Quote
Quotes are the main modules in the process of quoting for FCL Shipments. The role of quotes is translating processes in the traditional freight forwarding environment into words that our product could recognize.
We have two types of quotes: Transit quotes & Office quotes.
- Transit Quote: These quotes are related to transporting cargo from point A to point B by ocean, land, and air.
- Office Quote: These quotes organize processes at each point during a shipment. For instance, a customs brokerage in a destination or port operations in the origin port.
Each quote has a Supplier, a list of Tasks, & a list of Price Fields
Quote Supplier
A Quote Supplier is someone responsible for a Quote. She determines the price and the capacity of the quote. For instance, in an ocean freight quote, the supplier is the shipping line that has a vessel to transport the container, or in a customs brokerage quote, the supplier is our agent in the destination port
Tasks
Each quote could have a list of tasks. Tasks are the steps of accomplishing a quote. Based on the shipment incoterm, task owners might be different.
Price Fields
The total price of each quote is comprised of different costs. We calculate the total price based on these smaller items.
Quote Template
We have divided the quotes into general categories based on similarity. Each category (quote template) has its unique tasks and price fields.
Proposal
Proposals are the offers we provide our customers based on the details they submit to the inquiry form. A proposal is a combination of our quotes based on the shipment story and the path that the proposal matching system provides. Considering our pricing logic, the proposal also calculates a price based on the selected quotes’ price fields.
Shipment Story
A Shipment Story is the arrangement guidelines to design a suitable flow for each shipment, based on the user’s request details and her chosen incoterm.
Path
A Path is each feasible route our matching system provides to transit the cargo. Each path is a sequence of line steps from the origin to the destination. Every city on the path may contain several ordinal quote templates.
Incoterm
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) publishes a set of Incoterms, officially known as international commercial terms, to facilitate commerce worldwide. Globally recognized, Incoterms prevent confusion in foreign trade contracts by clarifying the obligations of buyers and sellers.
Quotes We Use in FCL
