INTTRA Tender Management

What are contract management and tender management in the shipping industry?

Contract management is a broad term that is loosely defined and often misused by software providers; however, within the industry contract management can be precisely defined as having three (3) integral components:

• Tender and Carrier Response (“Tender”). The tender is usually an annual process where shippers and consignees (“Customers”) give carriers the opportunity to bid on their shipments for the next period (usually regionally or yearly). As a result of the tender process, several carriers are awarded parts of the customer’s business.  Not all customers participate in a tender process; some simply negotiate with their preferred carriers as part of the contracting process.
• Contract Administration (CA). This is a process/system for customers to update, manage and view all of their service contract rates and terms, as well as allocations.
• Carrier Contract Administration. This is a process/system for carriers to create, update, manage, and retrieve the contracts that they have signed with their customers.  It is also a process/system for the filing of contracts with the FMC. 

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What are the challenges that have prevented the creation of a tender standard until now?

Each customer has a unique contract cycle, season, requirements and methodology that has rendered creating standards impractical for economic and customer unique time specific reasons.

How will INTTRA create a “Tender Standard”?

INTTRA initiated a Carrier Users Group (Tender Council) with the mission of creating standards and a solution that meet initial and immediate customer / carrier needs. The solution will resolve inefficiencies and lack of standardization in the Tender process.

Over time the Users Group will grow to include all INTTRA customers and carriers that use the INTTRA Tender solution (“INTTRA-Tender”).  The large cross section of customers in the Users Group will result in representation of a majority of issues across all cycles that permit continued improvement throughout the year, not just during an individual customer’s season.

What are the main benefits the Tender Solution?

INTTRA uses industry standard tools like Excel to integrate data into the application enabling the shipper to get started with little effort.

• INTTRA offers one central repository for the data eliminating the opportunity for potentially viewing wrong data versions while making decisions.
• All screens use filters, which can minimize the amount of data you view to your specified criteria.
• All history is maintained and viewed throughout the process.
• Both shippers and carriers can set aliases that are meaningful to them for locations, accessorial charges and equipment types.
• Shippers now have the ability to not only set preferences for service level but will be able to view responses taking into consideration their established criteria.
• Carriers can now have a common platform from which they can offer their customers the ability to submit global tenders.
• Shippers have access to a common decision support tool that allows consistent evaluation of carrier responses

How does INTTRA-Tender link to CA and CCA?

Currently around the globe there are a number of methods for contracting with shippers. After the Tender process is finalized and cargo has been nominated the INTTRA-Tender will provide links and extracts using a variety of methods to assist shipper and carriers to continue the process to contracting.

Why is INTTRA starting with tender as opposed to CA or CCA?

Standardizing the initial stage of the process tackles standards that also flow directly to CA and CCA.

Can a non-INTTRA carrier respond to an INTTRA-Tender?

Yes. Shippers will be able to transmit a tender and request for tender to a non-INTTRA carrier.

Can an NVO respond to an INTTRA-Tender?

Yes. Shippers will be able to transmit a tender and a request for tender to an NVO.

Is there a charge for use of INTTRA-Tender by non-INTTRA carriers and non-INTTRA NVOs?

There is no charge at this time. At some point there will be a nominal per tender fee for access to optimal labor saving import/export and INTTRA Quote Builder™ features, though there is no obligation to use these features to receive/respond to a tender. INTTRA carriers will have access to this functionality at no charge as part of their INTTRA memberships.

What will INTTRA charge shippers to use the Tender Solution?

Like all of the solutions offered by INTTRA, there will be no charge for access and use of the Tender functionality. As a result of customer requests, Implementation and other services are offered for nominal fees.

Can INTTRA-Tender be used for daily quotations?

INTTRA-Tender is a tool designed for shippers who use contracts to manage their ocean costs and is generally not conducive to ‘spot rates’ processes. A tender is typically performed every year, in some cases split into a number of trades. INTTRA will permit shippers to undertake a limited number of tenders per year via INTTRA-Tender.

Is training available?

Yes, INTTRA offers several training programs.  It is also offered as part of the shipper implementation process. The INTTRA-Tender application is web-based and has a substantial user guide and various help pages to assist users.

Free training will be available, usually in conjunction with a new tender being released by a shipper. It is also offered anytime upon request.

INTTRA offers implementation assistanceto shippers, including customized training and mapping of the shipper’s processes to the INTTRA-Tender standard. Such services are offered at a nominal fee and are also available for carriers.