Basics
CargoBid is a marketplace offering freight auctions for multimodal transport in the spot rate market. Our purpose is to contribute to transportation e-sourcing and promote trade relationships between private customers and companies. They mainly act as participants in online reverse auctions. Buyers of transport/services (shippers) post auctions providing their cargo details. Suppliers of transport/services (carriers) offer freight quotes by bidding in those auctions.
Shippers are users that need to purchase logistics services, such as the shipment of goods between two locations. They post auctions to obtain freight rate quotes for their cargoes. Shippers include suppliers, manufacturers, exporters, importers, consignors, consignees, traders, distributors, and retailers. They are the ‘freight buyers’. Our marketplace helps shippers get transportation quotes from various carriers, who bid on shippers’ freight auctions. Private individuals looking to move personal goods can also act as shippers.
Carriers are the users that make bids on auctions to give shippers the best freight quote possible. They are the ‘freight sellers’, and may include freight forwarders, freight brokers, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs), consolidators and other logistics operators. The carriers’ role is to organize transport, acting as intermediaries between shippers — the ones with goods to send — and shipowners or airlines with cargo space to fill.
This marketplace provides primarily a bidding service for carriers without transport assets, such as freight brokers. However, we also welcome carriers with transport assets, such as freight forwarders, truckers, shipping lines or airlines, as long as they also adhere to our Code of Conduct.
Shippers obtain multiple transportation quotes much more economically and reliably, achieving a competitive market price. Less paperwork, more time to focus on core business; all add to easier and better sourcing. By outsourcing cargo auctions, shippers have no need to invest in IT resources and their own servers. Even if they already have a set range of dedicated transport suppliers, shippers can invite their incumbent carriers to bid on their auctions, while growing their supply base. They get direct cost savings, market transparency, decreased error rate, simplified comparisons, cycle time reductions, increased buying reach, and a unified process improvement; they are free to dedicate to other processes of their business.
Our service helps shippers build sustainable supply chains and reach ISO standards. It improves their environmental management systems (EMS), the life cycle assessment of their products, and allows to internalize transportation costs and the CO2 footprint in the supply chain.
As transportation suppliers, carriers have access to multiple requests for quotes posted by shippers from all over the world. There are plenty of business opportunities; the more sales leads they generate, the more chances they have to be awarded business.
By doing sales work remotely, carriers lower the cost of sales and other resources. They get a thoroughly thought award process, real-time pricing and market information, greater transparency, more completeness, better communication, quicker feedback, and the ability to focus on their core business.
The ability to add the CO2 footprint in every bid allows carriers to show evidence of their companies’ commitment to environmental transparency. It raises self-awareness towards optimizing every transportation solution for lower environmental impact.
There isn’t one, really. We just want to provide the best outsourcing solution for getting freight quotes at the best. We aim to promote a balanced commitment between sustainability and efficiency in the global supply chains.
There is a history of misconceptions and mistrust traditionally associated with electronic auctions. We work hard to provide valuable auctions and ensure that all participants have honorable intentions, respect non-disclosure agreements, and live up to their commitments. Everybody has access to the same information and abide by open, consistent rules. Pre-screening and regular profile reviews are part of our effort to prevent unethical behavior. All users are encouraged to read, follow, and sign off our Code of Conduct.
Keep in mind that the historically perceived risks to auction success also apply to traditional, manual sourcing processes.
Users may display a special "Verified" badge on their public profiles after their identity has been confirmed by CargoBid. To get a verified badge, you should send us documentary proof of your personal ID and/or company name and address. Additional verification steps may be required.
If you need the best customer service, you can enjoy dedicated support by email, phone or another channel. Just get a Premium membership plan. Support response time is 12 hours instead of the Basic plan 48 hours.
Account
All you need is an Internet connection and a web browser. There is no software to set up. You need to register your account first. Then choose your role either as a Shipper or as a Carrier, and your preferred membership plan.
Please use the Login page to recover the username or password details for your account.
You can also use it to change your password.
If you're still unable to log in, please contact our Customer Support team.
No. For technical reasons, usernames cannot be changed. A workaround is to delete your current account and to sign up again using the same email address. The history and statistics of the old user are not transferred to the newly created account and the process is irreversible.
