---
title: How Logistics Companies Win Shippers | Torke
url: https://torke.tech/industries/logistics-and-supply-chain
description: How 3PLs, forwarders and freight software firms reach shippers before a tender is written: who decides, which customs dates matter, how leads qualify.
---

# The tender is written before you call

You sell contract logistics, forwarding and customs services, or freight and visibility software to manufacturers, retailers and distributors. Your prospects already have providers under contract, and pipeline stalls because the decision happens in a tender whose requirements were set before your team heard about it.

Diagram: Dated signals in Logistics & Supply Chain

In Logistics & Supply Chain, three dated signals open a target account for outreach: New site announced, Customs deadline, Tender published.

## Who this page is for

- Contract logistics and forwarding providers serving manufacturers and retailers
- Customs and trade compliance services for importing shippers
- Freight and visibility software sold to shippers with providers under contract

Usual starting point: [Demand](https://torke.tech/service#practices)

## How do you increase sales for a logistics or supply chain company?

Stay in front of named shippers between tenders. Requirements are often drafted around the incumbent before a tender opens, so the provider that supply chain, procurement and customs already know starts ahead. Contact them when a new site, a new head of supply chain or a deadline such as Passar for Swiss imports forces a change.

## What do the numbers say about Logistics & Supply Chain?

Each figure links to the page it comes from, so you can check it before you repeat it.

| What the evidence says | Source |
|---|---|
| ICS2 has been fully operational for road and rail since 1 September 2025. | European Commission, DG TAXUD (29 August 2025) |
| EU authorities must accept electronic freight information from certified platforms from 9 July 2027. | European Commission, DG MOVE |
| Swiss imports must be declared through the new Passar system after 30 September 2027. | Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (22 June 2026) |
| The Swiss logistics market had a total volume of CHF 46.1 billion in 2024, up 1.4% on 2023. | GS1 Switzerland and University of St. Gallen (2026) |
| The average B2B buying cycle lasted 10.1 months in 2025, and buyers first contacted sellers 61% of the way through it (6sense survey of nearly 4,000 buyers). | CustomerThink, reporting 6sense (30 November 2025) |

[](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/news/transition-ics2-release-3-complete-limited-temporary-derogations-some-member-states-2025-08-29_en) [](https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/logistics-and-multimodal-transport/efti-regulation_en) [](https://www.bazg.admin.ch/de/newnsb/jtkxbzQa1wQyRzU0_WSxq) [](https://pscm.unisg.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/form_csv/PSCM/Supply_Chain_Management/Logistikmarktstudie_01-2026.pdf) [](https://customerthink.com/research-round-up-6sense-study-provides-critical-insights-on-b2b-buyer-behavior/)

## Why does the usual approach stall in Logistics & Supply Chain?

Shippers change logistics providers rarely, because a switch risks deliveries during the transfer, and when they do, procurement runs a tender timed to the end of the current contract. The head of logistics who evaluates you has to convince procurement on cost, operations on the risk of the changeover and IT on the connection to their systems, and much of that is decided while the requirements are drafted, before any provider is invited. Rule changes reopen these decisions on fixed dates: ICS2 has been fully operational for road and rail since 1 September 2025, EU authorities must accept electronic freight information from certified platforms from 9 July 2027, and Swiss imports must be declared through the new Passar system after 30 September 2027.

Volume marketing reaches the people who don't run the tender. Ads aimed at the category collect clicks from small shippers and carriers looking for spot capacity, while the logistics director and the procurement lead at the manufacturers you want see nothing that answers their questions. Those manufacturers are a finite list, and a platform bidding for form fills never learns who they are.

If you operate warehouses and want to buy automation, the robotics page describes your suppliers, and if you sell spot freight or a self-serve tool to thousands of small shippers, volume channels will serve you better than account-based work. Torke works where the buyers are named shippers with contracts, tenders and a buying group of several people.

## Where does pipeline break in Logistics & Supply Chain?

We look at five stages in the Diagnostic, because each fails for a different reason. The rows show the failure we look for first at each stage and what changes once Torke fixes it, in the order a deal meets them.

