Tendering is often a tedious business for shippers. They need to register on a tendering platform first, then aggregate transport data to set up the tender, find and select new carriers, vet and onboard them to their system and – finally – execute the tender. These tasks cause a high workload on the shipper’s side. A good alternative is the utilization of a transport management solution with an integrated tender service like InstaFreight offers.
Managing tenders can be a challenge
With the advance of technology, logistics processes are increasingly being handled digitally. This also refers to tenders with procurement platforms as the way of means to carry them out.
However, this involves many challenges for shippers. A major issue is that procurement platforms are external systems to be handled. So first of all, shippers are required to go through a registration process and get familiar with the system. Then they need to gather and enter all relevant transport data for setting up the tender. When it comes to evaluating the incoming offers, price is only one criteria next to a carrier’s quality and reliability. But how to identify the best performing carrier(s) when the procurement platform cannot provide data? In any case, several negotiation rounds follow. With the ultimate decision for the ideal portfolio providing the best results, the new carrier network has now to be onboarded to the shipper’s own system – an often complex task due to the administrative effort and lacking resources: All new transport partners have to be vetted, integrated and managed. The subsequent operational execution likewise takes up many resources. From transport coordination to data analysis to carrier invoicing – those and many other tasks have to be taken care of.
So how can shippers reduce their workload and conduct their tenders more efficiently?
Digital transport management: Fast & easy tendering
Managing their entire transport logistics – including tenders – via a single platform can be a solution for this challenge. With their carriers and transports administered digitally and centrally in one system, shippers benefit from an increase in transparency and efficiency.
This solution is exactly what digital transport management providers like InstaFreight offer: InstaFreight onboards the carrier network of their customers to the InstaFreight platform and manages it as a neutral service provider. On top, customers have access to the capacities of InstaFreight’s large network of more than 25,000 vetted carriers. It also provides the basis for an efficient tendering process: Via an integration with Freightender, the leading cloud-based procurement platform, InstaFreight manages tenders for their customers fast and easily. While the actual tendering process is carried out on the Freightender platform, an automated data exchange ensures that all information is transmitted seamlessly between InstaFreight and Freightender. That way, manual tasks for the end user become redundant and tendering just takes a few mouse clicks.
By this tech-based approach, all of a shipper’s manual work from carrier integration to transport execution and tracking to payment and data analytics is automated and replaced with an efficient end-to-end digital process – all via one system and out of one hand.
Benefits of InstaFreight’s transport management service
Shippers who use InstaFreight for their transport and tender management enjoy three major advantages:
1. Digitizing the collaboration with carriers
Telephone and email are often the major communication channels between a shipper and their carriers. InstaFreight replaces this time-consuming, manual collaboration with fast, tech-based processes:
With the onboarding of the entire carrier base, lanes and rates of a customer to the InstaFreight platform, all operational processes become digitized: Transports are automatically assigned and tracked, the collected transport data is incorporated in a KPI reporting and paperwork is reduced by a digital document management, freight bill audit and invoicing. Tenders are managed just as easily, as the integration between InstaFreight and Freightender incorporates a smooth data exchange. The required data for the tender is retrieved from InstaFreight via mouse click and processed in a tender on the Freightender platform. All carriers of InstaFreight’s network who are operating the indicated lane are automatically invited via email and can take part in the tender just by clicking on a link. After selecting the best carrier(s) based on a detailed reporting, the information gets (re)transferred to InstaFreight automatically and the tender can be executed there.
This way, the collaboration between a shipper and their carrier network is fully digitized. InstaFreight manages all processes, while their customers keep control.
2. Building and managing a high-quality transport network
Tenders are a good way of growing a shipper’s carrier base – if only the selection, vetting, onboarding and administration of new carriers wouldn’t be such an effort.
With InstaFreight’s transport management service, building and managing a high-quality transport network is easy – with tenders as an efficient tool. Shippers can award their regular business within InstaFreight’s large network of more than 25,000 already vetted carriers. Data analytics and reportings on each carrier’s performance empower them to choose the right carrier(s) based on their reliability and quality. Additionally, InstaFreight supports them in benchmarking freight costs to achieve the best possible prices.
Thereby, customers are able to create strategic and long term relationships with new transport partners with InstaFreight as the contractual party.
3. Getting actionable insights
Transparency is key to efficiency. By their tech-based approach, InstaFreight allows shippers to make smart decisions based on data insights:
As part of the tendering process, InstaFreight and Freightender provide a report that enables shippers to better compare offers and prices. Another regular KPI reporting allows customers to review the performance of their daily transport logistics for any given period. It contains numbers on operational and financial metrics like freight costs, carrier reliability, on-time-delivery and transport issues and provides insights into tender execution. A sustainability reporting furthermore delivers data on a shipper’s CO2 emissions and their environmental footprint.
By evaluating this data, shippers receive actionable insights and can take the first steps in optimizing their supply chain.
One end-to-end solution for road freight in Europe
For shippers, setting up an efficient tender process involves a high investment of resources. The implementation and administration of a new carrier network as well as the operational execution of a tender takes up time and manpower.
By contracting a transport management provider with integrated tender service like InstaFreight, shippers benefit from an end-to-end digital solution that creates transparency and efficiency throughout their supply chain: They digitize the collaboration with their carriers, build and manage a high-quality transport network and receive actionable insights – while keeping control over strategic decisions like carrier portfolio and price negotiations.
Thus, shippers can focus on what’s most important: Growing their business!
Would you also like to benefit from InstaFreight as a contractual partner for your tender management? Contact us by email at tender.management@instafreight.com for a non-binding offer.
