The one-line answer
For every lane in every RFP, BidRight produces three numbers: Floor (walk-away), Target (hits your OR goal), and Stretch (where freight that fits your network belongs). Each is derived from four traceable inputs — the FreightMath OR model, your network position, the Quality of Freight score for that customer, and FreightMarks peer context for the lane corridor.
The problem with spreadsheet bidding
Most carriers price RFPs the same way every cycle: pull last year's rate, adjust for fuel, sprinkle in a margin, submit. The problem isn't the spreadsheet — the problem is what's missing from it:
- Cost-to-serve at the lane level. Not company-average cost — the actual variable, overhead, tolls, and trailer-pool burden of moving freight on this specific lane with the equipment and labor mix that would haul it.
- Network positioning. A load isn't just its own economics. It positions the tractor for what comes next. Pricing each lane in isolation ignores the cost of getting in and getting out.
- Customer behavior. A reliable tender shipper with clean dock performance is worth a different price than an erratic one. The behavior signal is real and BidRight prices it in.
- Award-mix reality. You bid 100 lanes; you don't win 100. The OR impact of a partial award is different than the OR impact of the full submission. BidRight models the difference.
The three lines, in detail
Floor — the walk-away
The Floor is your variable cost plus the lane-specific overhead, trailer-pool, and accessorial burden — full stop. Below this number, the load destroys margin no matter how it's positioned in the network. The Floor is what gets printed on the dispatcher's screen and the customer-service rep's screen so spot tenders below it don't get accepted by accident.
Target — the OR-goal rate
The Target is your Floor plus the margin required to hit the operating ratio goal you've set. This is the number you submit on a lane you'd like to win. Most carriers should submit at or above Target on lanes that score B or better in Quality of Freight.
Stretch — the A-tier price
The Stretch is the Target plus an A-tier premium — the rate that freight that genuinely fits your network deserves to command. On lanes that QoF scores as A+ for your operation (network builders), the Stretch is where the conversation should start.
The four inputs
Every price line is the composite of four traceable signals:
- FreightMath OR — True cost-to-serve at the segment level, from the live ABC model. Variable, overhead, tolls, trailer-pool, accessorial. The cost-side anchor for every line.
- Network Position — Inbound/outbound balance for the origin and destination markets, deadhead exposure of the surrounding lane segments, and the cost of acquiring and shedding freight there.
- Quality of Freight — The customer's behavior score: tender quality, dock performance, accessorial recovery rate (real, not pledged), and lane density contribution.
- FreightMarks Context — Peer benchmark ranges for the lane corridor, equipment class, and length-of-haul band. Tells you how much pricing room there actually is.
Where BidRight earns its keep
The pricing math is the same engine in every workflow:
- Annual bid round — Upload the RFP; receive Floor / Target / Stretch on every lane plus an attractiveness ranking; submit the price sheet
- Mini-bid / spot award — 24-hour response, same engine
- Mid-year re-pricing — Surface customers whose lanes have drifted enough to justify the conversation now
- Pro-forma award modeling — Simulate post-award OR before signing
- Lane-level walk-away — Print Floor to every operations seat
- Sales coverage planning — Find shippers whose lanes already match your Stretch profile
Three numbers, four inputs, one auditable engine. No spreadsheet duct tape.