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Spot-Quote

The Spot Quote feature allows users to obtain shipping rates and transit times quickly and easily for specific shipments on an ad-hoc basis. Whether you're a shipping manager, a logistics coordinator, or a supply chain executive, this feature can help you make informed decisions about your transportation needs and ensure that your goods are delivered on time and within budget.

Carrier Configuration​

The carriers that you would like to send spot quote requests should be set up in Piyovi’s Carrier Configuration. Please note that for the Spot Quote process, you would have to set up a Generic Carrier profile using this process even for an API integrated carrier. Only an administrator will be able to configure the carriers.

  1. Navigate to Configuration (top menu) → Carrier (left menu) → Down arrow icon next to the + icon → Add Generic Carrier.****
  2. Provide a Name for the carrier.
  3. Click Save.

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  1. Select Big Freight Corp (left menu) and navigate to the Spot Quote tab. Enable the carrier for Spot Quote and provide the carrier’s Spot Quote Notification Email address. Click Save Changes.

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  1. Navigate to the Tracking tab and select Manual Entry as the Tracking # generation method. Click Save Changes.

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Quote Creation​

The following steps outline the process to create a spot quote and send it to various carriers of your choice for bidding.

  1. Provide all necessary data for creating a shipment in the Ship screen.

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  1. The data fields that are relevant for a spot quote from the standard Ship screen are:
    • Pickup Address: Location/Ship From Address
    • Delivery Address: Ship To Address
    • Packages
  2. Click Save. It is mandatory to save the shipment before sending a Spot Quote request.
  3. Click the Spot Quote tab.

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  1. Click + Add Quote to create a new quote.
  2. Provide the necessary details:

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  • Carrier (mandatory) - Select one or more carriers that you would like to send the quote out to.

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  • Choose valid options from the drop-down for:

    - Mode of Transport (mandatory)

    - Equipment Type (optional)

  • Choose the window for Pickup by providing Pickup From Date & Pickup To Date (mandatory).

  • If the shipment has to arrive at the destination by a specific date/time, provide the Expected Delivery Date (optional).

  • Currency Code will be defaulted from the Location settings. You can change the value if needed.

  • Requester Email(s) will receive notifications when a bid is submitted. By default, the user’s email address will be populated. You can add additional email address(es) by entering the value and clicking Enter.

  • Bid Limit (optional) – carriers will not be allowed to bid higher than this amount.

  • Notes (optional) – any additional comments/notes that would be helpful for the carrier in quoting accurately.

  • Click Save.

Carrier Bidding​

The following process outlines the carrier bidding process.

  1. Each selected carrier will receive an email notification inviting them to bid on the Spot Quote request.

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  1. The carrier can click Submit Bid at the bottom of the email and view all the details about the spot quote request on a web page.

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  1. The carrier can click Bid if they wish to submit a bid.
  2. The carrier can enter all relevant details on the Bid page:
    • If the Est. Pickup Date does not fall in the Pickup Window or Est Delivery Date is not on or before Exp. Delivery Date, then the Carrier will be given warning(s). However, if they choose to proceed forward, they can submit the bid.

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  • Total Charge will be automatically calculated by adding the Base Charge (mandatory) with Surcharges (optional). If the Total Charge provided exceeds the Bid Limit, then the Carrier will not be able to submit the bid. They will receive an error and cannot proceed further.

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  • The carrier can provide a Carrier Tracking Number (pro number) at the time of bidding or at a later time by updating the bid. Comments are also optional.

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  1. The carrier can provide additional bids if they choose to.

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  1. The carrier has access to their unique bid page, and they can:
    • View submitted bid details by clicking on the Eye icon.
    • Provide a Carrier Tracking Number by clicking on the Edit (Pencil) icon.
    • View the status of their bids.

Bid Review​

The following process outlines the options in reviewing and accepting/rejecting bids.

  1. Requester(s) will receive a notification whenever a bid is submitted. If you are logged into Piyovi, then clicking on View Details will take you directly to the Spot Quote page.

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  1. Click the down arrow to expand the quote request. Each request sent to the carrier will be seen along with whether the carrier has viewed the request or not and the date/time they viewed it.

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  1. Click Resend to send the request again to a single carrier.
  2. Click the Eye (view) icon to see the details of the quote request.
  3. Click the 3 dots icon next to the Eye icon to:
    • Resend Request to all the carriers.
    • Clone to create another quote. You can edit the details after clicking Clone and before creating another request.
    • Cancel the request:
      • Cancellation notification will be sent to carriers who have submitted a bid.
      • New bids will no longer be accepted. Carriers will see a note that the quote has been canceled if they access the bid page for that quote.
  4. Use the scroll bar to view all the details of the bids.
  5. Click on the > icon next to a bid to view the bid charges in detail.

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  1. Select one or more quotes using the checkboxes to activate Quote Actions on the top. You can cancel multiple requests using this option.
  2. Select one or more bids using the checkboxes to activate Bid Actions on the top. You can reject multiple requests using this option.

Bid Acceptance/Rejection​

  1. Click Accept (Thumbs up) or Reject (Thumbs down) next to the bid when a decision is taken.

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  1. Accepting a bid will automatically reject all the other bids where a decision has not been taken.

  2. A decision is irreversible.

Carrier Notification​

  1. Carriers will be notified via email whether their bid was accepted or not.
  2. Once a bid is accepted, no additional bids will be accepted.

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  1. Carriers will see the bid(s) that were rejected (if any) and the bid that is accepted (if any) on the bid page.

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  1. The carrier can provide the Carrier Tracking # for the accepted bid by clicking on the Edit (pencil) icon.

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Shipment Processing​

  1. Click Apply next to the bid Accepted.
  2. The following details will be applied/saved to the shipment record:
    • Carrier + Service Level
    • Freight Cost (bid amount)
    • Tracking Number (if provided)
    • Estimated Delivery Date

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  1. Click Ship.
  2. If the carrier provided a Tracking Number, then it will be auto-populated. If not:
    • Manually enter a number, or
    • Click barcode to auto-generate a unique number.

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  1. The shipment will be processed, and pallet labels/BOL will be printed.
  2. View the shipment record to:
    • See the bid details saved to the shipment record.

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  • Quote and bid details under the Spot Quote tab.

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