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Keep RoRo contract rates, allocation and approval rules consistent across quoting and booking, while managing spot cargo alongside contract commitments.

Written for: Commercial directors and trade management at RoRo and PCTC carriers

Contents
  1. Keep the contract rules together
  2. Separate commitments from exceptions
  3. Make the history usable
  4. Why this capability matters

Sales has a contract rate. Operations has a booking request. Finance has a different spreadsheet version. Each acts on its own information and still creates a mismatch.

The spreadsheet is not the real problem. The problem is that contract terms, allocation and the voyage live in different places, so nobody sees the conflict until the ship is nearly full.

Keep the contract rules together

A RoRo contract is more than a price list. Record in one place:

  • Rates by customer, cargo type and trade lane.
  • Allocation basis, period and contractual commitments.
  • Validity dates and renewal terms.
  • Fuel and currency adjustment rules.
  • Included, chargeable and waived surcharges.
  • Who may approve exceptions and changes.

Define how provisional bookings, confirmed bookings, cancellations and shipped volumes count against allocation. A number labelled "remaining allocation" is only useful when the team agrees what it counts.

Separate commitments from exceptions

From contract terms to a booking decision

1
Contract termsRates, allocation, validity, adjustments, approval rules
2
Booking requestCustomer, cargo type, lane, period, volume
3
Allocation checkVolume counted under the agreed rules for the period
Is the request within agreed allocation?
Within allocationNormal processingContract rate applies. Booking counts against allocation.
Beyond allocationException approvalDecided under the contract terms by the person with authority.
4
Decision recordedRate version, allocation effect and reason, visible to sales, operations and finance
IllustrativeThe same rules apply whether the request comes from sales, an agent or a customer. The detailed decision on extra volume is covered in a separate article.

Requests within agreed commitments follow the contract. Requests beyond allocation need a decision under the contract terms and your approval rules. Record the decision and its reason, so sales, operations and finance work from the same instruction.

Make the history usable

Each quote should show the rate version and adjustments it used. Each booking should show how it counts against allocation. Approved exceptions should stay visible when invoices are checked and contracts are renewed.

Renewal talks then start from what the customer actually shipped, at which rates and with which exceptions, rather than from a week of collecting files.

Why this capability matters

Contract business is the base of most RoRo carriers' revenue, and spot cargo is where the extra margin sits. Without contract terms, allocation and the voyage in one view, the two compete blindly for the same deck. Managing them together is what turns a full ship into a profitable one.

Related reading

Map one contract

Choose one contract and map its rates, allocation rules and exception approvals. Bring that map to a conversation, and we will look at where the team still depends on a separate spreadsheet or one person's judgement.

Cartagena builds these capabilities together with each customer, as tailored solutions on the Microsoft platform.

Talk about your workflow