RFP Automation - Shipper View
RFP Automation can be found under the Manage Company screen on the left panel under Lane Management.
Adding a new RFP
After clicking on RFP Automation you will see a screen where you can click to add a new RFP.
Before starting to add a new RFP and especially if this is your first time using RFP Automation, we recommend downloading the lane CSV template which is on the upper right corner of the screen.
When opening the CSV file you will see these columns which define the lanes in your new RFP:
The required columns are:
Lane ID This is your own id to associate a unique identifier of a lane. A lane is a unique combination of origin, destination, equipment type and mode. The ID can contain a combination of alphanumeric characters.
Origin Zip The postal code for the origin of the lane
Origin Country Code (e.g. US)
Destination Zip The postal code of the destination of the lane
Destination Country Code (e.g. US)
Mode The mode of transportation
Equipment The equipment type of transportation
Optional columns:
Origin City and State as well as Destination City and State are not required since those are retrieved from the postal code provided.
Volume This is the expected lane volume for the time period specified in the RFP. It is shared with the carrier when they are asked to submit bids on the lane.
Once you have entered the lanes and saved the file you are ready to add a new RFP.
Adding a new RFP
Click on Add New RFP
On the modal window, enter a name for the RFP and the date range. The date range entered will be applied to the contracts and routing guides when awarding the freight to the carriers on this RFP. Then click Next.
Drag and drop your lane CSV file onto the Importer. Then click Next.
After selecting the file and clicking Next, you will see a status messaging confirming that the file is being imported:
Once the file is imported, you will see the validation page to ensure the correct data is mapped to each column:
Note:
Make sure all postal codes that have a leading '0' retain that in the upload file. For example, a postal code of 02134 should include the leading '0'
After reviewing and making any necessary changes to the validation page click Validate on the lower right of the screen:
Once the lane CSV file is complete with validation you will be on the RFP page and your most recent RFP will be at the top of the page:
Send RFP Bid Request
To select carriers to participate in the RFP, click on Select carriers for RFP Bid Request:
You can add carries using the Tag feature:
You can also search on carriers by typing in their name in the CARRIER(S)* field.
When searching for carriers you will also see their overall performance shown next to each carrier name.
This includes
On Time Delivery % for all lanes
Tender Acceptance % for all lanes
Track Score % for all lanes
Please Note:
Inactive carriers will be shown in grey and cannot be included in the RFP
If there is no historical data for the carriers On Time Delivery, Tender Acceptance or Tracking Score a value of “--” will be shown.
You can an also add instructions to the carriers and attach a file that will be sent to the carrier along with the invitation to bid.
When you have selected all of the carriers, click Send:
RFP Status
After you have requested bid from carriers you will be returned to the RFPs page and you will see the current status of that RFP:
Which includes:
The name of the RFP you entered as well as the dates of the RFP which will be applied to the routing guides and contracts once bidding is complete and you have reviewed and accepted the bids. You can also see the number of lanes that you upload initially when creating the RFP.
Bid Time Remaining shows the amount of time remaining before the bidding window closes:
Bid Status shows where the current status of the RFP. Once the bidding window has closed the Bidding Complete will have a blue check mark:
While the bidding window is open, you can also invite additional carriers to bid on the RFP:
Lane Summary View
Once the bidding window is complete, click on Review Bids to see a lane summary and detail view:
This will bring you to a lane summary view of the RFP.
The Market column show an icon with hover detail.
There are three icon states:
The red icon indicates that your average bids received from your carriers on that lane are 10% or more higher than the current Market Price.
The blue icon indicates that your average bids received from your carriers on that lane are within 10% (higher or lower) of the current Market Price.
The green icon indicates that your average bids received from your carriers on that lane are 10% or more lower than the current Market Price.
These columns represent what was uploaded to define the lane when the RFP was created:
Lane ID
Origin City
Origin State
Origin Postal Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Postal Code
These columns are provided to help provide additional insights on the lane:
Bids - Is the number of bids you have received back on that lane. Hovering over the number will show you a list of the lowest priced carriers for that lane
Lowest Bid - Is the lowest bid you have received back on the lane
Highest Bid - Is the highest bid you have received back on the lane
Market Price - Is the current Shipwell Market Price for that lane
Avg Spend - Is the average spend on that lane over the last 12 months. Note this will not show a value if you don’t have prior shipments on this lane.
Price Volatility - Will show one of three values for each lane:
High - Indicates this lane has shown a history of large price swings in the past 12 months
Medium - Indicates this lane has shown a history of average price swings in the past 12 months
Low - Indicates this lane has shown a history of low price swings in the past 12 months
Tender Rejection - this is your overall tender rejection rate for this lane over the past 12 months. Lanes with a high tender rejection rate may indicate that carriers find this lane less desirable and more likely to reject the tender depending on other offers they may receive
Lane Detail View
Clicking on a row in the Lane Summary view, will show the details for that lane including a row for each carrier that submitted a bid for that lane.
While the carriers are ranked from lowest to highest bid price by default, you can move a carrier up or down in rank depending on your preferences on price and the carrier’s past performance on this lane.
The columns in the lane detail are:
Current Bid - is the most recent bid on this lane for this lane and RFP
Previous Bid - this is the last bid for this lane if the carrier has submitted more than one bid for this current RFP
Lane Runs - this is the volume of shipments the carrier has delivered in the last 12 months
On Time % - The percentage of on time deliveries on previous shipments in the last 12 months
Acceptance % - The tender acceptance percentage for this carrier and lane
Tracking % - The percentage of shipments where the carrier sent tracking updates
Note: if there is no prior history for this carrier and lane “--” will be displayed
Awarding RFP: Creating Contracts & Routing Guides
Once you are ready to award the carriers based on their rank for each lane, click the RFP Actions button at the top right of the lane summary view.
Then select:
Only Create Contracts - this creates a contract for each lane and carrier for the price that the carrier submitted for that lane
Create Contracts and Routing Guides - this creates a contract for each lane and carrier for the price that the carrier submitted for that lane AND it also creates a routing guide for each lane and includes any updates or changes to the tender rank order made before clicking on this action.
Managing and Editing Routing Guides
After clicking on Create Routing Guides, there will be a contract and routing guide link for each lane on the the lane summary page. Clicking on that link will bring you to the routing guide for that lane where you are able to make manual updates to the routing guide actions.
RFP Automation - Carrier View
When the request for bids are requested for a RFP the carriers will receive an email with a button that will bring them to a portal to enter their bids.
Carrier Email example:
Carrier Portal View:
From the portal the carrier is able to:
See time remaining to respond to the RFP
See the date range for the RFP for which their pricing would be considered on the lane
See any optional notes or instructions from the shipper
Download optional attachments from the shipper
Download the CSV file where they input their bids
Upload the same CSV file with their bids included
See a confirmation check box after the bids have been uploaded
Note: the carrier is able to upload bids more than once for the same RFP as long as the bidding window has not expired. This allows the carrier to receive feedback on their first round of bids and respond with updated pricing.
Carrier Bid CSV File
Example CSV file template the carrier uses to download and input their bids:
Notes:
The carrier can either enter a RPM or Flat Rate for any given row. Rows with values entered into both columns will be discarded.
Make sure all postal codes that have a leading '0' retain that in the upload file. For example, a postal code of 02134 should include the leading '0'