A quick look at your daily delivery picture

• Tell me about your current daily seed delivery requirement, by facility and by dock.
• How many days of on-hand seed do you typically carry during the seasonal trough? Options: 0 days (just-in-time), 1 day, 2-3 days, 4-7 days, More than 7 days
• Walk me through the last time a single missed delivery day occurred, what failed, and who felt the impact first.
• Which origins or supplier types have historically filled emergency gaps for you? Options: Local elevator suppliers, Regional growers, Spot brokers, Export terminals, Other
• Who on your team owns day-to-day scheduling and who is notified first when a delivery is late? Options: Procurement planner, Operations supervisor, Logistics coordinator, Plant manager, Other
• Describe how a single-day plant outage affects your monthly crush margin in dollars or percentage.

Where supply actually breaks and the cost shows up

• Imagine a week-long supply shortfall, how would you reallocate deliveries and what breaks first?
• When regional basis moves 30 cents, which contracts or positions in your book are most exposed? Options: Nearby basis contracts, Futures-only positions, Fixed-price forwards, Option-protected positions, Other
• Tell me about the last time you paid a premium basis on emergency spot buys, including the root causes and the cost impact.
• Who within your organization approves taking emergency spot volume above your normal tolerance? Options: Head of procurement, Trading desk lead, Risk manager, CFO/treasury, Operations lead
• Given two successful test shipments, are you ready to enter a 30-day forward basis contract? Options: Yes, No, Need more information
• If a counterparty can guarantee on-time delivery but with slightly lower oil content, what trade-offs would you accept?

When seed quality drives whether a load is accepted

• What single quality failure at delivery would make you reject a shipment outright? Options: Oil content below spec, Moisture above spec, Excess foreign material, Contamination (other crop or chemical), Other
• Describe your acceptance thresholds for oil content, moisture, and foreign material, and how often you sample on arrival.
• Which testing protocol or lab process does your plant use to confirm oil percentage, and who signs the test results? Options: In-plant QA lab, Third-party certified lab, Seller-provided test with buyer confirmation, Inline sensor verification
• Walk me through the timeline and owners when a delivered lot fails specification, from notification to final resolution.
• In practice, how often do quality disputes lead to price adjustments versus replacement shipments versus outright rejection? Options: Mostly price adjustments, Mostly replacement shipments, Mostly rejections, Split evenly, Rarely occur
• Does your contract assign payment for third-party inspection, and what turnaround time is acceptable to your team? Options: Buyer pays, 24-48 hours, Seller pays, 24-48 hours, Shared cost, 48-72 hours, Case-by-case

The logistics reality you live with

• Where do transport bottlenecks create the largest delivery risk for your inbound seed?
• Select the transport modes you are open to for regular supply. Options: Truck, Shuttle rail, Unit train, Barge/inland waterway, Intermodal, Other
• Recall the last terminal congestion event, how long did it delay you, what extra costs appeared, and who handled the exception?
• List the nominated delivery points you accept per contract and note which require special handling or approvals.
• If the seller proposes multi-destination routing, which routing constraints would force you to decline? Options: Mixing crop origins in same lot, Delivery outside approved terminals, Excessive additional transit time, Cross-border documentation complexity, Other
• Name the single logistical constraint that, if unresolved, would stop you from moving forward with a forward commitment.

Who signs off, who can stop it, and how fast they move

• Name the person or role who would block a deal even if price and logistics checked out. Options: Head of procurement, CFO, Operations director, Risk manager, Legal counsel
• Outline the approval flow from procurement through treasury and operations for a forward contract above your threshold.
• When credit approval is required, which documents and lead times does your credit team consider non-negotiable? Options: Audited financials, Bank references, Letter of credit, Parent guarantee, Standard credit application
• Identify the role that owns position limits and how often those limits are reviewed.
• In the event an operational trial fails an acceptance cycle, who must sign to continue or to stop scaling? Options: Procurement lead, Risk manager, Operations manager, Executive sponsor
• Would a missing credit approval within your timeline stop the deal? Options: Yes, No, we can use alternative terms, Maybe, depends on mitigation

