report
Get ready for tender season
Practical steps to align your contracted freight rates with daily operating reality
Research by Transporeon and Adelante SCM | September 2026
report
Get ready for tender season
Practical steps to align your contracted freight rates with daily operating reality
Why performance matters beyond the tender
Transportation executives invest considerable effort during tender season: collecting data, forecasting volumes, comparing bids, negotiating rates and awarding freight. But the goal is not simply a successful tender. It is to turn those awards into the expected cost, capacity and service results once freight starts moving.
That is difficult when volumes differ from forecasts, carriers reject loads and market conditions or customer requirements change. Assumptions that looked reasonable during sourcing may no longer reflect operating reality a few months later.
A September 2026 survey by Transporeon and Adelante SCM explored how companies prepare for tenders, differentiate sourcing, measure results, adapt and use technology and AI. Its findings support a continuous process connecting planning, sourcing, execution, measurement and adaptation.
Key findings
Only 25% of respondents use defined criteria to segment lanes and tailor their sourcing approach.
Service performance is the leading measure of tender success; execution against plan and spot-market usage rank much lower.
Only 25% of respondents use defined criteria to segment lanes and tailor their sourcing approach.
Service performance is the leading measure of tender success; execution against plan and spot-market usage rank much lower.
Poor or inconsistent data quality is the leading barrier to AI adoption.
Technology priorities are practical: 54% see the greatest potential impact in comparing bids and modeling award scenarios.
Poor or inconsistent data quality is the leading barrier to AI adoption.
Technology priorities are practical: 54% see the greatest potential impact in comparing bids and modeling award scenarios.
About the survey
Transporeon and Adelante SCM gathered 53 responses from supply chain and logistics professionals across Europe and North America. Participating organizations included manufacturers and shippers in food and beverages, paper and packaging, pharmaceuticals, building materials and industrial and consumer products. Findings are directional and should not be treated as statistically representative of the wider market.
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