SystemFreight Forwarding

Freight Rate Management

Freight rate management that reads carrier rate sheets, GRI notices and surcharge emails into one dated rate card per lane, with each cell's sources under it and every open quote read as the customer's buyer will.

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See a week of rate sheets become one dated card ↓

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The problem

The carrier bills at the rate of its receipt date, and quotes lag behind

Each week carriers and co-loaders send rate sheets with merged cells, PDF notices of general rate increases, peak season surcharges by email and validity notes in footnotes. A pricing analyst retypes them into the rate table, usually late, and reads the subject-to notes by eye, if at all.

Sales quotes from whatever the table holds that day, and nobody rechecks the quotes already open when a notice lands. The carrier bills at the rate in force when it receives the box, and the difference shows up weeks later on the carrier's invoice, after the forwarder's own invoice has gone out.

Built forPricing analystsHeads of pricingSales representativesFinance leads

The Problem Today

Rate sheets and notices wait in the pricing mailbox while sales quotes from last week's numbers.

30 days: notice before a tariff increase may take effect, under FMC rules published

Retyped from the pricing mailbox

Rate sheets
GRI notices
PSS emails
Tariffs

Quotes on last week's rateThe rate table lags the mailbox by days
Found on the carrier invoiceWeeks after the customer was billed

The Solution

Sheets read into one cardSpreadsheets, PDFs and emails read cell by cell, merged cells included
Notices dated by cargo receiptIncreases and surcharges placed on the carrier's receipt date
Open quotes read as the buyer willAll-in quotes flagged before acceptance; pass-through quotes get a notice
Published by two peopleThe analyst submits; the head of pricing opens the changes and approves

Built-in controls

A subject-to charge stays off until the carrier confirms
Carrier comments reach the analyst and change no cell
A version that re-prices quotes takes a second signature

What You Get

Sales quotes the price the carrier's invoice will show for that receipt date, each cell traced to its file.

Quotes a notice hits, foundEach open quote checked by date of receipt
Unclear notes put to the carrierYes-or-no questions with the cell attached
Rulings applied cell by cellPast pricing rulings shown where they apply

Features

Freight rate management features, from the pricing mailbox to sales

Pricing analysts keep the cards, the head of pricing publishes them, and sales quotes from them. The screens follow one week's files on the Shanghai to Savannah lane.

demoCarriers, customers, people, contracts, quotes and rates on these screens are invented sample data.

01Files read
Carrier rate sheets read by agents while the analyst steers the run
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and emails read cell by cell. Each row becomes lane, size, charge, amount and validity with a confidence, so the analyst checks the uncertain cells first.
- Shifted columns and lapsed validity flagged. A sheet whose high cube prices sit lower than the standard ones is set aside instead of loaded.
- A carrier's file skipped until corrected. That carrier's lanes stay on the current version, and the instruction is recorded with who gave it.
02Rate card
One dated rate card per lane, priced for the date the carrier takes the box
- A time strip under the card. Sliding the date shows the card as the carrier will bill it, with each increase and surcharge edge marked.
- Ocean total as the carrier will bill it. Base, BAF and surcharges add up to the figure the carrier's invoice will carry for cargo received that day.
- Free time and destination charges alongside. Sales and operations read demurrage and detention days beside the price they quote.
03Cell sources
A rate card cell lifted to show the contract row, notice and ruling under it
- Each source stacked under its cell. A question from sales or a customer is answered from the contract row or notice itself.
- The ruling that covers the change cited. When a contract note and a dated notice agree, the pricing ruling that settles them is named on the cell.
- Each layer opens at its passage. The analyst checks the citation instead of trusting a retyped number.
04Buyer's read
Open quotes read as the customer's buyer will, against their own terms
- All-in quotes that cannot take an increase. Quotes fixed once accepted are flagged with the margin at risk, so they can be re-priced before customers accept.
- Pass-through quotes given a notice. Quotes whose terms pass increases on get a customer notice with the carrier's notice attached.
- The agents' own count corrected. Quotes first counted by sailing date are recounted by date of receipt, so customers whose cargo the carrier receives before the increase are left alone.
05Carrier question
An unclear surcharge note turned into yes-or-no questions to the carrier
- Fixed questions with the cell attached. The carrier's pricing desk fills in a yes-no, an effective date and an amount per size, with the email and contract note in front of it.
- Sent only by the analyst. No question reaches the carrier until a person sends it.
- Subject-to charges held off the card. A surcharge marked only subject to stays out of the card until the carrier confirms it in a field.
06Carrier portal
The carrier's pricing desk answers in fixed fields in its own portal
- Yes or no, effective date, amount per size. The answer drops into the cell as a confirmed figure instead of being retyped from an email.
- The carrier's filing extract attached. The card cites the carrier's own document for the surcharge.
- Carrier remarks go to the analyst. A note that surcharge levels may be reviewed reaches the analyst and changes no rate.
07Confirmed card
Peak season surcharge on the card once the carrier confirms it
- The confirmed surcharge dated on the strip. Cargo received from the effective date carries the surcharge; cargo received earlier does not.
- The surcharge cell cites the carrier's answer. Lifting it shows the email, the contract note and the carrier's fixed answer beneath the confirmed figure.
08What-if
Re-price the all-in quotes before acceptance, or honor them
- Margin each way, quote by quote. Honoring shows what the forwarder absorbs; re-pricing shows expected margin at the share of cargo still booking.
- Assumptions labeled and editable. Share still booking, the surcharge outcome and the margin per container are the analyst's inputs to confirm.
- The last decision on all-in quotes shown. How the head of pricing handled a similar set of all-in quotes sits beside the choice.
09Publish
Rate card version published by the analyst and the head of pricing
- Preparer submits with a reason. The analyst's signature says the changes, the points and the carrier's answer were checked against the files.
- Changes, points and answer opened first. Approval stays closed until the head of pricing has opened all three.
- Sales sees the new card at once. Each branch sends its re-quote notices from its own desk with the carrier's notice attached.

