Use the Add or Edit Tender Strategies page to define howshipments are tendered to your carriers.

Define the followingtendering settings:

Mode

Select the mode that the tendering strategy applies to:

• You only choose the mode when you create the tendering strategy.You cannot edit this field.
• You only define one tendering strategy for each mode.

Shipments Tendered By

Select one of the following tendering options:

Sterling TMS

Sterling TMS usesthe rules you define here and in the Route Guide to help you choosea carrier to take the shipment.

Shipper

You tender the shipment outside of Sterling TMS and then sendin the tender status.

Carrier Selection By

Select one of the following options for assigning shipmentsto carriers:

Sterling TMS

You send the shipment to Sterling TMS with no carrierSCAC assigned. You use Sterling TMS to tenderthe shipment to a carrier.

Shipper

You send the shipment to Sterling TMS with the carrierSCAC already assigned.

Automatic Carrier Selection

Select Yes to enable the AutomaticCarrier Selection feature.

To use Automatic Carrier Selectionyou must select both of the following options:

• Set Shipments Tendered By to SterlingTMS.
• Set Carrier Selection By to SterlingTMS.

You can also use Automatic Carrier Selection when you defineindividual Route Guide rules. However Automatic Carrier Selectionis only enabled for the Route Guide rule if you set AutomaticCarrier Selection to Yes on theAdd Tender Strategies page.

Amount of Time Prior to Departure for Tender

Set the amount of time prior to a scheduled departure that Sterling TMS or the shippermust submit the shipment tender to the carrier. This setting is usedto calculate the tender time fence.

The default value is 48hours. For example:

• The shipment is scheduled to depart at 9 a.m. on 15 July.
• The shipment needs to be tendered by 9 a.m. on 13 July.

Tip: As a best practice you should set this valueto at least 1 hour or 60 minutes. A shipment should be tendered atleast one hour before the scheduled departure time.

Use Work Week Calendar

Specify whether Sterling TMS takes theschedule of the shipment origin into account when the system calculatesthe tender time fence:

Yes

Sterling TMS usesthe location work week calendar to calculate the tender time fence. Sterling TMS only usesthe hours that the location is open to calculate the time fence.

No

Sterling TMS doesnot use the location work week calendar to calculate the tender timefence. The default value is No.

Fixed Time of Day for Tender

Select whether you want to specify a time of day to tenderyour shipments. For example you might want to always tender shipmentsby 3:00 p.m. two days before the scheduled departure.

Fixed Tender Time

If you set Fixed Time of Day for Tender to Yesuse this field to define the time. The default value is 2:00 p.m.

In Time Zone

If you set Fixed Time of Day for Tender to Yesselect the time zone you want to use for the fixed tender time.

Minimum Shipment Availability Time Window Prior to Tender

Specify how much time you have to make other arrangements beforetendering the shipment. For example you might want to look for anothercarrier.

This field is sometimes referred to as the shipmentavailability window. The default value is 2 hours.

Tender Response Time

Set the amount of time that a carrier has to respond when youtender a load.

You set the response time to hours or minutes.The default value is 120 minutes.

If no carriers accept a tenderby the end of the Tender Response Time Sterling TMS withdrawsthe tender and sends an expiration notice to the carriers.

Search for Forward Capacity

Specify whether Sterling TMS should lookfor forward capacity which supports continuous move matching:

Yes

Sterling TMS automaticallychecks for forward capacity when you tender shipments. Sterling TMS looks foravailable capacity created by the planned arrival at the destinationof your covered shipments.

No

Sterling TMS doesnot check for forward capacity when you tender shipments.

The default value is No.

Allow Contract Price Override

Specify whether a user can override the contract rate in aBroadcast for Capacity tender:

Yes

Users can tender a shipment at an offer price that is differentfrom the contract rate.

No

Users cannot tender a shipment at an offer price that is differentfrom the contract rate.

The default value is No.

Show All Capable Carrier Lanes

This setting is only displayed when you select Rail asthe mode for your tendering strategy. You can specify whether Sterling TMS considersall available lanes during tendering:

Yes

Use all the lanes from each rail carrier that is eligible to takethe shipment.

No

Use only the most discrete lane for each rail carrier that iseligible to take the shipment. This is the default value.

For all other modes Sterling TMS always usesthe most discrete lane for each carrier that is eligible to take theshipment.

Offer Base Rate

Specify whether a Broadcast for Capacity tender should includea base rate:

Yes

When the carrier receives the tender the carrier can view thebase rate. Some shippers like to present the base rate as a targetamount for the carriers.

No

When the carrier receives the tender the carrier cannot viewthe base rate. Some shippers use the base rate as an internal benchmarkand do not want to make it visible to their carriers.

The default value is Yes.

When you are finished click Save.

Tendering Strategies in the Route Guide

Thetendering strategies you define in Step 1 of Shipper Configurationare used as the default tendering settings for your organization.When you define Route Guides in Step 7 of Shipper Configuration youcan define different tendering strategies.

For example youcan define the following settings for a specific shipping lane inyour Route Guide:

• Amount of Time Prior to Departure for Tender
• Minimum Shipment Availability Time Window Prior to Tender
• Show All Capable Carrier Lanes
• Offer Base Rate