When it comes to accepting a pallet shipment, there is a lot to know. If you have never done it before it can be quite a lot to learn in a short period of time. This is a quick recap on what you should be ready for.
Have the Necessary Equipment
Pallets are heavy, and drivers typically won’t unload the pallet off the truck for you without charging a fee. The reason is because they expect you to have a forklift since pallet shipments are almost 99% business to business and the businesses typically have loading docks and forklifts. All that is really needed is a forklift. If you don’t have any equipment at all there are ways to still get the shipment but it becomes a lot messier. Try to borrow a forklift from a local business if you can.
Be Ready
The truck drivers assume they are delivering to a location where someone is standing watch, waiting for a shipment. In other words they expect a receiving department with someone waiting there during normal business hours. For a lot of businesses we ship to this just isn’t reality. Someone needs to have a heads up that the shipment is coming so they can grab a forklift and be on site. We can request a courtesy call ahead – but they don’t always call. We can request an ‘official’ call ahead in which case they have to call, but it will cost you (typically $50-$75).
Track the Shipment
We make it a point to send out tracking info on all our orders. With pallet shipments, you will know the expected day of delivery and whether it is out for delivery or not, but you won’t know the time or window of arrival. This can be important if you need to be set up to accept the shipment. Typically right next to the tracking data is the local terminal’s phone number. If you track the shipment by phone and tell someone on the line you need more details they can give you an idea if it’s expected to deliver in the morning, afternoon etc. However this is only after the truck has left for deliveries for the day.
Provide Us With Delivery Site Details
Knowing if we are shipping to a residence, fire station, hospital or standard business can help us determine if you may need extra equipment or a call ahead in order to get the shipment with no issues. If you have delivery hours it’s important we know them in case a driver shows up outside of delivery hours and has to come back and charge for a re-delivery. If we are shipping to an army base with a gate that requires a code we would need to know this as well.