After a ShipperGuide shipper publishes an RFP, selected carriers will receive an email to bid on the RFP. This article will cover how to view and submit bids for an RFP.
Topics covered in this article:
View the RFP:
A login is not required to bid on RFPs from ShipperGuide shippers.
You can access the RFP directly from the bid invitation email by clicking
Or you can view the RFP directly from your Loadsmart account:
1. On your Loadsmart account, go to CONTRACTS > SHIPPERS RFPS
2. You will be directed to the RFP page. Filter the RFPs list to Click
to view the RFP.
The bid details will display on the top section of the page, including:
- Contract Period Duration
- Number of Lanes
- Mode
- Volume Frequency
- Submit Rates With/Without Fuel
- Currency
- Shipper Contact
- Bid Deadline
- Attached Documents
Below the bid details will display the lane details, including:
- Origin/Destination - state, city, and zip code
- Lane ID
- Total Miles
- Volume
- Equipment Type
- Additional stops between the origin and destination - hover
over to view additional stops
- Notes - click
to expand additional lane notes.
Submit bids:
Please see the Lane Proposal Template article if you want to import your bids.
1. Enter the proposed flat rate or the rate per mile on the lane(s) you would like to bid. The system will automatically calculate the flat rate or rate per mile if either value is entered.
Flat Rate = rate per mile * miles
Rate per Mile = flat rate / miles
2. Enter the proposed capacity on the lane(s) you would like to bid. The system will trigger an error if the capacity field is blank or less than 1. Leave the flat rate, rate per mile, and capacity fields empty if you would not like to bid on a lane.
Updates to the lane proposal(s) will automatically save to the system to allow users to make revisions until proposals are submitted or when the bid deadline ends.
3. If a shipper is requesting accessorial rates to be submitted, there will be a tab next to the Lanes List called Accessorials. Enter your accessorial rates under Rate and any notes for the shipper to review.
The “Last Rate” column lists the previous rate that was submitted for that respective Accessorial. If there have been any changes to your accessorial rates, they can be added and resubmitted.
4. If you are ready to submit your proposal, click
Or you can click the checkbox next to Auto-submit to save your rates and automatically submit the proposal when the bid deadline ends.
Important: Proposals that are not submitted will not be considered for bidding. Please make sure to click SUBMIT or AUTO-SUBMIT.
To withdraw/update your offer, click to reopen the bid page. You can only submit/withdraw your bid if the RFP is open and the bid deadline has not passed.
RFP Results:
1. Filter the RFP list to
2. Awarded/Ranked lanes will have enabled next to the RFP. Click
- Primary/backup awarded carriers(not including spot RFPs) will be directed to the award confirmation page to accept or reject their awarded lanes.
- Primary/backup awarded carriers for spot RFPs will be directed to the submitted award confirmation page. Awarded spot RFPs responses will be auto-accepted.
- Ranked carriers will be directed to their bid page to view the lanes the carrier was added to the shipper’s waterfall tendering.
added to waterfall tendering for the lane
not added to waterfall tender for the lane
Non-awarded/ranked carriers can click to view their submitted proposals.
Carriers will also be notified via email when the shipper finalizes the bid:
- Spot Quote RFP awarded carriers’ responses will be auto-accepted. They will receive an email with a PDF attachment for the carrier to view the awarded lane details.
- Primary/backup awarded carriers for all other RFPs will receive an email with a link directing them to the award confirmation page to accept or reject their awarded lanes.
- Ranked carriers will receive an email that the bid has been finalized and they have been added to the shipper’s waterfall tendering. The email will contain a link directing them to their lane results page.
- Non-awarded carriers will receive an email that the bid has ended. If the shipper has enabled carrier feedback, the email will include a link to view a percentage range of how far their proposals were from the awarded rate to better prepare for future operations.