Compare freight quotes against the same shipment, service commitment and included work. A lower headline amount can represent a different job: less handling, a different delivery window or a price that leaves an additional charge outside the total.
Our existing freight quote breakdown explains charge categories. This template is for placing several offers side by side and recording the assumptions that make their totals comparable.
Freeze the shipment specification
Give each provider one version of the packed unit list, addresses, gross weights, readiness, required arrival and site access. Date the request. When the load changes, ask for comparisons against the same revision rather than matching an old quote to a new one.
Use this comparison sheet
| Comparison field | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment version | Same packed list | Same packed list |
| Ready and required times | Record exact commitment | Record exact commitment |
| Base transportation | Amount and currency | Amount and currency |
| Fuel charge | Included, fixed amount or formula | Included, fixed amount or formula |
| Loading/delivery services | List included scope | List included scope |
| Other exclusions | Describe any unpriced work | Describe any unpriced work |
| Comparable total | Calculate on shared scope | Calculate on shared scope |
| Validity and conditions | Record stated terms | Record stated terms |
Do not mark an unpriced requirement as zero. Use “not quoted” until it has been resolved.
Worked comparison
Assume hypothetical Canadian-dollar offers before tax. Offer A is $500 base transportation plus 20% fuel on that base and $75 for the required unloading service. The compared total is $500 + $100 + $75 = $675.
Offer B is $640 including fuel and that same unloading service. It is $35 lower on these particular inputs, provided the service commitments and other included work are equivalent. These are illustrative figures, not WTM prices or a market-rate survey.
Compare the promise before selecting the number
An offer that misses the required receiving appointment is not equivalent to one that meets it. Put mandatory service conditions above price in your review. Then identify tradeoffs that are actually acceptable, such as a wider receiving window for planned replenishment.
Separate “estimated arrival” from “accepted required arrival” in the worksheet. Do not upgrade the former through a spreadsheet label.
Keep a decision record
Record the selected offer, its version and the reason for choosing it. If the higher price was chosen for exclusive capacity or an agreed receiving commitment, preserve that reason. It helps the accounts team understand the purchase later.
A post-collection change should have its own explanation and approval record rather than disappear into an overwritten quote cell. Our freight invoice variance log provides a companion worksheet for that later stage.
Ask WTM to quote the same complete specification you use for comparison. Request freight transportation with the required outcome and site arrangements, then review and approve the quotation through the WTM Customer Portal.