### Discovery

Where it breaks

Shippers searching for what a new customs or freight data rule changes find another provider's explanation first

What changes once it is fixed

Visibility makes sure buyers and AI assistants find and describe your answer to rules such as Passar, on the pages read before sales

### Timing

Where it breaks

Tenders arrive with volumes, service levels and systems already specified around the incumbent, so you can only compete on price

What changes once it is fixed

Account signals report new sites, leadership changes and customs deadlines, so Demand reaches shippers while the requirements are still open

### Evaluation

Where it breaks

Logistics managers read delivery times and emissions figures knowing what is realistic, and one claim operations can't meet ends the talk

What changes once it is fixed

Campaigns on approved claims checks every line against the facts your operations team approved before anything can be exported

### Qualification

Where it breaks

A shipper writing in its own language waits two days for the right person and has asked two other providers by then

What changes once it is fixed

Inbound response qualifies every request, routes it by language and segment, and answers in the buyer's language with meeting times checked

### Handover

Where it breaks

Marketing counts clicks from small shippers and carriers while sales tracks tenders, so the two report different pipelines

What changes once it is fixed

Revenue operations sets one account structure, lifecycle stages and routing, so marketing and sales count the same named shippers

## Who is in the buying group?

One person rarely decides alone, so a lead from the wrong role moves nothing. These are the roles we map at every account on your list.

### Who signs

The head of supply chain or logistics, with procurement running the tender and the CFO approving larger multi-year contracts.

### Who evaluates

Logistics and warehouse managers who will live with the service, customs and trade compliance staff, and IT for the connection to the shipper's ERP or warehouse system.

### Who can block

Procurement when the comparison favours the incumbent, operations when the changeover risks deliveries, and IT or security when your platform needs access to their systems.

## Which signals open an account in Logistics & Supply Chain?

Each signal is a dated, public event a sceptical buyer could check in thirty seconds. Market-wide news can change an account's conditions, and we never write it up as something that company did.

| Signal | What it changes inside the account |
|---|---|
| A new distribution centre, plant or market entry is announced | Flows are being designed now, so providers can be chosen before the site opens |
| A customs or freight data deadline such as Passar for imports | Shippers and forwarders must change processes and systems by a fixed date |
| A new head of supply chain or logistics is appointed | A new owner reviews providers and contracts in the first months |
| Job posts for customs, trade compliance or logistics planners | The team is growing or changing, and the posts name the systems in use |
| A tender published on a procurement portal or announced by a shipper | The requirements are fixed for a defined window, and questions are the last chance to shape them |

## What does a qualified lead look like here?

The head of logistics at a manufacturer on your agreed list replies that they are moving their Swiss import declarations to Passar before the old system closes and ask whether you can take over customs clearance for two of their sites. The basis for contacting them in their country is recorded, and the account is not an open opportunity in your CRM. That reply, with the customs deadline it answered, is a qualified lead.

A lead counts only when all five facts are recorded, and you have five business days to reject it with a reason. The [Torke Service page](https://torke.tech/service#qualified) explains each fact.

**Fact one**

A named person in the buying group

**Fact two**

At an account you agreed to in writing

**Fact three**

A need or timing in their own words

**Fact four**

A lawful basis for contact

**Fact five**

Not already open in your CRM

## Where should you start?

Every client starts with the Diagnostic, and for logistics and supply chain it most often points to Demand, because tenders follow dated events such as contract ends, new sites and customs deadlines.

Every engagement opens with the Diagnostic, two to three weeks that end on one of four decisions: stop, fix one barrier, run one practice, or expand later.

Usual first step for Logistics & Supply Chain

[Demand](https://torke.tech/service#practices)

The practice the Diagnostic most often points to here, run month by month once it does.

[Get in touch](#get-in-touch)

## How do Torke Service and Torke Engine help?

The same engines run in both, so you can begin with one and move to the other without starting over.

### Torke Service, we run it

For example, the Diagnostic may show that most tenders you lost were won by a provider who had talked to the shipper months before the invitation. Demand then covers the shippers on your list against signals such as new sites, leadership changes and customs deadlines, so your team is part of the conversation while the requirements are still open.

