Tender RfQ Preparation

This article describes the tender preparation process and guides you through all the tabs available in the Create RfQ dialog.

To start a tender, click Start RfQ under Requests in the top menu bar. This will open a new dialog that guides you through the steps required to create an RfQ.

The navigation bar at the top displays all tabs where you can edit RfQ-specific details, numbered from 01 to 15. The sections below explain the information required in each tab.

01 - Details:

This tab contains the general information for the RfQ.

• Path*: Enter the desired folder location for your tender, for example:

/FCL/New

• Denotation*: Enter the name of your tender.

• Type*: Select Standard.

• Status*: When the RfQ process is started, the status is set to Draft. 

To activate it, simply change the status to Active.

02 - Description:

In this tab, you can enter additional information about the tender. This description will be visible to the carrier when they open their RfQ invitation.

Note: You can enter text in multiple languages. Depending on the language selected by the supplier (LSP) in their platform, they will receive the communication in that language, provided you have entered it accordingly. Otherwise, the communication will be displayed in English.

03 - Contact Person:

In this tab, you can select the primary and secondary contacts on the shipper side who will appear in communications with suppliers related to this tender.

To add a new contact person, click Add. A new dialog will open showing the registered users.

Search for the desired contact, select it, and then click Select.

04 - LSPs:

In the Supplier / LSPs tab, you can select the suppliers you want to invite to the tender. Click Add and choose the suppliers from the pop-up window.

Alternatively, you can invite a supplier who is not part of your registered supplier group. To do this, click Invite and enter their email address.

If you want to send a message to the suppliers participating in the tender, select the supplier and click Notify. This opens a dialog where you can compose and send an email.

Once the tender has ended, you can temporarily allow a specific supplier to submit a quote after the deadline. To do this, click Lock/Unlock. This action will send an email to the selected supplier informing them that they can quote. The lock icon on the right side of the screen will also change to show that the tender is open again for that supplier.

To lock it again, simply repeat the process until the lock icon under Lock/Unlock appears locked.

Quote Inbox:

(Visible only after the RfQ start date has been reached)

From this tab, you can view all quotations submitted by the invited suppliers. You can either click View to open a specific quote or Export all quotes, to Download all quotations in a consolidated Excel file.

05 - Time Lines:

Start and End

In this section, enter the start and end dates of the tender:

• Start*: when the tender begins

• End*: when the tender ends

Rate Validity

Here, you define the validity period for the tendered lanes:

• Valid From*

• Valid To*

Note: The system uses your computer’s time zone. The displayed times automatically adjust for both your side and the supplier’s side based on the location/time zone of the computer being used.

06 - NDA:

If NDA Required is selected and the corresponding Non-Disclosure Agreement document has been added, the supplier must manually accept the agreement before gaining further access to the tender.

07 - Options:

• Currency: Define the default currency for your RfQ.

Cherry Picking (H / Horizontal)

• Allowed / checked by default: Only the mandatory fields in a row must be completed.

• Not Allowed / unchecked: The supplier must fill in all requested columns for a rate in order to submit the quote.

Cherry Picking (V / Vertical)

• Allowed / checked by default: The supplier can choose which rates to quote.

• Not Allowed / unchecked: All rates in all rate sheets/collections must be quoted.

• Column Description: If selected, the comments in the column description (defined under Profile / Column Setup) will be visible in the Excel file downloaded by the supplier.

• Sheet Password: If needed, you can protect the Excel sheet with a password. This is usually left blank unless required.

08 - Documents:

If you want to include documents in your tender, click Add and select the desired documents from those available in the system’s Documents tab.

Important: If you cannot select documents here, they have not been uploaded in advance.

09 - Rates:

In this tab, you must select the collection(s) you want to tender. Click Add and choose from your available collections.

Notes:

• Collections must already be created in the RMGT (Rate Management) before they can be selected in the RfQ dialog.

• You can include multiple collections from different MoTs in the same tender.

Make Collections Mandatory:

In the RfQ > Rates tab, a new Mandatory column is available with a slider.

• Enable the slider to mark a collection as mandatory.

• By default, the slider is disabled for all collections.

When a collection is marked as mandatory, the supplier must quote all lanes in that collection.

10 -Validations:

The user can view the existing restrictions and validations configured in Column Setup.

Status Checkboxes:

• Enabled validations are displayed as checked, while disabled ones appear unchecked for the RfQ.

• The user can enable or disable the available restrictions and validations by changing the checkbox values inherited from the profile. This allows the user to override the profile defaults and apply different validation rules for a specific tender if needed.

11 - Welcome Text / Starting Notification:

This is a prefilled message that will be sent to suppliers when the tender is launched. You can keep the default text or modify it to suit your needs. Multiple languages are supported.

12 - Discharge Text / Ending Notification:

This is a prefilled message that will be sent to suppliers at the end of the tender. You can keep it as is or customize it.

13 - Reminder:

If Enabled, a reminder email will be sent to the invited suppliers.

• Effective Date*: Select how many days before the RFQ ends the reminder should be sent.

• Effective Time*: Select the time at which the reminder should be sent.

You can also choose whether the reminder is sent daily or only on specific days of the week.

14 - Notes / Private Notes:

Here you can enter free-form internal notes related to the tender. These notes are not visible to suppliers.

15 - Feedback:

You can add feedback reports that will be sent to suppliers at the end of the bidding timeline.

The feedback usually shows, for each lane, how the supplier’s offer compares to the winning bid in percentage terms.

Important: Feedback scenarios must be created before the tender is started. Please contact your onboarding manager for more information.

If a feedback scenario has been configured, it can be added once the RfQ is in progress and before it ends.

Feedback on Bid, Feedback on Deadline, and Send Feedback Now determine when the email notification is sent to the supplier. The feedback report itself becomes available shortly after a quote is submitted.