How do I run a freight bid for our lanes?
Key Takeaways
- A freight bid is only as good as its lane data. Clean origins, destinations, volumes, modes and equipment are worth more than any negotiating tactic.
- Spell out accessorials and terms in the bid, or carriers will price the base rate low and recover the difference on the invoice.
- Use one bid sheet format for every carrier, so answers can be compared lane by lane without retyping.
- Run two or three rounds, then award by lane on total cost, service and capacity, with a backup carrier for each lane.
- The bid isn't done at award. Most of the savings are lost after it, when bookings go to the wrong carrier or invoices drift from the contract.
- Wilson, by Cartage, is an AI logistics agent that books awarded carriers at the awarded rates, collects a rate confirmation for each load and audits every invoice against it.
How do I run a freight bid for our lanes?
Last year's bid took three months. The team built a spreadsheet of 140 lanes, sent it to 25 carriers, got back answers in 25 different formats, spent weeks normalizing them and finally awarded the lanes in March. By June, a review showed that a third of loads on awarded lanes had moved with other carriers at spot rates, and several invoices from awarded carriers didn't match the contracted rates. The bid looked like a success on paper. The freight bills didn't.
Run a freight bid by building clean lane data with real volumes, writing down the terms and accessorials carriers must price, sending one bid sheet to a chosen group of approved carriers, comparing answers on total cost and service over two or three rounds, awarding by lane with primary and backup carriers, and then making sure every booking uses the awarded rate and every invoice matches it. The last step is where most bids lose their value.
A freight bid, often called a freight RFP or a procurement event, is a structured request for carriers to price a set of lanes for a period, usually a year. It sets contract or committed rates, so the company isn't buying every load on the spot market.
When to run a bid
Most companies bid their main lanes once a year, sometimes with a shorter mid-year review. Other triggers: a big change in volume or lanes, a new plant or warehouse, contracted rates far from the market, or carriers routinely rejecting loads at the contracted rate. A bid that comes too often wears out carriers; one that comes too rarely leaves rates out of touch.
What a bid can and can't do
A bid sets a price and an expected volume. It doesn't guarantee capacity. A carrier that wins a lane at a low rate may decline loads when the market tightens. A bid works best when the awarded rate is realistic, the volume estimate is honest and the company actually tenders the freight it said it would.
Who should be involved
Logistics owns the bid, but it needs data from finance (freight spend), sales or planning (expected volume) and the plants or warehouses (dock hours, accessorial needs). Purchasing may run the formal process. The people who book loads every day should review the award; they know which carriers actually pick up.
How do you prepare the lane data and bid sheet?
Pull every shipment from the last 12 months, group it into lanes, attach real volumes and requirements, and put it into a single bid sheet that every carrier fills in the same way. Preparation takes the most time and pays back the most.
Step 1: Collect shipment history
Export all shipments for the past year: origin, destination, ship date, mode, equipment, weight, pallets, accessorials and what was paid. Include spot loads, not only contract loads. If freight data is split across plants, systems or inboxes, combine it first.
Step 2: Define lanes
A lane is an origin and destination pair. Pick a level of detail that carriers can price and that matches how your freight moves: city to city, postal code to postal code or region to region. Too fine and every lane has one load a year; too broad and carriers can't price accurately. Many shippers use specific origins (their plants) and destination regions.
Step 3: Attach volumes
For each lane, show loads per year and, ideally, per month or week, so carriers see seasonality. Adjust for known changes: a new customer, a closed plant, a product moving to another warehouse. Be honest. Inflating volume to get a lower rate damages trust when the freight doesn't show up, and carriers remember at the next bid.
Step 4: List requirements per lane
Note mode (LTL, truckload, intermodal if relevant), equipment (dry van, reefer, flatbed), average weight, average pallets, hazmat, temperature requirements, appointment requirements, live load or drop trailer, and typical dock hours at each end.
Step 5: Define accessorials and terms
This step decides whether the bid's rates will hold. Write down:
- Detention free time and hourly rate you expect carriers to quote
- Stop-off charges for multi-stop loads
- Layover and truck ordered not used (TONU) charges
- Liftgate, inside delivery, residential and limited access charges for LTL
- Fuel surcharge method: the published table and index each rate is tied to
- Payment terms and invoice requirements, including that every invoice references the load number and matches the rate confirmation
- Tender acceptance expectations: how fast carriers should accept or decline
- How long rates are valid and how changes will be handled
If carriers price only a base rate, accessorials will come later at their own tariff. Asking carriers to quote them in the bid makes the total cost visible.
