Before the tender
Before the tender
Building a flexible sourcing strategy
Historical and forecast shipment volumes and current contracted rates topped respondents’ list of tender inputs, followed by carrier acceptance and service performance.
These are essential, but networks do not operate in a vacuum. As one respondent put it, the challenge is dealing with “rapid changes in the industry, geopolitical developments and consumer demand.”
Supply chain teams can evaluate volume forecasts, service and equipment requirements, and carrier performance directly against current market dynamics. Rather than relying on static assumptions, organizations assess whether contracted rates remain competitive, where capacity is tightening, and how conditions vary across specific lanes, directions, and equipment types.
Combining internal operational data with external market benchmarks ensures that tender assumptions stay aligned with operating reality over time.
Transporeon perspective
Put market data in context
Transporeon Market Insights can help teams benchmark rates and understand market dynamics. Compare like with like: check lane direction, supported equipment type, time period, units and currency before interpreting a difference. Use current market data alongside your own contracted rates.
Match each lane to the right sourcing strategy
Only 25% of respondents use defined criteria to segment lanes and apply different sourcing approaches. Another 45% differentiate certain lanes mainly through experience and judgment, while 26% generally use the same approach across most or all lanes.
How organizations select sourcing strategies for their transportation lanes
Defined segmentation criteria
Different approaches, mainly judgment-led
Same approach across most/all lanes
Defined segmentation criteria
Different approaches, mainly judgment-led
Same approach across most/all lanes
A stable, high-volume lane with several qualified carriers may suit a longer-term agreement. Seasonal or volatile freight may need a shorter agreement or mini-tender. For highly unpredictable freight, planned spot-market use may be more realistic than an annual contract.
Carrier fit matters too. You can make a lane easier to serve by sharing realistic volumes, giving adequate tender lead time, reducing dwell time, keeping appointments reliable and setting clear payment terms.
Discuss how the lane fits a carrier’s network and return-load options. A low bid alone does not establish a sustainable capacity commitment.
Transporeon perspective
Save time by turning sourcing choices into operating rules
Before launch, it is important to agree on service targets, measurement definitions, review frequency and escalation responsibilities. Transporeon Freight Procurement helps teams structure sourcing and compare carrier bids as well as review awards against the service and capacity your network needs.
Sonepar France used Freight Procurement to digitize tendering and compare carrier offers consistently. The company reported a 40% reduction in response tracking time and a 50% reduction in compilation and analysis time.
Think of your freight network as a portfolio. You can match sourcing to each segment’s operating and risk characteristics, then revisit those choices as volumes, markets, customer requirements or carrier performance change.