Easy. The rule of thumb is:
- If you need rates, services or goods: choose Shipper
- If you provide rates, services or goods: choose Carrier
No. Upon registering an account, the user should carefully choose the desired role, either Shipper or Carrier. Users cannot operate in both capacities and can only associate a single company to a profile. This restriction helps to promote trust and credibility among the CargoBid community. A workaround is to delete your current account and to sign up again in CargoBid using the same email address.
Each user should only sign up for one CargoBid account. This policy helps ensure shippers and carrier know exactly who they are working with and it encourages trust in the marketplace.
If you want to change the email address associated with your user account, please send us a request through one of our Customer Support channels.
We do not share our customer contacts, such as phone number, email, physical address, and account or business information with any other users or external parties. User information is stored strictly confidential all the time. Only minimal information such as usernames and avatars is visible in auction pages and profiles. Shippers and carriers may use the chat to exchange contact details after bidding.
We don’t store our users’ login credentials in a third-party service. To protect your business, we do not put your security in someone else’s hands. That is why we don’t use social media signup or login services.
We follow strictly the EU GDPR 2016/679 on personal data protection.
If you want to delete your account, please submit a removal request in your user profile area. We will delete as soon as possible all your profile details and chats. We'll email you the delete confirmation.
Any existing auctions or services under your account will either be deleted or anonymized to the fullest extent by law.
Auctions
Each auction is in concept a RFP (request for proposal) or RFQ (request for quote), terms often used interchangeably in the logistics and shipping industries. They are important steps in the sourcing and procurement process of many organizations going global.
Shippers can post auctions based on several categories of freight, according to the transportation mode of the main segment and the packaging mode: Container, LCL (less than container loads), Dry & Liquid Bulk, Road & Truck, Air Cargo, Rail Cargo, Ship Chartering and Cargo Equipment.
You can also post auctions for requesting related services.
Right now we can only accept auctions, services and bids in Euros. We plan adding other currencies in the future.
Sure. Shippers can request extra services such as special haulage, sideloader pickup/delivery, customs clearance, warehousing, cargo insurance, etc. all in the same auction. You may use the Description box to detail any extra services.
Shippers can also search the Services listings and hire a service separately.
Our platform works well for any type of commodity. We have customers across all kinds of industries. However, there are a few restrictions. Goods should not contain: radioactive material; explosives, weapons or ammunition; pornographic or obscene material; any material that promotes violence or discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation; any material that is prohibited by law.
By submitting an auction, shippers acknowledge their goods can be shipped safely and legally by any transport mode(s).
The auction limit is the number of auctions that a shipper can create per month, according to their chosen membership plan.
Shippers with a Premium plan have unlimited auctions.
The bid limit is the number of bids that carriers can publish per month, according to their chosen membership plan.
Carriers with a Premium membership plan have unlimited bids.
A bid is a freight quotation submitted by a carrier for performing the transport services described in an auction. All bids are private agreements between the shipper and carrier; CargoBid is only a facilitator for this process. Any payments for transport services are to be handled privately, outside of the CargoBid platform. Because these are private agreements, CargoBid does not arbitrate, is not responsible for, and makes no guarantees on behalf of, the shipper or carrier.
If they wish, shippers and carriers can also use the platform's escrow payment service to transfer payments between them.
A shipper can request a target rate on the auction budget field. Carriers can use this budget for guidance in their bidding. But shippers should not overuse this feature to avoid unrealistic expectations for all auction participants.
When shippers create or edit an auction, they can apply one of four upgrades: Featured, Urgent, Sealed, or Confidential. This is irreversible. Premium users have unlimited upgrades, while Basic users can upgrade on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Open - the auction is active and can receive bids.
Frozen - the shipper has accepted a bid and is waiting for carrier acceptance to fulfil the shipment/service. During this stage, the auction cannot receive more bids. If the carrier refuses it, the auction returns to Open.
Closed - when a carrier has accepted the shipper's offer to fulfil the shipment/service described in the auction.
Expired - the auction has reached its time limit, with or without bids. If an auction is awarded it will stay as Closed.
In a sealed bid auction, carriers don't have knowledge of what the other carriers are bidding. This is very different from a standard auction where each carrier knows exactly how they compare to other bidders. Carriers get the chance to bid within a timeframe defined by the shipper who posted the auction.
Shippers can use the Private Auction upgrade to prevent auctions from showing up on Internet search engine results. Auctions set to Private are only visible to logged on users. To use it, shippers should select the Private Auction upgrade when posting an auction, or upgrade the auction to Private while it’s active. This action cannot be undone.
