What to check in a freight enquiry before preparing a quote

1. Decide what information the next step needs

Start by naming the output: an indicative estimate, a quote for review or a booking draft. Agree the required fields for that stage with the operations owner and the relevant service provider. An enquiry that supports a rough estimate may still lack details needed for a confirmed movement.

DHL's myDHLi Quote + Book guide describes city-to-city estimates using estimated weight and volume when exact addresses or cargo details are unavailable. Treat that as a specific provider's estimate workflow, not permission to invent missing values for another carrier or service.

Give the enquiry a reference and an owner. Link the customer's email, attachments and later revisions to that record. Before creating a new job, check whether the message updates an existing enquiry. A second email with a revised packing list should not become an unrelated shipment.

2. Confirm where the service starts and ends

Record origin and destination with enough detail for the requested service. A city, airport or port name does not establish a collection or delivery address. Check whether the customer wants collection, terminal handling, the main transport leg, final delivery or a combination.

• Locations: the stated origin and destination, plus full addresses and postcodes when that stage requires them.
• Scope: which collection and delivery legs are included in the request.
• Service: requested mode or service level, or a request to compare options.
• Access: any stated appointment, loading, unloading or site-access requirement.

Check these details against permitted customer records when useful, but show the record and its date. A previous delivery address can be a candidate to confirm; it should not silently override the current enquiry.

DHL's freight quote guide identifies weight, dimensions, distance, transport mode and additional services among the inputs that affect a quote. This is why an automation should assemble the service scope before retrieving a price.

3. Keep quantities, dimensions and weight unambiguous

Capture the commodity description, package type, number of packages, packed dimensions and gross weight with their units. Keep separate package groups when their sizes or weights differ. Show whether a value applies to one package or the whole shipment.

Check the source wording before doing arithmetic. “Two pallets, 240 kg” may mean 240 kg in total or 240 kg per pallet. A dimension without a unit is unresolved. Avoid replacing either gap with a plausible guess.

If all package dimensions and counts are confirmed, the workflow can calculate physical volume and show its working. Keep that calculated volume separate from the supplier's stated value. Apply a carrier's pricing or chargeable-weight rule only after the responsible team has confirmed the applicable rule; physical volume alone does not determine the payable freight charge.

Record handling requirements explicitly where relevant: stackability, temperature control, oversized pieces or cargo needing specialist review. Unknown dangerous-goods status should go to the team responsible for cargo acceptance and documentation. The automation should not classify a shipment from a vague description or treat an unanswered question as a negative answer.

4. Separate requested dates from confirmed dates

Keep cargo-ready date, requested collection date and requested arrival date as distinct fields. Convert “next Friday” into a proposed calendar date using the message date, then ask for confirmation if the meaning is uncertain. Keep the original wording visible.

Do not turn a customer's required arrival date into a carrier commitment. If the enquiry says arrival on the 28th and the attachment says collection on the 28th, flag the conflict before preparing the quote. Assign service availability and schedule checks to the person or system that can verify them.

Record the requested commercial terms and quote scope as stated. If a named trade term is provided, preserve its version and named place when supplied; leave interpretation with the responsible operations person. Identify which charges and services still need checking, including collection, delivery and any requested customs service.

When retrieving an agreed rate, retain the rate reference, validity period, route, service and applicable conditions. A rate for a previous shipment is useful only after checking that it fits the current request. If it cannot be matched, route the enquiry to pricing instead of completing the draft with an old price.

5. Ask for the missing details together

Put the clarification draft beside the missing-field list for the owner to check. Ask only for information needed at this stage or for an unresolved conflict. Do not make the customer repeat a confirmed detail that is already in an attachment.

6. Build the intake checks before automating the booking

A narrow pilot can read permitted emails and documents, populate a structured enquiry record and prepare a clarification or quote draft. Give each field a source reference and a status such as stated, calculated, missing or conflicting. A reviewer should be able to see why a field needs attention.

Test with ordinary and difficult inputs: mixed package sizes, missing units, unclear totals, revised attachments, contradictory dates and replies to existing enquiries. Have the process owner record the expected fields and exception outcome. Use the existing quoting or transport system's required fields and check whether its forms or integrations already solve the task.

Keep sending a quote, confirming a booking and updating a live job as separate approved actions. In the pilot, stop at drafts for review. Define what happens if a connection fails, how retries avoid duplicate enquiries and who resolves outstanding questions. Our data and access guide covers permissions and processing questions to settle before connecting the inbox or business systems.

Measure active minutes through to a usable enquiry or reviewed quote, including corrections and follow-up. Record missed exceptions, duplicate records and the share requiring manual handling. Measure customer waiting time separately. Compare the same stage and enquiry types before and during the pilot.

Use our first-workflow checklist to decide whether freight intake is the right starting point. All Squares begins with a free discovery call, followed by the Free AI Opportunity Audit to identify one or two priorities. Builds are scoped and quoted separately. Bring a repeated enquiry workflow to discovery, with permitted examples and the checks your team uses.

Questions before changing freight intake

Can we prepare a draft before every field is confirmed?

Yes, if the draft clearly marks the gaps and the operations owner agrees what can be prepared at that stage. Keep any estimate assumptions visible. Do not present an incomplete draft as a confirmed price or booking.

Should we use a form instead of AI?

Try a structured form or the quoting system's existing intake tools when customers can provide consistent fields. AI extraction may help when enquiries and attachments still arrive in varied formats. Test how much checking remains before deciding to build.