Large Freight Quotes

If you're unable to speak to the people who issue the RFQ (or better yet, the decision maker) then you really have to ask yourself if it is worth your time. One reason for my follow-up call is to see if they have the time to answer my questions. If they don't then I don't bother quoting, or limit my time investment to only a few key lanes.
 
As I said, the time to build the relationship is BEFORE the RFQ. The outside companies provide the analytics, but it's the procurement people at the shipper who ultimately make the buying decision. I've done enough of these to know that while price obviously is a factor, it's not the only factor. If you have nobody at the shipping customer who you could engage on in regards to what they do, it means there was no relationship, and basically you're throwing crap against the wall. It's shortsighted to think that the third parties who create the RFQ tools are ruling the roost.
 
The man, I do agree that relationships are very important and do play a role in who gets awarded some or all of the lanes on a large RFQ. However, the experience I was talking about involved a very, very large multinational corporation who ship from various locations throughout North America and globally. The portion of the business we were handling for them was extremely small in the scope of their operation. Yes we did, and still do, have a very good relationship with the manager responsible for the few lanes we handled. The troubling part of the exercise for us was that all of their suppliers and all of their lanes were thrown into the mix on a North America wide basis. After the tender closed, we were told that we were not successful on any of the lanes we bid on. The happy ending to this story, and certainly a result of the relationship we have with the manager, is that we still do the same volume, only somewhat "under the radar" as far as head office is concerned.
 
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Thanks loaders, I was trying to figure out how to explain my point. I also see that you had a pre-existing relationship before the RFQ came out. That should definitely be in your favour. It's when you are looking to secure new business that the rate takes precedence. It can be next to impossible to find out who to talk to never mind trying to get some of their time to discuss questions.

I have been told that the RFQ is pretty self-explanatory which means don't ask questions, just give me the rates. Large companies don't afford decision makers the time to discuss issues with everyone that participates in the RFQ. That would take up too much of their time.
 
The massive RFQ spreadsheets that come my way get examined for what will work for me. If there isn't enough information in the spreadsheet, I ask for it. If I don't get it, I don't bother with it.

One of my favorites is the reverse auction. Frankly I find it laughable, and usually I participate just for sport. A few years ago a well known bakery company invited us to partake of one. Since there were a few lanes that were of value to us, we engaged. We knew our marks and did not bid below them. Needless to say, we did not get the freight either. The lowest bidder got the award but had nowhere near enough equipment to satisfy the requirement, roughly 5% of the need. Subsequently the shipper called us and asked if we had the equipment to do the job, which we did. Everything was good until we got back around to the price issue. The shipper thought we should do the work for the lowest bidder's price and was quite put out when he was informed otherwise. It was a sour relationship from the start. In the end, we just walked away.

One of the best ones though was the H.J. Heinz auction a number of years ago. In the end a one-man-basement-office load broker out of Newfoundland ended up with a majority of the business. The only problem was he bid the rates so low he couldn't find any trucks to do the business. Most of you probably saw them flogged all over LoadLink. Major embarrassment for Heinz, the company that hosted the auction, and the load broker. Pretty much all of the carriers found it hilarious though ... LOL
 
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