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Increase Your RFP Win Rate by Fixing the Bid and Tender Process with John Golob

Increase Your RFP Win Rate by Fixing the Bid and Tender Process with John Golob

FromThe Logistics of Logistics


Increase Your RFP Win Rate by Fixing the Bid and Tender Process with John Golob

FromThe Logistics of Logistics

ratings:
Length:
36 minutes
Released:
Sep 2, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

[00:52] Tell us a little bit about you and your company. I am a John Golob, Founder and CMO of Winmore. We are based in San Francisco. Winmore is bid and tender collaboration software for freight forwarders and brokers, providing visibility, efficiency, and process automation that helps our LSP customers lower costs and win more of the right bids. [01:26] Tell us a little bit about your background. I grew up in Los Angeles. Briefly, I worked in entertainment, which was my first introduction to supply chain. I quickly found myself working in sales, predominantly selling computers and software. [03:56] When and why did you start Winmore? We started in 2013, largely because of a conversation I had at SalesForce. They were concerned about industries such as logistics having a hard time using out-of-the-box CRMs. Logistics gets new customers through inbound RFPs, so we focused on the different marketing cloud approach it needed compared to other industries. [05:50] Let’s describe the problem a little bit. When we talk about the bid and tender process, what do you mean you say bid? A bid is, effectively, a response to an RFP or a tender. RFP is the term used in the US, while tender is used in Europe. About 60% of revenue for logistics companies comes through the RFP process. [07:20] What’s wrong with the bid and tender process? It’s broken in two areas. The first is the behavior on the shipper’s side. They increasingly send out Excel-based RFPs that have thousands of combinations. The second problem is that 3PLs today, in order to prepare an adequate response, must drive an enormous level of collaboration across many team members. They all have different agendas. 3PLs have to respond, and they’re doing that at a significant cost. [11:12] Once you’ve got an RFP in hand, who manages that in an average 3PL? Sometimes it’s under finance, sometimes it’s under marketing. We have found that there is no best practice for where the RFP process resides. It usually comes down to someone who has the best attention to detail. [13:29] There are usually a lot of emails and Excel spreadsheets around. Tell us about how that information gets managed. The first problem that people usually struggle with is finding what they priced something at in the previous year. This process is very broken and not well designed for a collaborative process. [15:16] What’s another reason that you decided to find a solution? There’s been a real toughening up on the shipper’s side. The mindset of being absolutely relentless with providers is holding true on the RFP side. They literally will not accept a bid if it comes in two minutes past the deadline. Understanding the pricing used to bid on business, even if it wasn’t won, didn’t reside anywhere in 3PLs. This further made us realize the opportunity at hand. [19:05] Six years ago, you had the idea that you could fix this process. Tell us what your thoughts were and what has changed over that time. Having a backer like SalesForce allowed us to start a lot of conversations. We were able to build some close relationships. We were among the few software companies that were starting to have a discussion around what analytics could do for commercial operations. The CIO role in an average 3PL has gone from a relatively insignificant role to a very important one. [21:53] How did you know what was broken and who were you working with? We quickly realized there were three areas that were broken. The qualification process. About 22% of RFPs are price checks, meaning that they’ll have no opportunity to be added to your top line. If you can qualify them right away, you’ll be one step ahead. We wanted to give commercial leaders visibility so they could have confidence in knowing that every step of the RFP process was mapped out. Finally, we saw that people were communicating in new ways. We had to build a new way for teams to work together. We tried to get the biggest names we could, so we worked with DHL and C.H.
Released:
Sep 2, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The Logistics of Logistics is a podcast hosted by industry expert Joe Lynch. Joe interviews founders, executives, and innovators who are shaping the future of logistics and supply chain. Topics include transportation, logistics, warehousing, technology, supply chain, and ecommerce. The Logistics of Logistics audience expects an inside perspective of what’s next in logistics and supply chain delivered via podcasts, videos, and articles. Topics include: Transportation Topics Small package, Small parcel, Air Cargo, Ocean Shipping, Ocean freight, Bulk carriers, Cargo ships, Container ships, Tankers (ocean tankers), Refrigerated ships (reefers), Roll-on/roll-off ships, Multi-purpose ship, General cargo ship, Break bulk cargo, General cargo, Less Than Truckload, LTL, Tractor, Trailers, Tractor-trailers, 48-foot trailer, 53-foot trailer, Truck lift-gate, Truck terminals, Truckload (TL), Full Truckload (FTL), Freight, Palleted freight, Pallets, Fleet acquisition, Equipment, Drivers, Truck Drivers, Driver leasing, Driver training, Driver safety, Hours of Service (HOS), Electronic Logging Device (ELD), Driver outsourcing, Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC) Carrier contract, Spot rates, Contract rates, Pickup and delivery, Carrier Instructions, Freight characteristics, Dock management, Intermodal, Containerization, Containers, Final mile, Last mile, Rail transportation Warehousing Topics Warehouse storage, manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, Pick and Pack, Sub-assembly, Site Location, Distribution Center Management, Inbound shipping, Outbound shipping, Receiving, Putaway, Put-away, Order processing, Replenishment, Pulling, Restocking, Picking, Validation, Sorting, Distribution Center Management System (DCMS), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Supply, Demand, Inventory, Inventory Management, Cross-docking, Cross-dock, Ecommerce fulfillment, Fulfillment, Packaging Logistics Topics 3rd party logistics, 3PL, 4th party logistics, 4PL, Just-in-Time (JIT), Payment auditing, Freight auditing, Payment Processing, Freight brokerage, Freight broker, Digital freight brokerage, Digital freight broker, Transparency, Visibility Special Topics Direct to Home, Direct to Store, Sustainability, Green Logistics, Reverse Logistics, Product Lifecycle Management, Supply Chain Security Analysis, Contingency planning, Crisis Planning, Global Expansion, Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), Logistics Consulting, Transportation Consulting, Import / Export, Customs, Labor Management, Marketing Services, Customer Service Technology Topics Supply chain technology, Freighttech, Freight tech, Freight technology, EDI, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Predictive Analytics, Technology Services, Web Services, Global Trade Management (GTM), Transportation Management System (TMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS), Supplier Management, Customer Management, Cloud Based Solutions, Wireless