Freight Forwarder Quote Decision
Compare forwarder quotes on true door-to-door cost, free-time, and reliability — award without surcharge surprises later.
For: An importer, exporter, or trade-ops owner comparing forwarder quotes on the same lane before awarding a booking.
Use when: You have two or more forwarder quotes for the same shipment and need to award, renegotiate, or reject them without surprise surcharges later.
- The quote hides destination charges, THC, or ISPS behind 'as per tariff'.
- Free-time and demurrage rules aren't stated in writing.
- The forwarder can't evidence coverage on the origin or destination.
- Cargo insurance is 'included' with no policy wording or limits.
- Transit time won't clear shelf life or the buyer's arrival window.
- Align origin and destination named places
- Confirm mode, container type, and routing
- List every leg — pickup, main-carriage, delivery
- Note what's explicitly excluded
· Comparable
Do all quotes cover the same door-to-door scope?
Go — Origin, destination, mode, and legs align — exclusions listed.
Hold — One leg differs — reprice or clarify.
Stop — Quotes can't be normalised.
· Full cost
Is every charge and surcharge on the page?
Go — Origin, main, destination, and worst-case surcharges all quoted.
Hold — A line is 'as per tariff' — get a hard number.
Stop — Forwarder won't commit destination charges or free-time.
· Reliability
Can the forwarder execute on this lane?
Go — Coverage, carrier space, and references all check out.
Hold — One reference weak — award with a smaller first booking.
Stop — No coverage on the lane, or references negative.
· Award
Award the booking?
Go — One forwarder wins on scope, price, and reliability — AWARD.
Hold — Close but term-heavy — RENEGOTIATE first.
Stop — No quote clears the bar — REJECT and re-source.
- 1Comparing all-in rates that hide destination charges.
- 2Missing free-time and paying demurrage on arrival.
- 3Trusting a general sales agent with no origin presence.
- 4Booking on a quote without cargo insurance wording.
- 5Awarding on transit time that ignores port congestion.
The lower quote was $80 higher once destination charges landed.
- Forwarder A · quoted all-in$ 2,650 / FCL
- Forwarder B · quoted all-in$ 2,720 / FCL
- A · destination surcharges+ $ 210
- B · destination surcharges+ $ 60
- A · free-time at destination3 days
- B · free-time at destination7 days
- True A$ 2,860
- True B$ 2,780
Decision record
Record your outcome — a static, no-login summary you can copy, print, or screenshot.
- Normalised scope
- Door-to-door legs
- True cost per quote
- All charges surfaced
- Free-time / demurrage
- In writing
- Coverage + references
- Origin + destination
- Decision
- AWARD / RENEGOTIATE / REJECT
- Booking ref
- Cut-off + pickup