To protect the privacy of our users, direct contacts such as telephone numbers, email or land addresses are kept private and are not listed on profiles. Shippers and carriers can talk freely using the chat window after a bid has been submitted. They can use the chat window to exchange contact details, should they wish to.
Shippers
CargoBid auctions allow to request a quote for sea or air transportation from one place to another. You should choose the kind of cargo. This may involve a combination of modes of transport, and other special needs you may require, such as packing, consolidation, insurance, or customs formalities. You should communicate in detail the transport/service requirements in your auction.
Carriers will consider those details before placing a reasonable bid.
Auctions can be used to request any logistics services, to sell/lease cargo equipment (e.g. containers) or even to sell goods.
It is very simple to post an auction:
- Go to Post Auction on the menu bar, or New Auction on the dashboard.
- Enter all details about the place of origin, place of destination, commodity, terms of delivery and any other requirements you wish for.
- Tap the Publish button.
You may also clarify in the auction Notes special requirements of your shipment. You can use the chat window to obtain more information from each bidding carrier. You can check the reputation and reviews of each carrier before making an award decision. To maintain your credibility as a shipper in the community, you should use the Award button next to the chosen bid of the desired carrier.
You can edit your auction anytime on the My Auctions page, or inside the auction, selecting Edit Auction.
By deleting your auction no one will be able to view the auction details, attached files or bids. It will also be deleted from search engines the next time they crawl us.
The best practice is that shippers should not just go for the lowest bid. Shippers should use the Bid list and chat window to get further details concerning the bid proposal. This allows the shipper to compare and decide which is the best carrier for the shipment.
Whenever you choose a bid and decide to award business to a carrier, you should use the chat window to inform the winning carrier, exchange contact details and service requirements.
Please notify every one of your decision by clicking the Award button within a certain timeframe after the auction closes. This step means you follow the auction rules and treat carriers respectfully.
It is very unlikely a carrier will not honor a bid. Their integrity is at stake. Otherwise, they lose face and lose the business. However, mistakes do occur on rare occasions and carriers may need to adjust their bid at some point.
We do our best to ensure the available carriers include only respectable companies wishing to provide transport for your business. A one-time review upon the registration of a new user account is part of this ongoing process. Keep in mind that carriers with a full profile and high rating/feedback offer you the best guarantee of integrity, commitment and bid quality.
If you feel a carrier submitted an unfair bid and behaved unethically, you may send a Report to submit a violation of the Code of Conduct. You can also always rank and give feedback about a carrier, which will be visible for everyone in the carrier's profile and carrier listings.
Nothing prevents you from using CargoBid to find new potential vendors of transport. You can use our platform to increase your supplier portfolio or find alternative suppliers.
Whenever you or your company needs freight rates, you can invite your usual suppliers to bid on your cargo auction, if they have a registered user account. CargoBid acts as your auction outsourcing solution.
Not necessarily because we are focussed on dealing with spot rates.
Only you know what works best for dealing with your supplier portfolio. Nevertheless, CargoBid is a great solution for transportation procurement in a modern supply chain. Consider it a great tool to find new suppliers, get lower rates, and outsource your shipment needs.
Carriers
Carriers in the marketplace can present their freight and logistics services to other users according to the different types of cargo.
Shippers can browse and purchase these services using their balance.
If they wish, they can use CargoBid's internal escrow system to manage payments between themselves.
Only carriers with a valid subscription plan can list their services in the marketplace.
Otherwise their services will remain hidden to other users.
Very simple. Carefully review the auction; tap the Place Bid button, enter your best freight rate and other optional details. Shippers are always notified when a new bid has been received.
As a general rule, you cannot cancel or change a bid. If you want to correct an honest mistake or improve your bid, simply create a new bid.
The shipper reserves the right to award its business to any carrier. Therefore, the winning bid is not necessarily the lowest freight rate.
Several factors may influence the shipper’s decision beyond the price: transit time, carbon footprint, kind of service, equipment availability, rating and reviews of the carrier. These factors influence the quality of each bid. Carriers can use the chat window to present their arguments to the shipper to win a service order.
If the shipper does not award victory status to a chosen carrier within a reasonable time after the auction closing date, then the shipper may be banned from CargoBid.
