Sept/Oct 2003

Companies wanting to tender for freight movements online through the Freight Traders system can now install software that allows them to do much more pre-bid preparation offline before finally submitting their offer.

The new facility, provided through a software package called Bid Upload, allows carriers to sort, print or manipulate data in any way that suits their organisation, and different sets of flows can be distributed to colleagues who are able to make offers themselves. It also means users can prepare bids without being online, although with always-on connections quite common these days, arguably this is less of a consideration than it would have been in the past.

The company says the new capabilities are particularly useful in deep-sea tenders, where the offices responsible for making offers are generally in different continents. However, it is also available for land-based and short-sea tendering.