LTL bids work differently
LTL carriers usually price a shipper's whole LTL profile, not individual lanes. Instead of one rate per lane, they offer a discount off a named base tariff, a minimum charge, sometimes a freight class exception for your main products, and their accessorial schedule. To compare LTL answers, re-rate a sample of last year's actual LTL shipments under each carrier's offer, including accessorials, and compare the totals. A deep discount on a tariff with high base rates can cost more than a smaller discount on a lower tariff. Always ask how the carrier handles linear foot or space rules, and at what point it wants large shipments quoted as volume.
Step 6: Build the bid sheet
One row per lane, with the lane data filled in and blank columns for the carrier to fill: rate (per load or per mile, plus fuel method), accessorials, transit time, capacity they'll commit (loads per week) and any conditions. For LTL, ask for a discount off a named base tariff and the minimum charge, or rates by weight break, and specify the freight classes you ship.
| Column | Filled by | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Lane ID | Shipper | L-042 |
| Origin | Shipper | Plant 2, postal code |
| Destination | Shipper | Destination region or postal code |
| Mode and equipment | Shipper | Truckload, 53-foot dry van |
| Annual loads | Shipper | 120 |
| Average weight | Shipper | 32,000 pounds |
| Requirements | Shipper | Appointment at delivery, live load |
| Rate | Carrier | Per load, excluding fuel |
| Fuel method | Carrier | Named table and index |
| Accessorials | Carrier | Detention, stop-off, TONU |
| Transit days | Carrier | 2 |
| Committed capacity | Carrier | 3 loads per week |
| Notes | Carrier | Conditions or exceptions |
Lock the format. A bid sheet carriers can rearrange will come back in shapes that can't be compared.
How do you run the bid rounds and award lanes?
Invite a chosen group of approved carriers, run a first round on the full sheet, a second round with feedback on the lanes that matter, then award by lane with a primary and a backup carrier. Keep a published timeline and stick to it.
Step 1: Choose the carriers
Invite carriers the company already uses and trusts, plus a few it would consider approving. Fewer serious carriers beat many casual ones: each carrier needs time to price properly, and the team needs time to read answers. Make sure any new carrier goes through the company's approval process before it can win freight.
Step 2: Send the bid package
Send the bid sheet, the terms, the timeline, a contact for questions and the rules: how answers will be judged, how many rounds there will be and when awards will be announced. Answer questions in writing and share the answers with every carrier, so they all price the same information.
Step 3: Round one
Give carriers a reasonable window, often a couple of weeks for a large bid. When answers come back, check them for completeness. Load them into one comparison by lane: each carrier's rate, the fuel method, the accessorials, transit and capacity.
Step 4: Compare on total cost
Calculate an expected total cost per load for each carrier on each lane: the rate plus expected fuel plus the accessorials the lane usually incurs, based on history. A carrier with a low base rate and high detention charges on a lane with frequent waiting may cost more than one with a higher base. Then compare against your own targets for each lane. For how to set targets that hold up, see setting carrier rate targets before automating.
Step 5: Round two
Give each carrier feedback on the lanes where it's close: "your rate on lane L-042 is above the leading answer," without revealing other carriers' numbers if your terms say you won't. Ask for revised rates. Drop lanes and carriers that are clearly out of range. A third round is sometimes worth it on the largest lanes; beyond that, carriers lose interest.
Step 6: Award by lane
For each lane, choose:
- A primary carrier that gets the first tender for every load
- One or two backup carriers for when the primary declines
- The rates for each, including accessorials and fuel method
- The expected volume and any commitment
Don't award only on price. Look at past service from carriers already in use: on-time pickup, tender acceptance and invoice accuracy. A slightly higher rate from a carrier that accepts every load may cost less than a low rate that falls through to the spot market.
Step 7: Announce and confirm
Send each carrier its awarded lanes, rates, terms and effective dates in writing, and get written acceptance. Tell carriers that didn't win, with thanks; they may be the backup next year.
An example award
Consider a hypothetical manufacturer bidding 60 truckload lanes with eight approved carriers. After round two, it awards 52 lanes, each with a primary and a backup. On eight lanes with low, irregular volume, no carrier answer beats its own spot history, so it leaves those lanes to spot quotes from approved carriers. It records every awarded rate, fuel method and accessorial schedule in one place before the effective date, so the people and systems booking loads use the new rates from the first day.
How do you make sure awarded rates are actually used?
