type on the top right and click Export.
Managing your RFPs
Status
Status labels help you track your RFP through the pipeline.
In Progress: The RFP has been uploaded but has not been published, so it can still be edited.
Completed: All lanes have been published and the RFP is ready for export.
Award Uploaded: An award has been uploaded to the RFP. Right now, this doesn't make a difference, but future updates will include RFP metrics that take awards into account.
Archived: A lane is automatically archived when its contract start date has passed.
Filters
You can filter your view of listed RFPs by status, customer, or assignee:
RFP Columns
Columns to adjust for RFP uploads |
|
Transport Type | Van, Reefer or Flatbed |
Loading Type | Live vs Drop |
Pickup ZIP | Pickup location ZIP |
Pickup City | Pickup location city |
Pickup State | Pickup location State |
Drop Zip | Dropoff location ZIP |
Drop City | Dropoff location city |
Drop State | Dropoff location state |
Commodity | A column for the associated commodity. Can affect pricing due to commodity based pricing rules. |
Weight | A column for the associated weight. Can affect pricing due to weight based pricing rules |
Load Volume | The volume given by the shipper associated with the lane |
Sell rate | The empty column that the shipper gives the broker to fill in with the agreed-on price |
Line Haul Only sell rate | The sell rate that can be selected when a shipper does not want fuel included |
Fuel Surcharge | The generated fuel response column based on the fuel calculator |
Distance | Mileage if given by the shipper |
Baselines |
|
Current Verified | Short term spot Model Verified rate |
Current Market | Short term spot model Market rate |
Avg Projected Verified | Average long term model Verified Rate throughout the length of the contract |
Avg Projected Market | Average long term model Market Rate throughout the length of the contract |
Projected Verified @ contract Start | Long term model Verified Rate at the starting month of the contract |
Projected Market @ Contract start | Long term model Market Rate at the starting month of the contract |
Projected Verified @ contract End | Long term model Verified Rate at the end month of the contract |
Projected Market @ Contract End | Long term model Verified Rate At the end month of the contract |
Max Projected Verified | Long term model Verified Rate highest priced month |
Max Projected market | Long term model Market Rate highest priced month |
Min Projected Verified | Long term model Verified Rate lowest priced month |
Min Projected market | Long term model Market Rate Lowest priced month |
Rows dropdown |
|
Error | The row cannot process because of an error in the input information |
Unpublished | Unpublished lanes (i.e. price is not locked in) |
Published | Published lanes (i.e. price is locked in |
High risk | Lane with less than a 5% margin on it. |
Additional Columns |
|
Origin 3D ZIP | Load origin three-digit ZIP |
Origin Country | Load origin country |
Dest 3D ZIP | Load destination 3-digit ZIP |
Dest Country | Load destination country |
Loading Type | Previously filled-in loading type (Drop-Live, etc.) |
Commodity | Commodity defined by the shipper's RFP; mapped in the mapping screen |
Load Volume | Volume defined by the shipper's RFP; mapped in the mapping screen |
Weight | Weight defined by the shipper's RFP; mapped in the mapping screen |
Distance | Miles of the lane |
Currency | USD or CAD |
Prev Round Match | Whether a previous round's pricing can be found on this lane for this RFP |
Prev Round Pricing | Previous round's pricing on the lane for this RFP |
Verified Confidence | Confidence score on the short-term Verified Rate |
Market Confidence | Confidence score on the short-term Market Rate |
Current Market Buy Rate | The current short-term model buy rate |
Avg Projected Verified | Average long-term model Verified Rate throughout the length of the contract |
Avg Projected Market | Average long-term model Market Rate throughout the length of the contract |
Projected Verified @ Contract Start | Long-term model Verified Rate at the beginning month of the contract |
Projected Market @ Contract Start | Long-term model Market Rate at the beginning month of the contract |
Projected Verified @ Contract End | Long-term model Verified Rate at the end month of the contract |
Projected Market @ Contract End | Long-term model Market Rate at the end month of the contract |
Max Projected Verified | Long-term model Verified Rate for the highest-priced month |
Max Projected Market | Long-term model Market Rate for the highest-priced month |
Min Projected Verified | Long-term model Verified Rate for the lowest-priced month |
Min Projected Market | Long-term model Market Rate for the lowest-priced month |
3M Buy Rate Zip-Zip | This zip lane's 3-month historical buy rate for the brokerage |
3M Sell Rate Zip-Zip | This zip lane's 3-month historical sell rate for the brokerage |
3M Buy Rate KMA-KMA | This KMA lane's 3-month historical buy rate for the brokerage |
3M Sell Rate KMA-KMA | This KMA lane's 3-month historical sell rate for the brokerage |
Headhaul 3M Volume | This lane's 3-month historical volume for the brokerage |
Headhaul 3M Bias | This lane's 3-month historical market bias for the brokerage (whether they are buying above or below market) |
Backhaul 3M Volume | Backhaul version of this lane's 3-month historical volume for the brokerage |
Backhaul 3M Bias | Backhaul version of this lane's 3-month historical market bias for the brokerage (whether they are buying above or below market) |
Fuel Index Type | Regional or national fuel levels |
Fuel Index Price | Current fuel rate for the given type |
Fuel Baseline | The fuel baseline defined in the fuel calculator in the wizard |
Cent Interval | The cent interval defined in the fuel calculator in the wizard |
Fuel RPM | The fuel rate per mile as defined by the fuel calculator in the wizard |
Fuel Flat | Fuel RPM multiplied by mileage |
Freight RPM | Rate per mile on freight only |
All-In RPM | Rate per mile on freight plus fuel |
PADD Region | The region that oil prices were pulled from for this lane's fuel calculation |
DOE Week | The week the oil prices were pulled for this fuel calculation |
Applied Margin Basis | The definition of linehaul-only or all-in application of margin |
Error | Whether there is an error with the input, and what the error is |
Pricing Rule | Whether combination or priority rules were applied to generate the margin percentage |