There are several reasons why you may need to make an Ad Hoc request. These can be that you have an existing quote that you want the price to be improved upon, you’re creating a quote from scratch, or you’re making an Ad Hoc request to the airline without selecting a rate (e.g. you may have prior knowledge that the rate is available but not published).

Within this article, we’ll focus on the instance where you have an existing quote, but you’re looking for an improvement. However, Ad Hocs in the other scenarios can also be created using this method.

Make a general rate search

Expand the side menu and click on New Rate & Quote, as you would to create a normal quote.

Enter your cargo information. By default, the Shipment details button will be turned on, and the Units tab will be selected. Bear in mind that you cannot make an Ad Hoc request without indicating your pieces.

Once you have filled in your details, click on Search all rates.

Select your rates

Once the search results have loaded, select the options best suited for you by clicking on the tick box next to them. You can select up to 20 quotes.

Click on the Request Ad Hoc rates symbol, which is located at the top of the rates search results:

Once clicked, you will be directed to the page where you can enter your proposed rates to the airline.

Enter further details

You now need to enter and check all the details of the requests, which means filling in the mandatory fields. These are all identifiable by the red asterisk and are as follows:

Cargo ready date

Latest arrival date

Movement type

Incoterm

Negotiate your rate

Once you have entered your Ad Hoc information, you’re ready to start thinking about the proposed rate from the airline. Select from the left-hand side which quotes you’d like to request an Ad Hoc for by clicking the respective boxes.

The Market Rate and Market cost are visible to give you an idea of how much you want to try and negotiate your Ad Hoc rate for. Enter your Requested Rate, or the rate you want to negotiate with the airline.

Then, indicate the urgency of the request with the Response Time section. The minimum requested response time is 2 hours, but you can add an extra note if it’s more urgent.

Select who you want the email receiver to be for the request. You can choose an already existing contact from your account by clicking on the dropdown, or enter an email address manually.

If you have them, attach any supporting documents that can help negotiate the price by clicking on the paperclip symbol. These documents can be proof of a rate that was negotiated outside your WebCargo account.

Once you’ve checked all pieces of information and clicked the terms and conditions box, click Save & Send. The Ad Hoc request will be sent to the indicated email address(es).

Tip: If you have a specific contact you want to send this request to but they’re not in the system, you can create a contact for them. Click here to find out how to add, edit and remove contacts.

Email responses from the airlines

After submitting your request, the airline receives an email with a link to an Ad Hoc proposal. By clicking the link, the airline can view a request form with options to accept, reject, or propose an alternative rate. The form displays the target rate, offered rate, and current rate, and allows the airline to add their offered rate and flight details.

Once completed, they can click "Send" to accept the rate in your WebCargo account, or reject the proposal. If they propose an alternative, a new tab opens for further negotiation. Both parties receive a PDF response via email, and the Ad Hoc status in your WebCargo account is updated accordingly.

Check your Ad Hoc rate requests

To track the status of each of your Ad Hoc requests, navigate to the AdHocs page by expanding the side menu and selecting Rate Management.

Then click on Mainleg to expand the dropdown menu and click on AdHocs.

Search for a specific quote or find it on the list. Under the Status column, you will be able to see whether it has been accepted or not and the rate that has been offered.

To find out more about how to manage your Ad Hoc requests, including how to check them in detail, sending reminders to the airline or rejecting their proposal, take a look at this article.