Twelve capabilities RoRo quoting needs: a checklist for carriers and logistics companies

A quoting tool can calculate a price and still leave the hardest decisions outside it. For RoRo carriers and logistics companies, those decisions concern cargo dimensions, handling, contract terms and the capacity on a particular sailing.

Use these twelve questions to test how much of your real workflow your current set-up supports, and what a new solution must cover, whether you extend what you have, build something new or develop it with a partner.

The gap between general quoting and quoting built for RoRo shows up in questions 5 to 7. If the price cannot be connected to the voyage, the other answers matter less.

Cargo and pricing

1. Can it apply the pricing bases in your tariffs and contracts? Test unit rates, CEU-based rates where they apply, square metres, CBM and W/M rules, including minimums and exceptions.
2. Can it tell contract rates from spot rates? See how customer, route, validity and cargo type select the right rule, and how overrides are controlled.
3. Can it calculate the applicable charges? Test equipment, lashing, handling, out-of-gauge and contractual adjustments. Check what happens when a required cost or rule is missing.
4. Can one quote combine the services you sell? Where needed, freight, handling, packing and storage in one offer, with clear inclusions and exclusions.

Capacity and margin

1. What equipment and vessel checks can it perform? Identify the data it needs, the limits it checks and the approvals that stay outside CPQ.
2. What does its margin figure measure? Ask which costs are included, which are estimates and which are missing. Keep cargo contribution, contribution per area and voyage P&L apart.
3. How does the quote relate to the voyage? Test schedule and capacity data, how fresh they are, and whether a quote reserves space. A price is not a capacity commitment.

Control and process

1. Can it route exceptions under your approval rules? Test price overrides, requests beyond allocation and incomplete cargo information.
2. Can it reproduce the decision history? Look for rate versions, approvals, changes and outcomes, including who changed what.
3. Can agents quote under carrier-defined authority? Test base rates, permitted markups, data access and the line between a quote, a booking request and a confirmation.

Fit with your systems

1. How will it exchange data with CRM, booking and finance? Ask for field ownership, supported interfaces, error handling and the work needed to build the flow.
2. Can you start with a bounded first phase? Agree cargo types, users, integrations and acceptance criteria before expanding.

Scoring the answers

Score each question 0 for not covered, 1 for partly covered and 2 for covered in your own scenario. Record configuration, integration and development work separately. Mark the questions that are essential to you as pass or fail. A high total must not hide a failed essential question.

This is what voyage-aware quoting means in practice: pricing judged together with contract rules, schedule and usable capacity.

Why this capability matters

Most quoting problems on RoRo trades are not about calculating a price. They are about connecting that price to the contract, the cargo and the voyage. A clear list of the capabilities you need keeps that connection in focus, whether you extend what you have, build something new or develop it with a partner.