Defining & Comparing Transport Stages
You don't always need a pure "Door-to-Door" price. Often, it makes more strategic sense to break the transport chain down into its individual logistical parts (stages) or to request only specific segments.
Selecting the Stages
In the request form, you have the option to use checkboxes to define exactly which route segments the carrier should quote:
-
Pre-carriage: Transport from the sender (Door) to the port/airport of departure (Port).
-
Main-carriage: The actual freight route from port to port (Port -> Port).
-
On-carriage: Transport from the port of destination (Port) to the final consignee (Door).

Why should I separate stages?
Using this function offers you two major advantages over a standard door-to-door request:
-
Higher Precision: You can explicitly specify which port of departure or destination the goods should route through by defining the respective "Port" fields. This is especially important if you use your own customs agents at specific ports.
-
Maximum Cost Transparency: If you request the stages individually, you get significantly more details in the price comparison. You don't just see a final total; instead, you can analyze the cost structure in detail (e.g., "How expensive is the pure ocean freight portion compared to the pre-carriage?") and negotiate better.