Carrier Selection and Booking

Carrier Selection and Booking Issues and Challenges

Choosing an ocean carrier is not as straightforward as simply selecting the lowest cost route. A shipper must also consider factors such as departure and arrival dates, and carrier reliability and service levels. With multiple carrier contracts, a shipper must sort through a complex array of lanes and rates to make the best decision.

Challenges include:

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Efficiently comparing and analyzing rates and routes to find the best option

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Securely and efficiently submitting booking requests and receiving confirmation

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Conveying preferred carriers, routes, and other guidelines to a third-party using a routing guide

How Amber Road Can Help
Amber Road's carrier selection and booking capabilities present rates, routes, and all applicable accessorial charges in a format that allows users to make an informed carrier selection. Users can compare routing options side-by-side to quickly calculate accurate bottom-line shipment costs and evaluate alternative routing options in seconds.

Contract information and shipping schedules are factored in to create a complete picture. Preferred carriers for a given lane can be defined for freight forwarders and logistics planners via routing guides. Routing guides enable a shipper to define preferred carrier rankings by a set of route criteria for ocean and air rates. Advanced sorting and sequencing of results provide further optimization of the rate options.

Once a selection is made, a user can initiate a booking request through the system directly to the carrier in its preferred format. Amber Road maintains connections to major carriers, so the booking request process is seamless. A rejection or confirmation comes back through the system - and the user can be notified of the updated booking status.

Features	Benefits
Ocean Schedules and Booking	▪	Quickly identify the optimal service choice by drilling into upcoming carrier sailing schedules to view sail date, vessel and voyage, routing, service, and transit time
	▪	Book directly with the ocean service provider of choice using optimal carrier selection with a process that is integrated with service contracts
	▪	Pre-populate the booking request with route, equipment, and service details
Powerful Multi-Factor Searches	▪	Retrieve and compare rates across multiple legs, transshipment points, weight tiers, providers, and services
Powerful Multi-Factor Searches	▪	Search for alternative routing options using regional location groups
Side-By-Side Comparison	▪	Compare service options with full bottom-line costs that include base rates and all applicable accessorials by provider, point pair, commodity, hazardous designation, service, and date
Rate Request	▪	Request rates of carriers in a collaborative portal to continuously align contracts and expedite spot rate negotiation for new lanes
Rate Request	▪	Manage the request and carrier bid workflow via a dashboard
Routing Guides
Routing Guides	▪	Specify preferred ocean and air carriers for each lane to ensure routing compliance

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Carrier Selection and Booking

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