> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.bidright.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The 6 Stage Workflow

> Every bid in BidRight moves through six stages — from the moment you receive a customer's bid file to the moment you record the outcome.

## Summary

Every bid in BidRight moves through six stages — from the moment you receive a customer's bid file to the moment you record the outcome. The stages keep your team aligned on where each bid stands and what needs to happen next.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/nussbaumtechnology/hdj61_GBhf3KdDsd/assets/6-stage-workflow.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=hdj61_GBhf3KdDsd&q=85&s=ab2a8b149c2c32a003dbb02799cc6b7b" alt="Diagram of BidRight's six-stage workflow: Import & Review, Interest, Pricing, Review, Submit, and Close" width="680" height="290" data-path="assets/6-stage-workflow.svg" />

## When to use this

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Just getting started" icon="circle-play">
    You just started using BidRight and want to understand the overall flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What does this stage mean?" icon="map-pin">
    You're looking at a bid and want to know what each stage means.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Who acts next?" icon="user-check">
    You're trying to figure out who on your team needs to act next.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## The 6 stages

<Steps>
  <Step title="1. Import & Review" icon="file-arrow-up">
    The bid file has been received from your customer (usually an Excel spreadsheet). Someone on your team imports it into BidRight, reviews the lane data for accuracy, and cleans up anything that needs attention — missing cities, unusual formatting, or duplicate lanes.

    <Tip>**Who typically does this:** Pricing analyst or whoever manages incoming bids.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="2. Interest" icon="bullseye">
    Your operations team (or whoever manages your network) reviews the lanes and marks which ones your company is interested in bidding on. Not every lane in a customer's file will be a fit — this stage is where you narrow the list.

    <Tip>**Who typically does this:** Operations, fleet planning, or a designated lane reviewer.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="3. Pricing" icon="tag">
    For the lanes you're interested in, your pricing team enters or reviews rates. BidRight gives you FreightMath data, historical performance, and market context to help you land on the right number. This is where the real work happens.

    <Tip>**Who typically does this:** Pricing analyst.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="4. Review" icon="magnifying-glass-chart">
    Before rates go out the door, a manager or senior reviewer looks at the pricing decisions. This is your quality check — making sure rates are competitive, margins are where they need to be, and nothing was missed.

    <Tip>**Who typically does this:** Pricing manager, Senior analysts, Director of Analytics, or whoever approves rates at your company.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="5. Submit" icon="paper-plane">
    Rates are finalized and exported from BidRight in the format your customer expects. The bid gets submitted back to the shipper.

    <Tip>
      **Who typically does this:**

      * Pricing analyst when it's going to a bid site like Jaggaer
      * Sales when it's going back to the customer
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="6. Close" icon="flag-checkered">
    After submission, and you hear back from the bidding customer you record the outcome. Did you win lanes? Lose them? Move to a second round? This is where the bid lifecycle ends — and where your data starts informing the next bid.

    <Tip>**Who typically does this:** Sales or account management, based on shipper feedback.</Tip>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What to watch for

<Info>
  **Bids can move backward.** If a shipper sends a Round 2 file, the bid may cycle back through Import and Pricing again. That's normal.
</Info>

* **Not every bid uses every stage.** Some teams skip the formal Interest stage if one person handles both operations and pricing. The stages are guardrails, not rigid gates.
* **The stage tells you who needs to act.** If a bid is sitting in "Needs Priced," that's a signal to your pricing team. If it's in "Needs Review," the ball is with management.

***

## Related content

* [Price with One Number](/concepts/price-with-one-number) — How the pricing stage works in detail.
* [Auto Rate (AI)](/concepts/auto-rate-ai) — Propose starting rates for every lane marked with interest.
* [How BidRight Works](/) — Overview of BidRight for new users.