6 Biggest Pain Points During RFP Season (And How to Fix Them)
RFP season is notoriously high-stakes and high-stress for freight brokers and 3PLs. Shippers are shopping. Pricing is competitive. And the pressure to win (and keep) business is intense, especially when tariffs and inflation continue to be at the center of our conversations. And while RFP season can open the door to new opportunities, it also brings its share of logistical headaches and inefficiencies that we’re all familiar with.
Let’s break down the 6 biggest pain points during RFP season and how brokers using Transfix are changing their strategies for big, intentional wins.
1. Time-Consuming Manual Processes
The Problem:
Gathering historical data, running lane analysis, and submitting bids over and over again can suck up days (or even weeks) of your team’s time. Multiply that by dozens or hundreds of RFPs, and you're facing an operational nightmare.
The Solution:
Through our Solutions Console, brokers can access automation tools that streamline the entire pricing and routing guide process. Our Solutions Console helps you analyze historical data, benchmark pricing, and generate accurate rates within seconds. No more spreadsheets. No more guesswork. No more sandclock (or rainbow wheel) of doom!
2. Inaccurate or Inconsistent Pricing
The Problem:
Pricing too high means losing the lane. Pricing too low? That’s a fast track to margin erosion and carrier fall-offs. Traditional spot quoting or outdated pricing models just don’t cut it during RFP season. You could build your own, but it would take years of data and accelerated manpower to properly train a cost model. And while industry benchmarks are important, they don’t necessarily tell the full story when you’re not comparing them to your own historical cost behaviors.
The Solution:
We deliver AI-powered pricing tools that reflect real-time market dynamics, your own pricing trends, and carrier capacity. Brokers using our Custom Rate Prediction Engine see a significant lift in win rates (like a 20-30% improvement in rate accuracy) and profitability because every rate you submit is built to win and to work. Not quite sold? Here’s what brokers are saying:
“By integrating these powerful insights, we can deliver even better service, streamline our processes, and achieve stronger outcomes. This solution enhances our ability to maintain our leadership in the industry while continuing to set new benchmarks in efficiency and customer satisfaction.” – Robert Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Genpro
And if you’re curious about how we measure accuracy, our post on what MAPE and MPE can really tell you about your freight network might be helpful.
3. Poor Carrier Visibility and Manual Carrier Selection
The Problem:
Winning lanes during RFP season is one thing. Covering them consistently is another. Many brokers struggle to quickly match awarded lanes with the right carriers, especially when relying on disconnected tools or static spreadsheets. This leads to delays, carrier fall-offs, or last-minute spot market scrambling.
The Solution:
Transfix’s Routing Guide Tool helps brokers organize, prioritize, and assign carriers across all awarded lanes, whether domestic or cross-border (we’ll get to that in a sec). You can quickly surface carrier preferences, see historical performance, and fill gaps with trusted capacity already on the platform. That means better coverage, faster booking, and fewer service failures without all the extra clicks and scrolling.
4. Disconnected Cross-Border Freight Management
The Problem:
Routing guides often break down when cross-border freight enters the picture. Brokers are forced to manage U.S., Mexico, and Canada freight separately, requiring extra steps to identify qualified carriers and comply with customs, documentation, and service-level needs.
The Solution:
We now support cross-border routing guide creation and carrier matching for Mexico and Canada. That means you can manage your cross-border lanes on a single platform. No more siloed workflows. No more hunting for trusted cross-border capacity click-by-click. You can now build comprehensive, multi-country routing guides that mirror how you actually run your business.
5. Lane Award Discrepancies and Mismatched Details
The Problem:
Once RFPs are awarded, discrepancies often go unnoticed. Maybe a shipper modified a location name, adjusted a rate, or slightly changed a lane structure. Without a centralized way to surface those changes, brokers risk executing on inaccurate information.
The Solution:
We highlight award mismatches and changes at the lane level. Whether it's a rate adjustment or a geography shift, you’ll know instantly what changed, and what it means for coverage. Over time, this builds a centralized insight repository that helps your team avoid surprises, tighten operations, and improve future RFP outcomes.
6. No Centralized Insights or Feedback Loop
The Problem:
Once RFP season wraps, many brokers are left flying blind. Data is scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools, making it nearly impossible to tell why certain lanes were won or lost, whether carriers performed as expected, or if pricing strategies actually paid off. Without a centralized view and clear feedback, it's difficult to improve performance year over year—or even lane to lane.
The Solution:
Transfix’s Solutions Console gives brokers access to powerful reporting and analytics across the entire RFP lifecycle. From win/loss breakdowns to rate deltas, carrier scorecards, and margin insights, you can identify exactly what worked and what needs adjusting. It’s not just reporting – it’s a feedback engine that helps brokers continuously sharpen strategy, build smarter coverage plans, and improve win rates for the long haul.
We know first-hand just how excruciating RFP season can be. Transfix is built for brokers who want to win more (and deliver more) without burning out during these crucial months. If you're still stuck in spreadsheets and reactive quoting, it may just be time to start considering a true upgrade.
