Freight Tender and Carrier RFP Checklist

Pull the prior 12 months of shipment history from the TMS (McLeod, MercuryGate, Aljex, or equivalent) and aggregate by origin-destination ZIP3 lane. Capture annual volume, average weight, equipment type, and seasonality. Use HHG or practical miles consistently — mixing mileage standards is a common reason post-award rates look wrong.

Specify equipment (53' dry van, reefer with temp range, flatbed, intermodal), transit time targets, drop-and-hook vs live-load, appointment requirements, and any hazmat or food-grade restrictions. Vague equipment specs produce non-comparable bids.

Typical weighting: 60% linehaul cost, 25% service (transit time, tender acceptance history), 15% safety and financial fitness (CSA BASICs, insurance limits, years in operation). Document the weights before opening bids — adjusting weights after seeing prices invites bias accusations.

Include shipper background, lane scope, equipment specs, accessorial schedule, fuel surcharge program (DOE-indexed or fixed escalator), payment terms (typically net 30), insurance minimums ($1M auto liability, $100K cargo standard), and required attachments (W-9, COI, MC authority, signed mutual NDA).

One row per lane with columns for linehaul rate, fuel surcharge basis, minimum charge, stop-off pay, detention after free time, lumper reimbursement, and TONU. Lock the structure so bidders cannot reshape it — comparing freeform bid responses across 200 lanes is the most common reason tenders slip weeks.

Allow at least 14 calendar days from RFP release to bid close. Note the time zone explicitly and identify a single submission inbox or e-sourcing portal (Coupa, Jaggaer, Emerge, Sleek, or shipper-hosted SFTP).

Mix incumbents, regional asset carriers with lane density, and one or two brokers for hard-to-cover lanes. For a mid-size tender plan on 8–15 invited carriers per lane; fewer than 3 bids per lane usually means no real competition.

Pull each carrier's SAFER snapshot. Confirm active operating authority, satisfactory or unrated safety rating, and CSA BASICs below intervention thresholds — especially Unsafe Driving, HOS Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance. A carrier above the threshold in two or more BASICs should not get an invitation regardless of price.

Run one live Q&A session midway through the bid window. Record every question and publish anonymized answers to all bidders the same day. Side-channel answers given to one carrier are the fastest way to lose incumbent trust.

Load every response into the master rate matrix. Flag any carrier that altered the template, omitted lanes, or quoted FAK when class-based was requested. Normalize fuel surcharges to a common DOE base week so linehaul-vs-all-in comparisons are apples to apples.

Confirm auto liability of at least $1M, cargo coverage that matches commodity value (often $100K-$250K, higher for high-value freight), and that the certificate names the shipper as certificate holder. Reefer breakdown coverage is a separate endorsement — confirm it for any temperature-controlled lane.

Walk the lane list and confirm each lane has at least one qualified primary and one backup. Sparse, deep-South-to-Northeast, or border lanes are the usual gaps. If gaps exist, run a targeted second round before awarding.

Pull two or three additional carriers from DAT or Truckstop lane history for the uncovered lanes. Mini-bid with a 5-day turnaround; do not let gaps delay the rest of the award.

Send award letters with awarded lane list and effective date. Send unsuccessful bidders a regret note the same day with summary feedback on where they fell short — incumbents especially need a real reason, not boilerplate.

Load rates into the TMS routing guide with primary/backup sequence, EDI 204 tender setup, fuel program reference, and accessorial defaults. Run a test tender on each lane before go-live — routing-guide errors at cutover are the most common cause of week-one service failures.

Track primary tender acceptance, on-time pickup, on-time delivery, and claims ratio weekly. Tender acceptance below 85% on a contracted primary is the early warning signal that the carrier underbid the lane and is rolling tenders to the spot market.

Review KPIs, accessorial spend variance, and any service incidents with each major awarded carrier. Document any agreed corrective actions and re-confirm volume forecast vs actual.

Issue a 30-day CAP with specific KPI thresholds (tender acceptance, OTP, claims) and a stated consequence — typically reallocation of lane to backup at day 30 if targets miss again. Cap holders should also be excluded from the next tender invite pool until cured.

Document what changed in volume mix, which lanes underperformed, which carriers exceeded expectations, and what RFP mechanics (rate matrix structure, bid window length, fuel program) need adjustment. Feed this into the next annual or semi-annual tender so the same gaps don't repeat.