Request a Contract from a Shipper Profile

Understand the public-to-client handoff when Contact Shipper or Send Shipment requires sign-in, profile completion, contract review, and shipper approval.

Who can do this

• Anyone can read the shipper profile and understand the contract path.
• A signed-in client with a completed client profile is required to contact the shipper or sign and send a contract request.

Before you start

• Review the shipper profile, actual service prices, pricing units and tiers, warehouse fit, operating commitments, return capability, blocked dates, and review evidence.
• Create or sign in to a Client account and complete the required client profile. A Shipper account cannot request another shipper as its client through this action.
• Understand that the blue Send Shipment button first opens a contract agreement when no relationship exists; it does not create a shipment before approval.

Steps

1. Open a shipper profile from search. Anonymous visitors may inspect the profile, but selecting Contact Shipper or Send Shipment redirects to Login.
2. After signing in as a client, complete the business, address, typical-case, volume, category, and warehouse-requirement profile if the Profile Completion Required dialog appears.
3. Use Contact Shipper when you need clarification. This creates or reopens a message conversation and carries the client fulfillment context to the conversation; it does not create a contract.
4. Use Send Shipment when you are ready to establish the relationship. If an active contract already exists, the button becomes Create Shipment and opens shipment creation instead of another agreement.
5. When no contract exists, review the Fulfillment Services Agreement shown on screen, including the shipper identity, services, pricing schedule, SLA, published standard clauses, additional shipper terms, and billing notice.
6. If the displayed billing notice says a payment method or prepaid setup balance may be needed, follow the provided billing action. The notice is advisory at request time because the shipper can choose the client billing arrangement on approval.
7. Type the full legal signature name, select the agreement checkbox, and choose Sign & Send Request once. If pricing changed while the agreement was open, re-review the refreshed pricing rather than retrying blindly.
8. Open Client > Contracts and confirm the request. Wait for shipper approval; the success message and email explain that operational work can begin only after approval.

Fields and decisions

• Contact Shipper starts communication. Send Shipment starts contract review when no contract exists. Neither public button reserves capacity by itself.
• Displayed currency conversion is for reading convenience; the shipper service currency and accepted contract snapshot control billing.
• Tiered, per-unit, fixed, and base-plus-additional pricing must be read with their driver units and included subitems.
• Pending/requested means the shipper has not approved the relationship. Active is the state required for normal work.
• A setup-fee funding notice does not mean money moves when the request is merely sent; the configured billing path applies when the shipper approves.
• The agreement checkbox and typed legal name are the electronic signature. Use an authorized signer for the client business.

Finished when

• The request appears in Client > Contracts for the expected shipper and the client receives the request confirmation.
• Operational readiness is reached only after shipper approval creates an active relationship with the required services and billing prerequisites.

What this changes

• Contact Shipper creates or reuses a client-shipper conversation.
• Sign & Send Request creates a contract request and notifies the shipper; it does not create inventory, a shipment, or immediate operational charges.
• After approval, locked pricing/SLA and the shipper-selected client account type govern the relationship until amended.

Common problems

A profile completion dialog appears.

Choose Complete Profile, save all required client registration fields, then return to the same shipper profile.

The button sends you to Login.

The profile is public but messages and contracts require a signed-in Client account. Sign in or create the correct role, then return to the profile.

Pricing revised while you were reviewing.

Allow the profile pricing to refresh, reopen or reread the agreement, and sign only after the displayed terms match what you intend to request.

A duplicate relationship or existing contract message appears.

Open Client > Contracts and use the existing record. Do not create a second request to work around status.

The request was sent but Create Shipment remains unavailable.

Check the contract status. Wait for shipper approval and resolve any client billing/profile requirement shown in the contract or payment pages.

Safety checks

• Do not use Send Shipment as an informal quote request; use Contact Shipper for questions and review every agreement section before signing.
• Do not send inventory to an approximate public address or before the contract and inbound shipment are active and confirmed.
• Do not submit repeated contract requests after an error without checking Client > Contracts for a record.

When to contact support

• Contact support when the submitted request does not appear, status conflicts between profile and Contracts, pricing refresh loops, a completed client profile remains blocked, or accepted terms differ from the visible agreement. Include the shipper, time, contract reference if created, and screenshot without payment details.

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Owner: Fulfield Product Support | Content version: 2026.09.01.1 | Last verified: 2026-09-01