Carrier Bid / RFP Savings Calculator — Freight RFP Cost Reduction

Calculate expected savings from running a carrier bid (RFP). Competitive market pricing, lane optimisation, and mode consolidation — find the value of going to market.

Quick answer: Carrier bids typically generate 8–18% savings on affected freight spend. For $5M in rebid spend: $400K–$900K potential savings. Even a small RFP for top 10 lanes often pays for itself many times over.

📊 Carrier Bid / RFP Savings Calculator

Freight Spend Going to Bid ($)

The portion of freight spend in the RFP scope

Years Since Last Competitive Bid

Current Market Conditions

Current Carrier Count in Scope

RFP Process Cost ($)

Staff time, broker/consultant fee, TMS analysis

Incumbent Rate Retention (%)

% of spend staying with current carriers

Expected Annual Savings

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Savings Range

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ROI on Bid Cost

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How to Use This Calculator

Enter freight spend in bid scope — not all freight needs to go to bid — focus on highest-spend lanes and under-performing carriers.
Select market conditions — soft markets with excess capacity produce the highest savings. Tight markets may not produce savings — focus on service and securing capacity instead.
Enter RFP cost — staff time, consultant fees, and TMS/analysis tools. This is usually 0.3–0.8% of rebid spend.

Worked Example

$5M rebid spend, 3 years since last bid, soft market, $25K RFP cost.

Market savings range: 8–15%
Staleness adjustment (3 yr): +10%
Adjusted range: $440K–$825K
Mid-point net: $607,500. ROI: 2,330%

Even conservative bids in balanced markets on $2M+ spend almost always deliver positive ROI. The biggest mistake is not bidding — stale contracts drift 15–25% above market over 3 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

For active shippers with $2M+ freight spend: every 2–3 years as a full RFP. Annually for specific high-spend lanes via spot quoting or mini-bids. Markets shift — rates that were competitive in a tight market may be 15–20% above market in a soft market 18 months later.

Clean lane data (origin, destination, weight, volume history), clear volume commitments, reasonable service requirements, and a structured evaluation process. Including 5–8 carriers per major lane drives maximum competition. Don't award entirely on price — service and reliability matter.