[How Torke Service works](https://torke.tech/service)

### Torke Engine, your team runs it

Account signals and inbound response matter most here: signals because shipper decisions follow dated events, and inbound response because a request answered in the buyer's language on the same day is often the one that gets the meeting. Campaigns on approved claims helps when delivery time, coverage or emissions figures appear in ads.

For example, a marketer asks the assistant to find which target shippers announced a new site or posted customs roles this month. It returns the ranked accounts with each dated event and its source, and the opening line the strongest event justifies, which a person then turns into the first email and sends.

[How Torke Engine works](https://torke.tech/engine)

## What can you expect?

You can stop after any stage and keep what it produced.

### A Diagnostic that may say stop

In two to three weeks you learn the one constraint, and when the issue is price, product or budget, the Diagnostic says so and stops.

### First leads with their evidence

Each lead names a person in the shipper's buying group at an agreed account, with their need or timing in their own words and the basis for contact recorded.

### A monthly keep, cut or change

Every month you receive the leads with their evidence and a written read that ends on a recommendation, with small results reported as too small to judge.

## What do teams in Logistics & Supply Chain ask about Torke?

Each answer stands on its own, so you can forward one to a colleague, and an assistant asked the same question can quote it as it is.

### Where should a logistics company start?

A logistics or supply chain company starts with Torke's Diagnostic, which reads tenders won and lost, the contract end dates already known and the account list of shippers it can serve. It most often points to the Demand practice, because tenders follow dated events such as contract ends, new sites and rule changes.

### How do we get into a shipper's tender before the requirements are set?

A shipper's tender usually opens with volumes, service levels and systems already specified, often around the incumbent, so the provider the shipper knew before drafting began starts ahead. Torke's Demand practice covers the named shippers on an agreed list between tenders, against signals such as new sites, leadership changes and customs deadlines.

### Which customs and freight data deadlines reopen logistics decisions?

ICS2 has been fully operational for road and rail since 1 September 2025, EU authorities must accept electronic freight information from certified platforms from 9 July 2027, and Swiss imports must be declared through Passar after 30 September 2027. Torke's account signals watch regulator feeds and target accounts for dates like these, so a logistics or supply chain company can reach shippers while their processes are changing.

### How long is the sales cycle for logistics companies selling to shippers?

It follows the shipper's contract end and tender calendar, so the useful window opens months before a tender is published. Across all B2B purchases, 6sense measured an average buying cycle of 10.1 months in 2025, with first contact 61% of the way through.

### How big is the Swiss logistics market?

GS1 Switzerland and the University of St. Gallen put its total volume at CHF 46.1 billion in 2024, up 1.4% on the previous year.

## Read next on Logistics & Supply Chain

Articles that go deeper on what stalls deals in this market, and the industries whose buyers behave the same way.

### The week something changed

In a category with no search volume, the only reliable opening is reaching an account inside the window a dated, public event created.

[Read the article, 4 minutes](https://torke.tech/blog/the-week-something-changed)

### What counts as a qualified lead

Most arguments between marketing and sales about pipeline are arguments about a definition nobody wrote down. Five recorded facts settle them before they start.

[Read the article, 5 minutes](https://torke.tech/blog/what-counts-as-a-qualified-lead)

### Your market is closer to 400 accounts

Most demand programs for deep-tech companies are sized for a market that never existed, and the fix starts with counting the real account list.

[Read the article, 4 minutes](https://torke.tech/blog/addressable-market-400-accounts)

### Robotics & Industrial Automation

Robots, mobile robots, machine vision and industrial AI sold to factory, warehouse and logistics operators, often through integrators, where operations decides the rollout.

[How we work in Robotics & Industrial Automation](https://torke.tech/industries/robotics-and-industrial-automation)

### Mobility & Automotive

EV components, driving software and fleet technology sold to carmakers, Tier 1 suppliers and fleet operators, where purchasing decides during platform development who supplies for years.

[How we work in Mobility & Automotive](https://torke.tech/industries/mobility-and-automotive)

### Agritech & Food Tech

Ingredients, alternative proteins and food safety or traceability systems sold to food manufacturers, retailers and agri-food operators, where quality and procurement decide.

[How we work in Agritech & Food Tech](https://torke.tech/industries/agritech-and-food-tech)

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