In logistics, the initial rate is just the beginning. The true cost reveals itself in the end.
Global supply chain disruptions and misaligned planning cost organizations billions annually. Independent estimates show that 4 out of 10 shipments face unexpected costs. In many cases, these losses begin with a single quote request - and the decisions made in response.
In the United States, small and medium-sized businesses account for over 99% of all firms, with more than half of all freight planning and execution decisions driven by companies with fewer than 500 employees. This means that a significant portion of shipments rely on transactional, short-term decision making - often planned and managed by a single person on the exporter's side.
At Skypace, our internal data confirms this pattern: 9 out of 10 shipments are planned by one logistics coordinator, often during the early stages of dispatch planning. This creates structural exposure. When scaled across economies as large as the U.S., EU, China, or India, it leads to congestion, misaligned capacity, and delays across road, rail, and ocean infrastructure.
Smart Quotes addresses this problem at its root. It is not a user interface or a pricing calculator. It is a deeply integrated system that analyzes vessel schedules, infrastructure constraints, cargo types, Incoterms, and peripheral services such as customs clearance and compliance timing - all of which impact how a shipment moves, and when.
By combining this data into a single quote, Smart Quotes removes the guesswork. It allows the customer to not only receive a cost, but to receive a plan - one that has accounted for risk, route design, lead time, and booking capacity.
Powered by Skypace’s High Tact Performance Engine (read about HTPE), Smart Quotes aggregates operational data in real time, supporting coordinated response across logistics parties. It becomes the starting point of a logistics process governed by professionals who are trained to act quickly and rationally - even when transport conditions change without notice.
With Smart Quotes as the entry point to Skypace’s logistics execution system, all parties - clients, suppliers, and operations - work in a coordinated, transparent structure. In many cases, clients report a time reduction of up to 75% in booking and coordination, freeing their internal teams to focus on product, sales, and production.
Scale:
Speed:
Mobility:
Smart Quotes simultaneously analyzes thousands of route scenarios to determine the best option for a specific shipment. For example:
Is it faster and more stable to move a shipment from the U.S. to Frankfurt via Hamburg, or via Antwerp?
The system evaluates:
It also evaluates customs processes and time-based compliance constraints across multiple jurisdictions.
By doing so, Smart Quotes helps avoid outcomes like this: "Book a $20 cheaper rate and miss half your containers stuck in port due to overbooked space."
If you’re reading this article, chances are the problem described above already affects your work.
Smart Quotes shows that the sooner a quote is available, the higher the probability that a shipment will actually move on time.
The traditional behavior of shippers is simple: one client sends three quote requests to three forwarders. Each forwarder sends that same request to two or three other vendors. This is why quoting delays are one of the top hidden costs in global freight today. One quote becomes a chain of requests involving dozens - sometimes hundreds - of people, each processing the same question with subjective judgment and partial data.
And while that happens, your shipment sits. The vessel fills. You miss the cutoff. You reschedule. You wait.
Smart Quotes shifts that entire model. It consolidates the decision-making chain into a single, rational event. The objective is not to eliminate negotiation, but to avoid a loss of opportunity caused by delays in quoting and booking.
For many clients, the real value of Smart Quotes is not just price or automation - it’s the realization that attempting to save $50 or $500 through manual sourcing often costs far more in missed space, schedule changes, and overtime.
