What is an SCO (soft corporate offer)?
SCO · Soft Corporate Offer
A seller’s indicative offer, describing what it expects to be able to supply and on roughly what terms, subject to confirmation. It is a starting point for negotiation rather than something a buyer can accept.
Key points
- Indicative and subject to confirmation — cannot be accepted into a contract.
- Often describes cargo the seller expects to obtain rather than holds.
- A seller who never firms it up after being asked is the signal.
At a glance
| Issued by | The seller |
|---|---|
| Binding | No — indicative only |
| Purpose | A fast first response before terms are checked |
| Typically leaves open | Final price, shipment window, tolerances, sometimes load port |
| Next step | A full corporate offer with a validity period |
Indicative by design
A soft corporate offer sets out the commodity, an approximate specification, an indicative quantity and price, and a likely delivery basis — all subject to confirmation. It exists so a seller can respond to an enquiry quickly without committing to terms it has not yet checked with the producer, the inspector or the freight market.
That makes it genuinely useful early on. A buyer learns within a day whether the grade exists at roughly the price it had in mind, which is often enough to decide whether to keep going. What it cannot do is form the basis of a contract.
What it leaves open
The gaps are the point. A soft offer typically leaves the exact shipment window, the final price or differential, the tolerance and rejection thresholds, and sometimes the loading port to be confirmed. Each of those can move the landed cost materially, so a buyer treating a soft offer as a firm number will be disappointed later.
It is also where the seller has not yet secured the cargo. Many soft offers describe material the seller expects to obtain rather than material it holds — a legitimate position, provided it is stated. The question worth asking is simply whether the tonnage is contracted or prospective.
Turning it into something actionable
The soft offer is the beginning of the sequence, not the end of it. A serious buyer responds with the parameters it needs fixed, and the seller either issues a full corporate offer with those terms firm and a validity period, or explains what it cannot commit to and why.
A seller that keeps reissuing soft offers and never produces a firm one, particularly after being asked directly, is telling the buyer something. Firmness costs the seller optionality, and only a seller with real access to the cargo will give it up.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I accept a soft corporate offer?
- Not in any binding sense. It is expressly subject to confirmation, so acceptance produces no contract. The purpose of accepting one in practice is to move the seller to issue a full corporate offer with firm terms.
- Does a soft offer mean the seller has the cargo?
- Not necessarily, and that is not automatically a problem — traders routinely offer material they intend to source. It becomes a problem when it is not disclosed. Ask whether the tonnage is contracted or prospective and expect a straight answer.
- Why would a seller issue a soft offer instead of a firm one?
- Speed, and honesty about what it has not yet confirmed. Freight, inspection availability and producer allocation all take time to pin down. A soft offer lets the buyer decide whether the trade is worth that work before either side does it.
Related terms
A seller’s complete offer to sell a stated cargo on stated terms, valid for a stated period. Unlike a soft offer it is meant to be firm within its validity, and it is the document a buyer can reasonably act on.
A non-binding note from a buyer setting out what it wants to buy and on what terms. It commits nobody to anything, and its real function is to open a conversation in enough detail that the seller can tell whether the enquiry is serious.
A set of documents offered by a seller to show that the cargo exists and is available to the buyer. What counts as proof varies enormously, and much of what circulates under the name proves nothing at all.
The contract itself — the first document in the sequence that actually binds the parties. Everything exchanged beforehand is superseded by it, and any term not carried into it has no effect.
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