The other options you are weighing

• List the alternatives you are actively considering right now for covering seasonal gaps. Options: Incumbent trading partner, Local elevator spot supply, In-house origination and hedging, Another specialist trader, Commodity brokers
• Under what conditions would staying with your incumbent or continuing spot buys be the better choice for you?
• Has anyone on your team proposed solving this without an external trading partner, and what would that internal plan look like?
• Rate how important switching to a specialist trading counterparty is compared with keeping a generalist or using internal origination. Options: Very important, Somewhat important, Neutral, Low importance
• Specify the key metric that would need to improve for you to justify no change to your current approach.
• Pick the single competing option you would choose tomorrow if price and logistics were equal. Options: Stay with incumbent, Local elevator, Internal origination, Another specialist trader, Spot broker

Can your team and systems actually support this

• Identify the single systems or integration gap that would delay onboarding the most.
• Provide the internal systems that must connect for scheduling, ETAs, and invoices and name the owners for each. Options: ERP/inventory system, TMS/transportation management, Plant receiving/WMS, QA lab system, EDI/e-invoicing endpoint
• Do you have headcount or a dedicated person available to manage exceptions during an operational trial? Options: Yes, dedicated resource, Yes, can assign from existing team, No, we would need seller support, Unsure
• Confirm whether your delivery and receiving data is clean, who can provide exports, and how frequently.
• Are there regulatory permits, inspection approvals, or phytosanitary steps that could extend the onboarding timeline? Options: No permits required, Local inspection permit required, Import/export permits, Food-safety or phytosanitary approvals, Other
• Would the absence of named inspection points and a point of contact within two weeks prevent you from running a pilot? Options: Yes, No, Maybe, with mitigations

If the trial works, what makes you sign and how fast

• Assuming the operational trial proves on-time delivery and quality, what would make you sign a forward commitment within 14 days?
• Specify the acceptance metrics that must be met for you to increase committed volume after the trial. Options: On-time delivery rate > 95%, Oil content within spec for >98% of lots, Moisture within spec for >98% of lots, Dispute rate under 2%, Successful three-cycle run
• Provide the approvers for final commercial and legal terms and their typical review timeline.
• What credit thresholds and documentation would be sufficient for you to commit to forward volume?
• Estimate how soon your team can mobilize for an operational trial if terms are agreed today. Options: Within 1 week, 1-2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, More than 4 weeks
• Given the trial hits the metrics and credit approvals are in place, do you expect to sign a multi-month commitment within two weeks? Options: Yes, No, Depends on final price

• Solution Experience Session — Basis Pricing & Multi-Destination Logistics

• You confirm the demonstrated pricing workflow reduces the need for emergency spot purchases while keeping daily throughput intact.
• Provide recent 30-day throughput data and the list of nominated delivery facilities and unloading windows.
• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You validate that multi-destination routing shown would have prevented the recent delivery shortfalls described in Discovery.
• Prove pricing mechanics on your throughput
• Confirm acceptable basis risk tolerance and the target oil/moisture/foreign material acceptance thresholds for spot tests.
• You agree to the spot-test plan and the minimal evidence set required to expand to forward contract volume.
• Prove multi-destination logistics avoiding missed deliveries
• Prepare modeled P&L scenarios applying the showcased basis contract and futures-referenced pricing to the provided throughput and deliver the scenario outputs before the follow-up session.
• Show risk controls and the spot-test acceptance plan
• You agree on remaining items needed for credit/position gating before forward commitments.
• Prepare a draft sample basis contract and a proposed multi-destination routing plan that incorporate the agreed delivery windows and quality acceptance criteria.
• Assemble the draft credit approval package including proposed position limits and required financial documents for the buyer to review.
• Validate mapping to your needs
• Execute two spot test shipments on the agreed delivery points, capture QC reports, and deliver the shipment/inspection results for decisioning.
• Agree next steps and evidence checklist

• Solution Experience Session — Basis Pricing & Multi-Destination Logistics
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief — Basis Contracts and Multi-Destination Logistics