It would not make sense to invite carriers of dubious performance and quality just to get cheaper transportation. All carriers in CargoBid went through a stage of pre-screening and pre-qualification. A carrier only bids against carriers which are equally qualified to be awarded a transportation order.
The answer is no. Studies and statistics show that the key reasons why companies stop using a transportation supplier are instead poor service, other suppliers offering better service, hidden costs, loss of logistics innovation capacity, relationship management issues, inefficient management by third-party logistics, and cost ‘creep’. Carriers often overestimate the importance of alternative carriers offering a cheaper price. In case one of your current shippers posts an auction in CargoBid, you have a chance to participate and make a bid.
A growing number of companies choose e-sourcing solutions like CargoBid to ensure they get fair market pricing and quality services from suppliers. This helps to make their sourcing process more efficient and standardized. Therefore, to be considered, all bids must be submitted via the online auction. You must follow this procedure if you want to be considered for any business opportunity in CargoBid.
Once again, not necessarily, because we are focussed on dealing with spot rates.
You know your customers. Although CargoBid is not a replacement for traditional sales, it is a great tool to the growing hybrid form of inside sales. Consider it an addition for growing your sales leads, find more customers and obtain more business.
Finance
Escrow is an arrangement in which a third party (for example, CargoBid) may temporarily hold funds until a particular condition has been met – such as the fulfillment of a transport or service order after an agreed auction in our marketplace. The money is placed in escrow until the order is completed. From that moment onwards, carriers may release a payment and shippers may accept it.
No, not really. Escrow payments are a convenience we provide to users of the marketplace where they can perform safe online transactions, minimizing counterparty risk and risk of fraud. It improves trust between parties involved in a transaction. However, shippers and carriers are free to settle payments and transfer funds outside of the CargoBid marketplace, as long as they abide to the agreed auction bids.
Shippers and carriers need to charge their account balance in order to start using escrow payments.
In a typical workflow, after a successful auction, the Shipper and Carrier agree on a payment plan before starting the job (delivery/service) described in the auction.
Shipper and Carier may agree to multiple payments, dependent on completing various phases of the job, the balance to be released upon completion and approval of the job.
Funds transfer only occur when the Shipper releases the transfer, and the Carrier accepts it.
Please read our terms of service for more details about the escrow service.
Users can make secure deposits to their account balance using PayPal, debit or credit cards. The money is immediately credited to their balance. A small deposit fee may be charged.
Users can request withdrawal of money from their account balance to their PayPal account or a SEPA Bank account number. Our team processes withdrawal requests and you should expect receiving your funds in your PayPal or SEPA bank account (only in Euros) within two working weekdays. A small withdrawal fee may be charged.
Pricing and Payment
You can choose either a Basic or Premium membership plan with different levels of engagement and features. You can only subscribe once to a Basic plan, but you can upgrade it at any moment.
Please find more details in our Pricing page.
No, there are not any fees or contracts. You may upgrade or cancel your membership plan without any alteration fees.
No. We want you to try the full features of CargoBid without any risk of being charged. We know you’ll love it.
The Basic plan gives you a 30-day free trial. If you cancel a Basic plan within 30 days of signing up, you won’t be charged anything. If you do choose to cancel your Premium plan in the future, you will never be charged again, but you won’t get a refund for unused credit.
If you upgrade from a Basic plan to a Premium plan you are not eligible for the 30-day free trial. The 30-day free trial only applies if you sign up for a Basic plan now.
It's the cost for both shipper and carrier after a successful auction who changed to Closed status.
We accept payments by debit and credit cards, e-wallets, and other country-specific payment channels. CargoBid uses third-party payment providers, Stripe and PayPal, to handle all credit card data and transactions. CargoBid will not store your provider credentials or credit card details.
We ask for your billing address, so we can display proper information on issued invoices.
All prices are listed without taxes. We may have to charge EU VAT at checkout according to the purchaser's location and taxable status.
Please contact us if you need an invoice with your Tax ID information.
After your Premium membership reaches the expiry date, you shall revert to a Basic membership plan, losing all the benefits of the Premium plan. We do not offer membership plans with automatic renewal, so you will have to buy a new plan to continue enjoying the Premium benefits.
You can easily cancel the recurring payment for your membership plan. Login to Paypal or other e-wallet service we offer, and cancel your pre-approved or automatic payment. You can also contact us to cancel your recurring payment. Just drop us a line by email.
A subscription can be cancelled up until the day before the next scheduled payment in order for you not to be charged.
