Lane Templates are used to identify the data required by shippers and participants for an RFP event. A lane template must be used to create an RFP event. As a shipper, a template is downloaded as an .xls file, lane data is entered into the template, and the completed file is uploaded as part of the event creation process.
This article will explain how to create a lane template in Dynamic RFP.
Create a Lane Template
1. Login to your account. If you are logged into the Marketplace as shown below, click the app switcher to SWITCH TO DYNAMIC RFP.
2. In Dynamic RFP, click TEMPLATES.
3. Click CREATE TEMPLATE in the upper right hand corner.
4. Type in the preferred Template Name, select a type, and click CREATE.
5. To complete Details (step 1 of 4), select at least one location type to define your lanes Origin and Destination. We recommend selecting City and State or Postal and Country for both.
Then, choose the Rate Response Type and Rate Calculation.
Note: You can now specify the rate format (Flat vs. RPM) on a lane-by-lane basis within your template
When complete, click NEXT STEP in the top right corner.
6. In Shipper Data (step 2 of 4), review fields required to be provided by you. They are marked with a red *. This data is used to describe the details and requirements of the lanes to your participants and cannot be removed from the template.
Additional fields and custom fields are also available.
Click + to add a field from the menu.
Click ⋮ to remove a field.
Click ADD CUSTOM to create a custom field.
Enter data to be used in your custom field and click SAVE.
Drag and drop fields to reorder.
When complete, click NEXT STEP in the top right corner.
7. In Participant Data (step 3 of 4), review fields required to be provided by Participants. They are marked with a red *. This data is used to collect response data from participants that can be used within optimization and awarding and cannot be removed from the template.
Additional and custom fields are also available. You can follow the same Shipper Data workflow (above) to add, remove and reorder fields within Participant Data.
When complete, click NEXT STEP in the top right corner.
8. In Cost Formula (step 4 of 4), select the Cost Formula Type.
Options are:
-
Default Cost Formula
- When Rate Type is Flat Rate then Cost Formula will be: [Line Haul (Flat)]
- When Rate type is RPM then Cost Formula will be: [Line Haul (RPM)] * [Length Of Haul]
-
Custom Cost Formula
- Select this option if your event requires special variables to calculate cost per load.
When complete, click SAVE in the top right corner to complete and save your template.
Managing Lane Templates
To manage your templates, go to TEMPLATES and click LANE TEMPLATES to view all templates.
Click ⋮ to Update, Edit, Duplicate, Delete, or Archive a template.
Click DETAILS to view the details of, manage, or download a template.
Any template tagged Update Required will require an update in order to be used on a newly created event. This includes events that have been drafted but lanes have not yet been uploaded.
Required updates include:
- Origin/Destination location types
- Rate response types
- Equipment details
- Loading/Unloading details
- Volume details
- Options for more complex awarding allocation and analysis (Target Rate, Historical Rate & Incumbent SCAC)
New functionality includes:
- Additional suggested fields to choose from
- Ability to view, create, edit and update templates from within event creation process
- Select event level commodities data (Hazmat, Ice Cream, Alcohol, Pork), resulting in specified columns added to your lane template for given event only
Additionally, when selecting a template upon creating an event, any outdated templates will be flagged as Update Required. You can click on the UPDATE REQUIRED tag to be automatically directed to the template management workflow where you can update your template as needed. All data will be pre-populated based on existing template selections. Upon selecting SAVE you will then be automatically navigated back to Step 4 of event creation to continue where you left off.