Who keeps the rate card and who quotes from it

The analyst keeps the cards, the head of pricing signs, and sales and finance read them.

Pricing analysts

Read the weekly files, keep the cards, draft versions and re-quote lists

The week's files read with a confidence per cell
Open quotes a change hits, found by date
Carrier questions drafted with the cell attached

Heads of pricing

Approve versions that re-price open quotes, rule on carrier notes, release holds

Changes, points and answers opened before approving
All-in quote exposure before customers accept
Rulings applied only once they approve them

Sales representatives

Quote from the card by lane and date and send their re-quotes

The number for the customer's date of receipt
What holds on that date and what does not
Notices ready to send with the carrier's letter

Finance leads

Check carrier invoices against the card in force on the date received

Each invoice compared with the right card
The cell and source behind each difference
Disputes raised with what was in force that day

More screens

This week's files, lane validity, invoices and the sales lookup

The rest of the pricing desk's week, and what sales and finance open.

Rate files list: fourteen files from carriers and co-loaders with kind, arrival, what the agents found, changes, confidence and read, skipped or waiting status — **The week's rate files**Each file that came into the pricing mailbox, what the agents found in it, the number of changes, how sure they are, and its status.

Lane rates: upcoming dates that end a rate, lanes requested with no rate, and a table of carrier, lane, size, base, validity and free time — **Lane validity and free time**Dates that end a rate, lanes asked for with no rate, and each lane's base, validity and combined free time.

Carrier invoices checked against the card on the date the cargo was received: billed amount, card amount, difference and status for six invoices — **Carrier invoices against the card**Three of six invoices differ from the card in force on the date received; each difference names its cell and source.

Rulings and rules: four pricing rulings in force on subject-to surcharges, GRIs, shifted columns and air fuel, each with its approver and use — **Pricing rulings in force**How the pricing team reads carrier paper, each ruling with why it exists, who approved it and where it applied today.

Rate lookup for a sales representative: lane and date of receipt chosen, the ocean figure the carrier will charge and the branch's customer notices — **Rate lookup for sales**Pick the lane and the date the carrier receives the cargo: the number, what makes it up, and the branch's customer notices ready to send.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Publishing, re-quoting and disputing stay with named people

Publishing a versionThe analyst submits it; the head of pricing approves after opening the changes, the six points raised and the carrier's reply.

Adding a subject-to chargeOnly once the carrier confirms it in a fixed field, under the team's own ruling.

Sending a re-quoteSales sends from its own branch; the agents draft the notice and attach the carrier's letter.

Judging a carrier's increaseThe agents record the notice and effective dates. Whether a charge is lawful is for the person who decides.

Disputing a carrier invoiceThe finance lead disputes or approves with a reason; the invoice checker only compares.

Releasing a lane on holdA hold takes effect at once; only the head of pricing lifts it.

Five systems behind each cell on the card

The pricing mailboxCarrier rate sheets, contract amendments, GRI and surcharge notices, co-loader tariffs.

The carrier portalAnswers to fixed questions and attached filing extracts.

The forwarding systemOpen quotes with their terms, customers and expected dates of receipt.

Document managementContracts, notices and past rulings, kept with the version they changed.

The ERPExchange rates for partner tariffs in their own currencies, and carrier invoices.

What pricing teams ask about freight rate management

What is freight rate management?

Freight rate management is how a forwarder keeps the carrier and partner rates it quotes from: reading rate sheets and notices, keeping one current rate per lane and size, and making sure open quotes match what the carrier invoices. Here agents read the files into a dated card and people publish it.

Why date the card by when the carrier receives the cargo?

Because that is the rate the carrier bills, under its tariff and contract notes. A quote checked against the sailing date can miss an increase, or flag cargo that was received before it took effect.

What happens to open quotes when a rate increase arrives?

Each open quote on the changed lanes is read against its own terms. Quotes that pass increases on get a customer notice; all-in quotes are flagged so they can be re-priced before acceptance or knowingly honored.

How are surcharge notes that say only subject to handled?

They stay off the card until the carrier confirms them. The agents draft yes-or-no questions with the cell attached, the analyst sends them, and only the carrier's fixed answers change the card.

Who can publish or change rates?

Pricing analysts prepare versions. A version that re-prices open quotes, or moves a rate past the threshold the forwarder sets, needs the head of pricing as second person. Sales reads and quotes; it cannot edit rates.

Can sales check a rate for a future date?

Yes. The lookup takes a lane and a date of receipt and shows the figure the carrier will charge then, what makes it up, and what is not yet known, such as a fuel factor still to be published.

Freight Forwarding