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10 Topics to Consider Before Your Next Cross-Border RFP 

Author Troy Ryley

Creating a cross-border Request for Proposal (RFP) is an essential step in freight transportation. Organizing your data, understanding all the specifications, and including alternative strategies are all essential parts of putting together a cross-border RFP. To ensure you’re streamlining the process, evaluate these important considerations before you begin:  

  1. Run a pre-bid health check on your data 
    Before you send lanes to market, audit your data for accuracy. This includes service requirements, origin/destination constraints, historical accessorial charges, and seasonal patterns. Poor data leads to unrealistic pricing and failed awards. Make sure the master data is clean, OTIF performance is tracked correctly, and carrier scorecards are up to date. 
     
  1. Define success up front: KPIs and cost-to-serve, not just to rate 
    Set and share measurable goals before launching the RFP, such as award compliance percentage, on-time delivery windows, dwell time targets, and landed cost metrics. When carriers understand your definition of success, they can tailor pricing and service proposals that fit your actual needs, not just the cheapest cost per mile (CPM). Be honest about special conditions that could affect their cost and performance, such as dropped trailers or appointments only made from the border. The more accurate the information, the better market pricing for the service you will get.   
     
  1. Form one cross-border governance team 
    Disconnected U.S. and Mexico procurement processes lead to execution failures and derailed operations. Create a steering committee that includes procurement, operations, customs, and finance from the U.S. and Mexico—both sides of the border. Hold regular touchpoints during the RFP and implementation. 
     
  1. Bid the whole trip, not just one direction 
    Many shippers split northbound and southbound bids, missing the opportunity for round-trip efficiencies. Combine both flows, plus any transloading, warehousing, or brokerage needs, in one scope. This enables carriers to balance capacity, reduce empty miles, and offer better rates, driving significant cost savings. 
     
  1. Verify customs and security readiness early 
    At the RFI stage, require proof of CTPAT certification, bonded carrier/warehouse capacity (if needed), and established processes for Carta Porte, USMCA, and other compliance documents. This ensures bidders can clear freight efficiently and avoid costly inspections or holds. 
     
  1. Pre-qualify and diversify your carrier pool 
    Use an RFI or scorecard to evaluate providers before inviting them to the RFP. Include a mix of asset-based carriers, brokers, and niche providers. Avoid over-reliance on one or two carriers as natural disasters, strikes, or bridge closures can cripple single-source strategies. 
     
  1. Secure total value, not just CPM 
    Evaluate bidders on service history, tender acceptance rates, technology, financial stability, and ability to scale. Low-cost providers may reject tenders during peak season or when market rates rise, leading to freight getting dumped during capacity crunches. 
     
  1. Are you pricing lanes or evaluating your full supply chain strategy? 
    Look beyond transportation rates. Cross-border freight involves customs brokerage, warehousing, cross-docking, and transloading—often handled by separate providers. Working with providers like Echo, with the ability to partner across the entire supply chain, integrate these functions and can deliver faster reaction times, better visibility, and greater efficiency. Integrated solutions help reduce handoffs, prevent miscommunication, and uncover savings in areas like customs clearance, dock scheduling, and inventory positioning. 
     
  1. Build in contingency and surge capacity plans 
    Ask carriers how they’ll handle disruptions—hurricanes, political protests, port-of-entry closures, or customs broker outages. Probe for bonded options, multiple broker relationships, and multi-border crossing strategies. Also consider contract terms as locking in ultra-low rates for too long can backfire when the market tightens. 
     
  1.  Set a realistic bid calendar and standard templates 
    For a sophisticated RFP, four to five days turnaround is unrealistic as complex cross-border bids typically require longer. Provide bidders with at least two weeks, standardized rate sheets, and a Q&A process. This ensures apples-to-apples comparisons, better participation, and fewer post-bid clarifications. 

Putting together a cross-border RFP can become a seamless process, when done correctly. Following the considerations above will enable a marked difference in the success of your cross-border freight and allow you to optimize the RFP process for the future. Learn more from Echo’s leading cross-border experts in our Webinar on DATE.  

For informational purposes.