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• Post Daily Basis Bids
• Offer Basis and Futures-Referenced Forward Contracts
• Execute Two-to-Three Spot Test Shipments
• Collect and Analyze Seed Quality Samples
• Issue Third-Party Inspection and Quality Certificates
• Arrange Multi-Modal Transportation (Truck/Rail/Barge)
• Operate Shuttle-Train Loading at Origin
• Load and Tender Barge Cargoes on Inland Waterways
• Manage Futures Hedging and Basis Positioning
• Provide Counterparty Credit Package and Trade References
• Offer Flexible Delivery Windows and Partial-Lift Options
• Apply Quality Premiums and Deductions at Settlement
• Market Forwarded Seed to Domestic and Export Channels

Post Daily Basis Bids

• Do you require daily basis bids to be posted for specific origin elevators or for a region-wide pool? Options: Specific origin elevators, Region-wide pool, Both
• Which market reference should daily bids tie to for analytics and reporting (futures reference, local cash index, or custom reference)? Options: Futures reference, Local cash index, Custom reference
• How many days of historical basis bids do you want visible in the shared workspace for price discovery? Options: 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, Custom range
• Provide the delivery points or terminal codes where posted basis bids are valid (list terminals, elevator IDs, or dock names).
• Specify the cutoffs for same-day basis bid updates and the notification channel you want for material bid changes. Options: End of day only, Intraday updates allowed, Immediate alerts for >X cents move
• Who on your team should be subscribed to daily bid alerts and who can edit posted bids in the platform?

Offer Basis and Futures-Referenced Forward Contracts

• Which pricing mechanics do you prefer for forward contracts: fixed basis to a futures reference, fixed price, or a blended futures-referenced formula? Options: Fixed basis to futures reference, Fixed price, Blended futures-referenced formula
• How many delivery windows per month should a forward contract allow for partial-lifts? Options: 1 window, 2-4 windows, Weekly windows, Open within month
• Provide the invoice settlement mechanics you require (basis billed vs. futures settlement, cash-settled spread, or physical delivery settlement). Options: Basis billed with futures P&L, Cash-settled spread, Physical delivery settlement
• Select the contract flexibility you need for rollovers and roll dates for a seasonal trough-to-harvest exposure. Options: No rollover, One rollover allowed, Flexible rollover on agreement
• Indicate your maximum tolerable price reopener threshold for contract renegotiation expressed in cents per bushel or percentage.
• Name the internal approvals or signoffs (trade desk, credit, operations) required before a forward contract can be executed in the platform.

Execute Two-to-Three Spot Test Shipments

• List the origin locations and destination facilities you want to use for the two-to-three spot test shipments.
• Provide the target shipment sizes for spot tests (in metric tons or bushels) so loading and sampling plans can be prepared. Options: Small (under 100 mt), Medium (100-500 mt), Large (500+ mt), Specify exact quantity
• Describe the acceptance criteria and evidence you'll use to approve spot test shipments for scaling to forward volume.
• Indicate the number of consecutive successful delivery cycles (e.g., 2 of 3 on-time, on-spec deliveries) you require before approving forward commitments. Options: 2 of 3, 3 of 3, Other
• Where should transport exceptions during a spot test be logged and who receives escalation notices (terminal ops, quality manager, procurement lead)?
• How do you want test-shipment receipts and weighment documents delivered: scanned upload, EDI endpoint, or emailed PDFs? Options: Scanned upload, EDI endpoint, Emailed PDFs, Other

Collect and Analyze Seed Quality Samples

• Provide sample thresholds for oil content, moisture percentage, and foreign material percentage that define acceptance for settlement.
• Identify the sampling protocol you use at delivery: composite truck sample, probe sample from bin, or overseen dock sampling. Options: Composite truck sample, Probe from bin, Overseen dock sampling, Other
• Name the lab tests you require on every shipment (e.g., crude oil content by Soxhlet equivalent, percent moisture, F.M. by weight).
• Indicate the turnaround time for quality test results you need to release payment or move to acceptance (hours or days). Options: Same day, 24 hours, 48-72 hours, Custom
• State whether you require retained sample storage and the duration (days/weeks) for dispute resolution. Options: No retained sample, 7 days, 30 days, Custom
• Identify preferred on-site testing equipment or mobile lab capabilities to be used during sample collection.

