Expert - Tender Pricing Ocean Freight

Job Title: Expert – Tender Pricing (Ocean Freight)

Job Location: Chennai

The Ocean Freight Tender Pricing Expert is responsible for coordinating the end-to-end pricing for Global and Country RFQs, ensuring competitive and timely bid submissions. This role coordinates the execution of pricing strategies from internal stakeholders, analyzes data quality, and prepares competitiveness assessments to support informed decision-making and optimize final submissions for improved tender hit rates. The role provides pricing analysis and validation but does not own pricing decisions. Additionally, the position performs quotations for additional lanes, updates to surcharges and transit times, and drives process enhancements to strengthen automation, governance, and data integrity. The position also oversees rate card loading by providing clear instructions and guidance to the team managing this process.

Key Responsibilities:

Coordinate RFQ Pricing Process

• Work closely with the Ocean Freight (OFR) Tender Manager or the responsible Country Ocean Commercial Center (OCC) to support and implement pricing strategies to complex RFQs responses.
• Coordinate the entire pricing process during RFQs across all tradelanes and countries to deliver timely submissions in accordance with customer schedules and maximize hit rates.
  
  
  

• Implement pricing instructions for each RFQ by transforming the Customer Pricing Template (CPT) into the global Internal Pricing Template (IPT).
• Work with internal rate database tools (MTS) and Trade Managers, LCL teams, and country OCCs teams to deliver high-quality, market-competitive RFQ responses.
  
  
  

• Reviews populated IPTs and CPTs to ensure completeness, compliance with pricing instructions, adherence to DGF standard T&Cs and alignment with customer requirements, service levels, cost structures, and budget guidelines.
  
  
  

• Review internal to external composition, ensuring proper data transfer is achieved, in line with directions provided by OFR Tender Manager;
• Provide visual validation triggers to ensure data quality compliance on a lane level
  
  
  

• Prepare gap-to-target and pricing competitiveness analysis for all global RFQs.
• Ensure alignment with customer award criteria to support pricing refinement across multiple rounds and enable decisive walk-away decisions with key stakeholders, ultimately improving tender success rates.
  
  
  

• Prepare rate cards for awarded business for handover to the Rate Card loading team in a format that they can simply upload into (ERP/systems) RMS/CW1 without any further interpretation/intervention, enabling auto-rating and invoicing accuracy and timeliness.
  
  
  

• Implement requests for quotations for additional lanes and updates to surcharges and transit times, ensuring that all information in the customer rate card is consistent, current, and properly documented to support accurate auto-rating and GP maximization
  
  
  

• Implement pricing and surcharge updates for existing customers, incl. rate extension and/or revision, General Rate Increases etc., ensuring that all rate cards are accurately recorded and communicated to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner
  
  
  

• Support process improvement initiatives to enhance pricing workflows and automation
• Implement compliance with pricing governance, customer agreements, and internal controls
  
  
  

• OFR Tender Manager or Country OCC: Work jointly to develop winning and profitable pricing strategies in line with market conditions and customer expectations
• Trade Teams: Coordinate with Ocean Freight Trade for pricing strategies
• Sales Teams: Partner to develop pricing for client proposals
• Ocean Commercial Center (OCC): Share knowledge, insights, and best practices
  
  
  

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience/qualification
• 4+ years of experience in pricing/RFQ role in Ocean Freight Forwarding
• Proficiency in Excel and database tools
• Foundational understanding of freight forwarding and supply chain logistics
• Knowledge of local ocean carriers and transport providers
• Structured, detail-oriented, and service-minded approach to work
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proactive and collaborative team mindset
• Ability to perform effectively in dynamic, fast-paced environment with occasional high-pressure situations