Having the most up-to-date rates for quoting is more important than ever, which is why we’ve created the dynamic quoting tool. Dynamic quoting means that you can add real-time prices and live capacity to the quotation you send to your clients, as well as quotations for static rates.
Your clients can then compare which rate works for them and secure their shipment by using the interactive PDF form.
Find out in the below video how you can use this or continue reading the article:
Important:
This feature is only available for Professional and Enterprise pack types.
You need to have AWB stock for the chosen airline within your WebCargo account for your client to reserve the shipment. Find out how to add AWB stock for eBookings by clicking here.
WebCargo users need to have the Accept/Reject button enabled through the back end. Please ask your WebCargo account manager to enable this for you.
Find out in this article how you can take advantage of this.
Enter your cargo details
Expand the side menu by clicking on the “+” sign on the left-hand side of the screen and click on New, then click on New Rate & Quote.
Enter your cargo information to make a rate search. Make sure to use the Units option to fill in your cargo details, otherwise, you will not see the dynamic pricing option.
Expand the Extra information section to select Booking first under the Sort by field, to see the options from airlines that offer dynamic pricing and live price comparison first.
Important: this feature is currently only available for General cargo as a service, so make sure this is selected too.
Once you’ve entered all of your information, click on the Search all rates button to search to find an option for dynamic quoting.
Select your rates
Within the normal static rate results, you’ll also have the possibility to include dynamic rates in the quote. These are identifiable with a purple icon, stating Dynamic. Underneath the Buy Rate column, you will see another button that states Show rates.
Click on Show rates. If available, live rates will be pulled directly from the carrier’s website to give you the most accurate and up-to-date prices for the next 6 days from the selected shipping date. Instead of a specific rate and considering how dynamic rates can change frequently, what you will be shown is an average rate for the following days.
In the same way you can add profit to static rates, you can also decide if you’d like to add a profit to the dynamic rate within the search function.
You can also then alter the profit per kg on individual rates, which will then be reflected in the final price on the quotation.
Important: Currently, it is only possible to add profit per KG to dynamic rates. It is not possible to add profits per shipment total or by percentage, but it is still possible to do this with static rates.
Next, select the rates that you’d like to include in your quotation by following the normal quote creation process. This is a matter of checking each box to the left-hand side of each rate.
Save the quotation
Once you have selected your rates, scroll above the rates, but below the initial search boxes, and click on Save quotation.
Important: when creating your quotation after clicking the save function, the dynamic quoting feature will only work if the New template is selected when creating your quotation.
Remember also to select the Airline details box in order for the Dynamic quoting feature to work correctly. This makes sure that the details of the rates will not be altered.
On this page you will also have the option to allow your customer to book with the airline or not. By default the selected option will be No. When this option is selected, your customer will be able to Reject or Accept the proposal, but not book the shipment when accepted.
Once you have saved your quotation, you can find it by expanding the side menu and clicking on Quotes, under the Shipment section.
If you want to download the quotation in PDF form, you can click directly on the PDF symbol.
You can also click on the three dots next to the Download PDF symbol and select Download PDF from the dropdown. This will download the quote to your device and allow you to forward it to your customer.
Alternatively, you can click the Send button which will email the logged-in user a PDF which they can then forward to their client.
Once the client has received the proposal for the quotation, they can then make a decision whether they want to accept or reject it. Within the PDF they will see the option Reject or Accept the rate.
Clicking the Reject button will take the client to a page where they can reject and give a reason why.
Once the client has rejected the proposal, you will see this reflected in the Quotes section as Lost, under the Status column.
Alternatively, if the client accepts the proposal, they will be taken to the following page to select the rate they prefer:
Once they have selected the rate, they will be informed that it has been successfully accepted.
In the Quotes section, this will show as Won and you will be able to select Book now to proceed with the eBooking.
This will redirect you to the New eBooking page. The search fields will already be filled with the cargo details you previously entered. Once you make the search you can finalise your eBoooking. Find more detailed information on How to make an eBooking in this article.
Allow your client to book
Alternatively, you can save your quotation and select the option to allow your customer to book directly with the airline.
When this option is selected, the procedure to save or send the quotation is the same as explained above. However, in this case the customer will receive a different PDF.
On the interactive PDF, selected static rates will be visible if selected, but dynamic rates will also be visible within the downloadable file.
Once the client has received the proposal for the quotation, they will see the option Reject proposal or Compare and select rate.
Clicking the Reject proposal button will take the client to a page where they can reject and give a reason why, in the same way as previously explained.
Clicking on Compare and select rate will take your client to a page similar to the New eBooking one which can be found within your WebCargo account. Your client will be presented with the information entered on the sent quotation.
However, they will not be able to edit the origin and destination, the unit and dimensions, or the type of commodity fields.
They will be able to edit the Cargo ready date, specify if the package is Turnable or Stackable and whether the shipment is screened. Once they have checked the information is correct, they can click on Search flights and rates.
The system will collect the static rates, as well as live rates and capacity using an API connection to give up-to-date information about flight availability from the airline’s website. Allow a couple of minutes for the results to load.
Important: The search results will always show the next 48 hours after the cargo ready date. This is in order to allow time for preparations to be made for the shipment and also to prepare for a risk of a no-show.
They will be shown a page where they can select a rate, these being either Static rates or Dynamic rates.
How the client chooses their rate
The static rates will be shown above the dynamic rates. Your client will be able to see the type of service, the rate per kilogram, surcharge information and the final quotation price.
They can select the static rate by clicking on the circular button, which will fill with a blue dot if correctly selected.
Underneath the static rates, the customer will find the Dynamic rates available for the dates chosen. Live rates and capacity will show 2 days after the cargo ready date for the following 6 days. Clients can navigate across these dates to see the different options and prices for each day.
Within these dynamic rates, they will see the rate, surcharge information, the flight itinerary and also the final price of the shipment for each option.
If no results have been shown for the dates selected, they can click on Change search, which will take them back to the previous search form to enter a new date.
Clicking on any of these options will trigger a dropdown which will show more details about the flight itinerary.
Once the rate has been selected, the client will need to scroll down to see the local charges that should be applied to the quotation. These should be the same for both static and dynamic rates, as they were specified beforehand within the quotation.
They will see the local charges subtotal as well as the Total amount to pay for the shipment.
Accepting the static rate
Once all the details have been checked, it’s time for the client to accept the rate. If they have selected a static rate from the results, the button will show Accept rate!
After clicking Accept rate! the client will be taken to a confirmation page where they will need to select which local charges or additional charges they want to include in the quotation.
Once the client has selected the additional services and the Accept button, they will be shown a screen explaining that the rate has been accepted and that a freight forwarder will reach out soon. Both you and the client will receive an email confirmation stating that the quotation has been accepted.
Accepting the dynamic rate
If the client accepts the dynamic rate, the button will change to Review and book! The customer will then be redirected to the review and book page where they will be able to see a summary of the flight details.
On this page, they’ll also see any terms and conditions and two boxes to fill in with their details. These are Name and Email. This information will be sent to the freight forwarder.
If the customer agrees with the eBooking, they can click on Book this shipment.
If the reservation has been successful, your client will receive an on-screen message, and both you and your client will receive a confirmation email with the flight information.
Additionally, you as the freight forwarder will receive updates about this shipment. You’ll find the shipment information and updates within your account by expanding the side menu and clicking on eBookings.
For any information about the dynamic quoting feature, please reach out to us at ebooking.support@freightos.com or start a conversation with us by clicking on the green speech bubble located to the bottom right-hand side of your account when you’ve logged in.