System and method of selecting freight forwarding companies

Abstract

A system and method for selecting freight forwarding companies is provided wherein bids for shipping lanes and the like are received well in advance of a freight move. Bids are submitted on shipping lanes and other move associated transactions by pre-approved freight forwarding companies. This information is stored in a database. Selection of the freight forwarding company or companies occurs in connection with evaluating the bid information submitted and historical data stored on the database.

1 . A method of identifying a bid of a freight forwarding company comprising:
 receiving data representing a plurality of bids for storage in a computer database, where the data associates each bid with a traffic lane, a potential requirement for a move, a price rate associated with the potential requirement for a move, and a freight forwarding company, at least two of the plurality of bids being associated with different freight forwarding companies,   receiving from a user, after receiving the plurality of bids, search criteria relating to a move request, where the search criteria is associated with a traffic lane, a moving requirement and a quantity value associated with the moving requirement,   querying, via a computer, the computer database with the search criteria,   identifying, with a computer and in response to the query, a plurality of bids by comparing the traffic lane and the potential requirement of the received bids with the traffic lane and the moving requirement of the move request,   calculating a cost for each of the identified bids dependent on the price rate and quantity value, and   providing graphic images, for display on a computer screen, showing the bids and the calculated costs.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising displaying the identified bids on a computer screen. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the displayed bids are ranked based on the calculated costs. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the data representing a plurality of bids is received via the Internet by providing a bidder with access to a web page and displaying one or more traffic lanes available for bid. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein receiving the bids further comprises receiving the bids meeting predefined criteria at prices based on predefined rate structures. 
     
     
         6 . A system of identifying a bid of a freight forwarding company comprising:
 a computer database storing a plurality of bids, where the database associates each bid with a traffic lane, a potential requirement for a move, a price rate associated with the potential requirement for a move, and a freight forwarding company, at least two of the plurality of bids being associated with different freight forwarding companies,   an electronic screen capable of displaying graphics,   an electronic processing unit in communication with the computer database and the screen so as to provide graphics to the screen in accordance with a computer program, the program comprising: receiving from a user, after receiving the plurality of bids, search criteria relating to a move request, where the search criteria is associated with a traffic lane, a moving requirement and a quantity value associated with the moving requirement; querying the computer database with the search criteria; identifying a plurality of bids by comparing the traffic lane and the potential requirement of the received bids with the traffic lane and the moving requirement of the move request; calculating a cost for each of the identified bids dependent on the price rate and quantity value; and providing graphic images to the computer screen showing the bids and the calculated costs.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the computer program further comprises displaying the bids in a ranked order based on the calculated costs. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6  further comprising a computer in communication with the electronic processing unit via the Internet, wherein the computer displays a web page and one or more traffic lanes available for bid in accordance with the computer program.