Tendering freight means asking several carriers for structured quotes on the same information base: lanes, volumes, units, windows, and accessorial rules. A well-built RFQ (Request for Quotation) cuts transport spend 5–12% in the first round; a poorly built one produces aggressive base rates recovered through accessorials for the whole contract.
Golden rule: tender expected cost per shipment, not linehaul rate alone. This guide covers data, accessorials, total-cost modeling, carrier validation, and post-award audit.
- savings, good RFQ
- 5–12%
- carriers per pack
- 5–8
- not base rate only
- Total
- leakage without audit
- 6–12 m
Cluster: cost per kilometer · charges dictionary · audit an invoice · free diagnostic.
Build the data pack
Per lane include: exact origin-destination, monthly volume and seasonality, unit type, typical weight and cube, load/unload windows, appointment and evidence (POD) requirements.
Five steps of a serious RFQ
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Step detail · 01
Data
Pack
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Exact OD + reference km
Accessorial rules IN the RFQ
The costliest error: tender linehaul only and “see later” on accessorials. Every concept in the charges dictionary must be quoted at the same table.
| Accessorial | Fix in RFQ | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Detention | Free time + hourly rate | Low base + high detention |
| Handling | In/out and who loads | Doubles with transfer |
| Reconsignment | Rate and causes | No event cap |
| False freight | Positioning + % | 100% without GPS proof |
| Diesel index | CRE, band, symmetry | No written formula |
Compare total cost, not rate
Per-lane model: base rate + expected accessorials (real history per 100 shipments) + failure cost (OTIF and retail chargebacks).
RFQ
Tender expected total cost
Base
lane · unit
Extras
events / 100
Failure
chargebacks
Cost of missing SLA
Rule
Aggressive base + expensive detention = recovery strategy. Hear it at the table.
Contrast each bid against cost per kilometer: rate below CPK is a red flag for accessorial recovery or hidden subcontracting.
Validate before award
RFC, SICT permit, policy verified with insurer, active references: the full checklist lives in ghost carrier validation. The best bid from a carrier that fails validation is not a bid.
Due diligence
Pre-award
RFC
69-B clean
SICT
Live permit
Policy
With insurer
Refs
Active now
Close with audit
Tender sets price; audit defends it. Without invoice-by-invoice reconciliation to the awarded rate card, savings evaporate in 6–12 months through accessorial drift and misapplication.
Consistent finding in our 100-invoice diagnostics. Manual method: how to audit a freight invoice. Automated: Audit Agent.
What OCL runs on tender
OCL Cargo is an autonomous shipper-side TMS. The RFQ rate card becomes rules for the Audit Agent: every invoice reconciles to award before pay (audit before pay). It uses automated screen control (computer use) on portals when there is no integration. It can stamp invoice and Carta Porte when applicable. It coexists with procurement and operations: humans negotiate the RFQ, agent defends price invoice by invoice.
6–8 week pilot
Take 100 post-tender invoices. Baseline: drift vs awarded rate card, MXN in uncontracted accessorials, and clarification hours. Agent audits 100%; accounts payable only sees exceptions. Pattern when auditing 100%: recover 5–7% of spend when tender cut base but raised accessorials on invoice.
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Average drift vs awarded rate card
Key takeaways5 points
- Serious RFQ: same lanes, volumes, units, and rules for everyone.
- Tender expected total cost: base + historical accessorials + OTIF/chargeback cost.
- Accessorials at the table: detention, handling, reconsignment, diesel index.
- Validate RFC, SICT, policy with insurer before signing.
- Tender sets price; audit defends it (5–7% pattern).
Did your last tender cut rate and raise accessorials on invoice?
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Annually for trunk lanes with semiannual index review; more frequent changes burn good carriers and attract desperate ones.
5–8 per route pack: enough competition without unmanageable analysis. Award 2–3 per corridor for backup.
Pure auction optimizes base rate and sacrifices everything else; it works only when accessorials and service are locked in non-negotiable rules. In Mexico, with tight capacity, relationship weight matters.
Because aggressive base + expensive detention is a recovery strategy. If you do not quote accessorials at the table, you buy cheap and pay expensive all contract long.
Without invoice-by-invoice reconciliation to the awarded rate card, tender savings evaporate in 6–12 months through accessorial drift.
Yes. The Audit Agent reconciles each invoice to the RFQ rate card before pay. Pilot 6–8 weeks.