After the award, every load on an awarded lane should be tendered to the primary carrier at the awarded rate, then to the backup, before going to spot, and every invoice should be checked against the rate confirmation. This is routing compliance and invoice compliance, and it decides whether the bid saves money.
Load the rates before the effective date
Put every awarded rate into the system or rate table the team books from, with the lane, carrier, rate, fuel method, accessorials and dates. A bid result that lives only in a procurement file won't be used. If the team is changing freight systems at the same time, see preserving carrier contract rates during a TMS replacement.
Follow a routing order
For each load: offer it to the primary at the awarded rate. If declined, or no answer within the agreed time, offer it to the backup. Only then go to spot quotes. Record each step, so declines can be counted.
Get a rate confirmation for every load
Each booked load needs a written rate confirmation showing the awarded rate and terms. If a carrier tries to change the rate at booking, it should be visible immediately, not on the invoice. This matters most on awarded lanes, because the rate confirmation is the proof that the contract was applied. Operations has to carry the bid through; see procurement bought the rate, operations still has to move the load.
Audit every invoice against the confirmation
Check the base rate, fuel, accessorials and any added charges against the rate confirmation and the POD. Invoices from awarded carriers sometimes come in at the old rate, a different fuel table or with accessorials billed at tariff instead of the awarded schedule. Catch it before paying.
Track compliance monthly
| Measure | What it shows | What to do if it's low |
|---|---|---|
| Share of awarded-lane loads tendered to the primary | Whether the team follows the routing order | Find out why loads go elsewhere |
| Primary acceptance rate | Whether the carrier honors the award | Talk to the carrier; move volume to the backup |
| Share of loads moved at spot on awarded lanes | How much freight escapes the contract | Check rates against the market; rebid the lane if needed |
| Invoices matching the rate confirmation | Billing accuracy | Dispute differences; raise repeat errors with the carrier |
| Actual volume against bid volume | Whether your forecast was honest | Adjust next bid's volumes |
Handle rate change requests during the term
Carriers sometimes ask to raise awarded rates mid-term, especially when the market tightens. Decide in advance how to respond: review the request against current market rates and the carrier's acceptance record, agree to a change only in writing with a new effective date, and update the rate table the same day. A rate change agreed by phone and never recorded is how invoices and rate confirmations start to disagree.
A hypothetical compliance check
Consider a company three months after its award. It pulls every load on awarded lanes and finds that 81% went to the primary carrier, 9% to the backup and 10% to spot. Most spot loads were on two lanes where the primary declined often. On invoices, most matched, but one carrier billed detention at its tariff rate instead of the awarded rate for six weeks. The team recovers the difference, moves more volume on the two weak lanes to the backups and schedules a mini-bid for them.
When to rebid a lane mid-year
If a primary carrier declines most loads, if spot rates on a lane fall well below the award, or if volume changes a lot, rebid that lane on its own. A mini-bid on a few lanes takes days, not months.
What mistakes make freight bids fail?
Bids fail when the data is poor, the terms are vague, the award ignores service or nobody makes sure the awarded rates are used. These are the most common patterns.
Bad lane data
Lanes defined inconsistently, missing volumes or old shipment history lead carriers to guess, and guesses come with a safety margin. Clean the data before sending.
Inflated volumes
Promising more volume than the company has gets lower rates at first, but carriers decline loads when the volume doesn't appear and the relationship suffers at the next bid.
Base rate only
Without accessorials and fuel method in the bid, the cheapest base rate wins, and the invoices make up the difference. Ask for the full price.
Too many carriers, too many rounds
Inviting dozens of carriers and running four or five rounds exhausts everyone and rarely beats a focused bid with two or three rounds.
Awarding on price alone
The lowest rate with a weak acceptance record pushes loads to the spot market, often at higher rates than the second-lowest bidder offered.
No backup carriers
When the primary declines, the team scrambles. A named backup at an agreed rate saves the spot premium.
Rates that never reach the booking desk
If the people or systems booking loads don't have the new rates on day one, they keep using last year's carriers and rates.
No invoice check
Awarded rates that aren't checked against invoices drift. One wrong fuel table, applied for months, can erase a lane's savings.
Treating the market benchmark as the target
Market benchmarks describe averages. Your lane's freight, timing and requirements may justify a different number. For more, see why a market benchmark is not your rate target.
How does Wilson, by Cartage, help after the bid?
Wilson, by Cartage, is an AI logistics agent that quotes, books, tracks, audits and pays freight for manufacturers and distributors, so awarded rates are used on each load and every invoice is checked against them. Wilson doesn't run the bid event itself; the logistics team still owns lane data, rounds and award decisions. Traditional logistics software gives teams information. Wilson executes the work required to move shipments forward.
