What to Include in a Freight Quote Request
A warehouse or dock can only quote what it can picture. These are the details RapidShips asks for before quoting cross-docking, transloading, storage or rework, and the ones that change the quote most:
- What the freight is and how it is packed: palletized, floor-loaded cartons, mixed, or crated.
- Counts: pallets, or cartons if the freight is loose.
- Weight: the total and the heaviest piece.
- Dimensions of the largest pallet or piece, especially if it is tall or not a standard size.
- What it arrives in: container size and type, or trailer length.
- Origin and destination, and whether pickup or delivery is needed.
- Timing: when it arrives, when it must move, and any appointment windows. For port containers, the last free day.
- Services: cross-docking, transloading, storage and for how long, rework, repalletizing, labeling, sorting.
- Special requirements and the condition of the freight, with photos if anything is damaged or shifted.
- Documents: bill of lading, packing list, photos, load diagrams and container information.
What a finished quote should contain in return is covered in what a freight handling quote should include.
How Requests Are Routed
Every request gets one routing label so the right person sees it first. The rules are fixed and shown with your summary. They are not a score, and they do not change what you are quoted.
| Label | When it applies | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | An emergency situation, the Emergency urgency or the Emergency recovery service was chosen. | Call 800-376-2808 first. Freight Emergency Help shows the next step. |
| Urgent | Urgency is Urgent, or the arrival or must-move-by date is within 2 days. | Reviewed first by the operations desk. |
| Complex | Three or more services, rework together with transloading, or special handling such as damaged or overweight freight. | Reviewed by the operations desk with the dock lead. |
| Planning | Urgency is Planning, or the first date is more than 14 days away. | Reviewed in order, with time to confirm details. |
| Normal | Anything else. | Reviewed in order by the operations desk. |
Documents and Your Privacy
Attachments are optional. They are checked for type and size, sent only as attachments to the operations team's email, and never stored or published on the website. The website does not read your documents: nothing is extracted from a file and nothing is filled in or sent without you seeing it. Analytics record only categories, such as which services were chosen, never names, emails, phone numbers or shipment details.
What Happens After You Send
A person on the RapidShips operations team reads the request, checks it against the dock schedule and replies by your preferred method, usually with questions about anything still open. There are no automatic prices. For anything urgent, call 800-376-2808, 24/7.