Issue Third-Party Inspection and Quality Certificates

• Which inspection certificate types do you accept as evidence of quality (signed lab report, inspector certificate, weighmaster ticket)? Options: Signed lab report, Inspector certificate, Weighmaster ticket, Combined documentation
• Indicate the minimum data fields that must appear on every inspection certificate (moisture %, oil %, F.M %, sample ID, date, inspector name).
• Provide the allowed timeliness window between sampling and certificate issuance for it to be valid for settlement. Options: Same day, 24 hours, 48 hours, Custom
• Confirm whether you require certificates to be uploaded to the platform via a specified EDI/documentation endpoint or if emailed PDFs are acceptable. Options: EDI/documentation endpoint, Emailed PDFs, Either
• List any mandatory attestations on the certificate such as chain of custody, calibration traceability, or inspector accreditation.
• Indicate the dispute window after certificate upload during which you can reject a quality certificate and request re-inspection. Options: 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, Custom

Arrange Multi-Modal Transportation (Truck/Rail/Barge)

• Specify the origin-to-destination transport modes you need quoted for each lane (truck only, truck+rail, rail+barge, barge only).
• Which terminal loading windows at origin and receiving windows at destination must be honored for on-time acceptance?
• Provide the maximum acceptable transit time variance (in hours or days) for shipments before you consider it a logistics failure. Options: <24 hours, <48 hours, <72 hours, Custom
• Identify required freight document types to accompany each shipment (bill of lading, rail waybill, barge manifest, weigh ticket). Options: Bill of lading, Rail waybill, Barge manifest, Weigh ticket
• Name any restricted origins or lanes due to phytosanitary, permit, or seasonal closure constraints.
• Indicate whether you prefer door-to-door pricing or terminal-to-terminal pricing for multi-modal legs. Options: Door-to-door, Terminal-to-terminal, Either with fee split

Operate Shuttle-Train Loading at Origin

• List the origin sites where shuttle-train loading is available and the expected average rake size or car count.
• Provide the standard loading rate or target tons per hour the origin terminal must sustain for shuttle-train operations. Options: <200 tph, 200-500 tph, >500 tph, Specify exact rate
• Indicate the required lead time for nominating a shuttle-train and the cut-off time for last-minute changes. Options: 48 hours, 72 hours, One week, Custom
• Identify the loading documentation and weighment evidence you require to confirm a shuttle-train load (weighbridge tickets, load-out summaries).
• State whether you require on-site supervision during loading and who will be the on-call loading owner at origin. Options: No supervision, Seller provides supervision, Buyer provides supervision, Shared – specify contact
• List any capacity constraints or embargo dates at origin that could affect shuttle-train availability.

Load and Tender Barge Cargoes on Inland Waterways

• Which inland waterway terminals do you use for barge dispatch and which receiving river terminals are acceptable?
• Provide the standard barge load size you expect to tender and the acceptable cargo weight tolerance per barge. Options: Full barge (specify mt), Split barge loads, Custom
• Specify the acceptable river draft or seasonal navigation constraints that may shift delivery windows.
• Indicate required documentation for barge tendering and receipt (barge manifest, draft survey, terminal acceptance certificate).
• Identify contingency plans desired if river conditions delay barge departures beyond the contract window. Options: Rollover to next window, Switch to rail/truck, Price adjustment clause
• Where should barge ETA and quality test results be posted during transit for your operations team to monitor? Options: Platform feed, Email alerts, EDI endpoint, Other

Manage Futures Hedging and Basis Positioning

• Specify whether you require us to provide hedging strategy summaries tied to each forward contract (basis hedge, futures hedge, or no hedge). Options: Basis hedge summary, Futures hedge summary, No hedge documentation
• Name the futures reference market or contract month conventions you will use for marking-to-market and margining.
• Indicate how you want basis position reports delivered (daily P&L by contract, aggregated exposure dashboard, weekly statement). Options: Daily P&L, Aggregated exposure dashboard, Weekly statement, Ad hoc on request
• Provide the maximum open basis position or notional futures exposure your risk committee will permit before requiring reduction.
• Identify the accounting or trade booking codes needed so hedges map to your internal GL and margining workflows.
• How should hedge performance be measured for post-season review (basis stability, realized hedge P&L, percent of volume hedged)? Options: Basis stability, Realized hedge P&L, Percent of volume hedged, Custom mix