After the award, Wilson handles:
- Booking at the awarded rate: Wilson tenders loads to the company's approved carriers following the company's rules, collects written acceptance and a rate confirmation for each load, and schedules the pickup. When a carrier declines, Wilson moves to the next approved carrier the rules allow.
- Quoting where there's no award: For lanes left to spot, Wilson requests quotes from the company's approved carriers, compares them on total cost and negotiates toward the company's rate targets within approval limits. Rates outside the limits go to the logistics team.
- Documents: Wilson generates the rate confirmation, bill of lading, packing slips and pallet labels.
- Tracking and exceptions: Wilson tracks each load with the best source available for that carrier, from carrier API or EDI and GPS or ELD data where shared, to the carrier's website by PRO number, and email or phone calls when nothing else is current. When a pickup is missed or a load is cancelled, Wilson contacts the carrier, tells the team and can start rebooking from the approved carrier list within the rules or after approval.
- Invoice audit and payment: Wilson requests and files the POD, audits each carrier invoice against the rate confirmation and POD, and pays the carrier from the Wilson Wallet. Payments above the approval limits or outside the rules wait for a person.
Wilson can produce carrier-performance and lane-rate reports on request from the loads it runs, which gives the team real acceptance, rate and invoice data for the next bid. It books only carriers the company has approved. Cartage can suggest additional carrier capacity, but the company approves each carrier before Wilson uses it.
Wilson replaces the TMS for freight execution and connects to the company's ERP. Teams use Wilson's dashboard and records like a TMS. Wilson works with SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle, Infor, Epicor, Sage, Acumatica and other ERP environments, with the exact connection depending on the customer's data flow and scope.
Teams start with assisted execution and set the approval limits. Routine actions can run automatically within those rules as the workflow is proven. Every message, confirmation and change is kept in the shipment's change history.
Pricing
Wilson is free on Wilson's network: the shipper pays the freight rate and nothing on top. When a shipper keeps its own carriers, the fee is 2% to 0.5% of what Wilson pays them, falling with volume. There are no seat fees, no setup cost and no contract. Timing depends on scope: most teams start on a few lanes and expand from there.
FAQs
How do I run a freight bid for our lanes?
Build clean lane data with real volumes, define accessorials and terms, send one bid sheet to a focused group of approved carriers, run two or three rounds, award by lane with primary and backup carriers, then make sure every load uses the awarded rate and every invoice matches it. Wilson, by Cartage, an AI logistics agent, books approved carriers at the agreed rates and audits each invoice against the rate confirmation.
What is a freight bid?
A freight bid, or freight RFP, is a structured request for carriers to price a set of lanes for a period, usually a year. The result is a set of awarded rates and carriers per lane.
How often should we run a freight bid?
Most companies bid their main lanes once a year, with mid-year reviews or mini-bids for lanes that change. Rebid a lane sooner if the carrier declines most loads or the market moves far from the award.
How many carriers should we invite?
Enough to create real competition on each lane, but few enough that each carrier takes the bid seriously and the team can read every answer. Invite approved carriers and a few candidates who pass the company's approval first.
What should a bid sheet include?
Lane ID, origin, destination, mode, equipment, annual volume, average weight, requirements and blank columns for rate, fuel method, accessorials, transit time, committed capacity and notes. Lock the format so every answer can be compared.
Why include accessorials in a freight bid?
Without them, carriers can bid a low base rate and charge their own tariff accessorials later. Pricing them in the bid shows the real total cost per lane.
How many bid rounds should we run?
Two is common; three for the largest lanes. More rounds rarely produce better rates and tire out carriers.
How do we choose between a cheaper carrier and a more reliable one?
Compare expected total cost, including the cost of loads falling to spot when a carrier declines. A carrier that accepts every tender at a slightly higher rate often costs less over the year.
What is routing compliance?
It's the share of loads on awarded lanes that went to the awarded carrier at the awarded rate. Low compliance means the bid's savings aren't reaching the freight bill.
How do we make sure invoices match awarded rates?
Get a rate confirmation for every load at the awarded rate, then audit each invoice against the confirmation and the POD before paying. Dispute differences and raise repeat errors with the carrier.
Should spot loads on awarded lanes be allowed?
Yes, as a last step after the primary and backup carriers decline, and with a record of why. If spot loads on a lane keep growing, the awarded rate or carrier no longer fits that lane.
Sources
- Cartage, Wilson product FAQ and product scope, October 2026: https://cartage.ai