Instant Quote builds every end-to-end combination for you and hands you complete, priced options to compare. Mini Bid turns that around: you see the available options per activity — pickup trucking, ports of loading, ocean services, destination, delivery — and build the most suitable routing yourself, step by step. This article covers when Mini Bid is the better tool, how the per-activity selection works, comparing alternative ports at both ends in one quotation, and why some combinations are never offered.
It does not cover the Instant Quote search form, which is in How to search Instant Quote manually, or reading Instant Quote result cards, which is in How to compare quotation options before sharing.
Before you start
- Have the shipment's origin, destination and cargo in front of you, as you would for any Instant Quote search.
- Decide which legs you want to choose yourself. If you are happy to let Freightools build the whole routing, Instant Quote is the shorter path.
- The trucking, port and ocean options you can choose between come from the carriers and agreements your Freightools administrator has set up. If Mini Bid itself misbehaves, tell your Freightools contact.
Open Mini Bid
In the main menu, open Quotes → Mini Bid. The page is titled Mini Bid and carries the same search form as Instant Quotes: the service tabs Ocean FCL, Ocean LCL, Air Freight, Road FTL, Road LTL, Rail and More Services; Customer; Incoterms; Origin and Destination, each with the PORT type selector and a Multi toggle; Cargo & Shipment Date with the equipment and quantity; and READY DATE. Get Prices runs the bid; Reset clears the form.
Before a search the page reads Build a quote activity by activity — "Fill in every field of the search and press Get Prices. Each required activity gets its own column with every supplier's price per goods line - pick one per activity (or several, as options), then create the quote."
When to use Mini Bid instead of Instant Quote
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Get complete, auto-built combinations and pick one of them | Instant Quote. See How to compare quotation options before sharing. |
| Explore the alternatives leg by leg and actively shape the result | Mini Bid. |
| Offer the customer several complete routings and let them choose | A multi-option quotation. See How to build a multi-option customer quotation. |
Instant Quote remains the tool for complete combinations. Mini Bid is for when the right routing is not the first one a search returns — when the trucking to a different port, a different ocean service or a different destination gateway is what makes the shipment work, and you want to be the one who decides.
Build the routing one activity at a time
Mini Bid shows the available options per activity rather than per whole routing. The activities are the stages of the shipment:
- pickup trucking
- ports of loading
- ocean services
- destination
- delivery
For each stage you compare the options available and select the one you prefer. After Get Prices, each required activity gets its own column with every supplier's price per goods line; you pick one per activity — or several, as options — across different pickup options, alternative ports of loading, available ocean services, destination and delivery options, then create the quote. The routing you end up with is the one you built.
Compare alternative ports of loading in one quotation
A shipment that can leave from more than one port does not need a separate quotation per port. Switch on Multi next to Origin to search through multiple ports of loading in one bid and evaluate the alternative gateways side by side — by trucking cost to each port, by the sailings available from it, by transit time, or by which carriers serve it.
That is the comparison you make at the port-of-loading stage: pick the port whose trucking, sailings and carriers add up to the better routing, then carry on to the ocean service.
Compare ports of discharge in the same bid
The same multi-option comparison is available for the port of discharge: switch on Multi next to Destination. You compare destination gateways in the same bid, so a shipment that could arrive at either of two ports is weighed at the destination stage the way the port of loading was weighed at the origin stage.
Why some combinations are not offered
Mini Bid only combines compatible activities. Where ocean freight and destination charges must come from the same carrier, the destination options you are offered are the ones that belong with the ocean service you chose, so the commercial relationship between the two legs stays intact automatically. You do not have to check it yourself.
If something goes wrong
| You see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A destination option you expected is not combined with the ocean service you chose | Ocean freight and destination charges that must come from the same carrier are only combined with each other. Read the destination options that go with the ocean service you selected. |
| The page still reads Build a quote activity by activity after you click Get Prices | Every field of the search has to be filled in — customer, origin, destination, cargo and ready date. Complete the form and click Get Prices again. |
| You wanted one complete routing, not a choice per leg | Use Instant Quote instead. See How to search Instant Quote manually. |
| You wanted the customer to choose between whole routings | That is a multi-option quotation. See How to build a multi-option customer quotation. |
| A port you expected to compare is not offered | The ports, carriers and agreements behind the options are your Freightools administrator's setup. |