Provide Counterparty Credit Package and Trade References

• Confirm the corporate credit documents you require for approval (audited financials, bank reference, trade references). Options: Audited financials, Bank reference, Trade references, Credit rating
• Indicate the minimum credit limit or collateral arrangement that must be in place before forward commitments are accepted.
• Provide the contact details and expected response time for trade reference checks you want us to run.
• State whether you require a letter of credit, cash on deposit, or a netting agreement as acceptable credit support. Options: Letter of credit, Cash deposit, Netting agreement, Parent company guarantee
• Confirm that your legal or credit team requires a standard counterparty questionnaire and whether a site visit is part of credit diligence. Options: Questionnaire only, Questionnaire + site visit, Site visit optional
• Identify the cadence for credit re-certification you want for multi-month forward programs (monthly, quarterly, annually). Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, On material change

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• Master Commodity Purchase Agreement
• Order Confirmation
• Credit Approval & Position Limits Confirmation
• Onboarding Checklist Lock
• Quality & Inspection Addendum
• Logistics & Transportation Appendix
• Payment Security Agreement (Letter of Credit / Margining)

• Go-live health check
• First measurement review
• 90-day supply continuity review
• Quarterly supply continuity and performance review

• Update nominated delivery facilities or transport routes where recurring exceptions indicate a persistent vulnerability.
• Update credit utilization report and recommend any temporary position-limit changes if needed.
• Supply continuity and basis performance
• Confirm that days of covered supply and quality acceptance rate meet the expectations recorded in Solution Scope or document concrete remediation steps if they do not.
• Close persistent logistics blockers or assign a remediation owner with a dated plan.
• Formalize the shared issue channel and the rollover protocol to be used for all future exceptions.
• Publish the 90-day continuity report with forward coverage projection and basis variance analysis.
• Create or update the shared issue channel and post the rollover protocol and operating rules.
• Schedule targeted corrective shipments or origin substitutions to fill any projected coverage shortfall.
• Rolling performance and basis trend analysis
• Ensure the rolling on-time delivery rate and average dispute resolution time align with the operational targets recorded in Solution Scope or document mitigation steps.
• Resolve or escalate all disputes older than the agreed threshold and confirm next steps for unresolved items.
• Refresh contingency nominations and logistics configuration to reflect recent learnings and seasonal risk factors.
• Publish the quarterly performance packet including basis trend charts, delivery KPIs, and dispute log summaries.
• Close disputes that meet resolution criteria and document any remaining escalation actions with target dates.
• Reconfirm acceptance criteria and owners
• Confirm the deployment completed to the agreed execution checklist and that ownership for each acceptance item recorded in Solution Scope is assigned.
• Produce a prioritized list of blockers with remediation actions and target dates to close before the first measurement review.
• Distribute initial shipment and lab test summary to the shared workspace for asynchronous review.
• Log each open exception in the shared issue channel and assign an owner and target resolution date.
• Confirm the channel and contact list for day-to-day rollovers and issues communication.
• Present first-period performance dashboard
• Determine whether on-time delivery rate and percent of contracted volume delivered to specification are trending toward the targets recorded in Solution Scope and document gaps.
• Agree a timebound corrective action plan with verification steps to close identified execution or quality issues.
• Confirm whether credit or position-limit adjustments are required to sustain committed flow.
• Produce and publish the corrective action plan with verification milestones and expected measurement dates.
• Schedule follow-up spot test shipments or re-inspections to validate remediation within the agreed timeframe.
• Deployment and shipment validation
• Open disputes and resolution progress
• Root-cause analysis for gaps
• Quality dispute log and outcomes
• Logistics execution and exception review
• Counterparty execution and credit posture
• Quality disputes and inspection outcomes
• Early operational signals
• Open issues and blockers
• Credit exposure and position adherence
• Issue channel and rollover protocol
• Operational improvements and contingency refresh
• Immediate next steps
• Agree corrective actions and verification steps
• Agree remediation and contingency updates