What do you really accomplish with an RFP?

There has been much chatter out there regarding "What do you really accomplish with an RFP?" A friend of mine from a competing company asked this very question, and it was time to chime in and give my 2 cents. I think the real question is, "What do you do before you send out an RFP / RFQ? Because if you don't do your homework before you send one out, you won't accomplish much. It's what you do as a service provider once the client is on board that determines whether or not you'll have what it takes to build a long-term business relationship with them and the carriers that work for you and them moving their products.

So how do you do this?

As a service provider for a few decades, I have learned that to gain trust, you must take care of the ones who take care of you, your carriers, and the ones who sign your paycheck... your clients! The key to this mystery is called "Collaboration!" You can not build long-term business relationships and negotiate favorable rates for the client and carrier if the key players do not collaborate and share critical operational information from the inside out first and then from the outside in with each other. It's plain and simple, and if you don't...you will fail.

I developed the following RPF / RFQ process, I don't think you will find this out there, and this is just a small taste of what I put into managed transportation opportunities.

An RFP / RFQ has to be correctly written and, as an example, contain the following info:

*Purpose:

*Background:

*Intent:

*Distribution Network:

*Modes to be included:

*General Carrier Requirements:

*Insurance - Minimum Requirements:

*Security and Risk Programs:

*EDI / API Transactions:

*Warehouse Operations:

*Warehouse Hours of Operations:

*Load Tender Process:

*Delivery Appointment Process:

*Exception Reporting (OS & D):

*Projected Lane Volumes:

*Seasonal Volume Trends:

*Monthly Volume Trends By Week:

*Avg. Length of Haul:

*Pricing and Accessorial Standardization:

*Equipment Condition:

And there are many more bullet points to my RFP / RFQ request besides what I wrote above. I must add that the other bullet points not mentioned deal directly with "Big Box Dealers" regarding CRDD, MABD, +/-, Chargeback $'s, and additional accessorial charges that can be avoided.

So "What do you really accomplish with an RFP?"

If an RFP / RFQ is written correctly, each side will gain a tremendous amount of information. Whether you are providing an automated RFP / RFQ or a manual one, attention to detail is critical. Sharing critical operational information from both the shipper and carrier shows that they are open and willing to work with each other.

By the way, carriers love this information, as they do not get this type of information often.

Call Railgistixs. We know how to close the gap, streamline your operations, and reduce your costs.