[SamWoodcock]

Functionally speaking, the difference between Rate Inquiry (RIQ) and International Rate Inquiry (IRIQ) is not limited to whether something is shipped internationally or not. The naming is a reflection of the functionality supporting the IRIQ.

The IRIQ was conceived for Freight Forwarders needing to get a quote for goods movement in order to serve a customer. This typically involves ocean vessel operations which are typically international in nature (although not always of course).

There are specific input fields on the IRIQ which are related to the Arbitrary Rate and Primary Shipment constructs in OTM, both of which may be used in the construction of international (say ocean) shipping.

For example, the IRIQ contains fields for Port of Load and Port of Discharge meaning if you have set up arbitrary rates to handle multi-stop shipments then these can be constrained in your query. Also there is a Domain field to allow customer rates to be queried independently of each other (again in the Freight Forwarding world, if you have rates on the same lanes but for different values depending on the client).

With plain RIQ, you can click on "Find Rates" and OTM does not need the itinerary to be set up in order to give you a result. If you click "Find Route and Rates" then you are asking OTM to use available Itineraries too.

IRIQ always needs supporting Itineraries in order to return a result. Also with IRIQ you get the opportunity to refine options, i.e. return all alternative rates, very much like the Order Release action "Show Routing Options".

Hope that helps.