Delivering goods to our fulfillment facilities via pallet transport requires careful attention to vehicle requirements, driver instructions, and palletization rules. This guide provides a detailed walkthrough of the process to ensure your goods are safely and efficiently processed upon arrival.
Vehicle Requirements
When delivering goods to our facilities, the vehicle used must meet specific criteria:
Palletized deliveries must be carried out on a vehicle with a height that fits the dock doors and can reverse up to the loading ramp doors of our facility with access to the rear of the vehicle with a powered pallet truck (PPT).
7.5-ton vehicles must be flat and reinforced to allow PPT entry.
All palletized deliveries are unloaded from the rear; no side loading/unloading is allowed.
The vehicle's rear doors and curtains must be opened by the driver without the use of ladders or other accessories that pose a safety risk to the driver or our staff.
The vehicle floor must withstand a fully loaded pallet jack and be well-maintained, safe, and free of any obstacles and damage, such as holes.
Trailers with uneven or wavy floors (e.g., in refrigerated trailers) are not allowed. If the product must be transported in a climate-controlled trailer, the product must be palletized.
The vehicle must be watertight, clean, and free of strong odors, especially when delivering food and medical products.
Securing straps must not be left hanging loose. If the straps do not secure the load, they must be firmly attached to the vehicle to prevent any danger to employees and ensure access to the unloaded goods.
For the delivery of medicines, the vehicle must maintain a temperature below 25 °C and for the delivery of other food products below 40 °C.
Driver Instructions
Drivers delivering Less than Truck Load (LTL) / Truck Load (TL) must register their arrival at the gate by providing delivery documents and a reference number. Drivers must use the entry and exit points appropriately. Access is prohibited to persons under 18 years of age and to persons who are not employees of the transport company or a designated agency driver. Access is also prohibited to pets or other animals.
Drivers will be provided with safety regulations and expected behavior on-site. The driver must read and sign that they understand and agree with it. For the driver's own safety, all recommended procedures must be followed. Smoking is prohibited on-site unless in designated smoking areas.
Drivers are required to secure their own PPE and must be wearing safety footwear S1P and high-visibility clothing (class 2 or higher) at all times when using the site. Drivers must adhere to the site's signage and must not exceed the maximum permitted speed of 15 km/h (10 mph) on the site.
Palletization
All LTL (Less than Truck Load) and TL (Truck Load) shipments must be palletized. Customers must ensure that all cargo items are secured during transport to prevent slipping, overturning, rolling, wandering of goods, or substantial deformation and rotation in any direction. If they are on a pallet and are on top of each other, all cargo on the pallet must be secured so that it cannot move during transport. All loads, including stacked pallets, to be transported must be secured by methods such as wrapping, locking, blocking, strapping, or a combination of these methods. This is to protect persons involved in unloading, driving the vehicle, along with other road users, pedestrians, the cargo itself, and the vehicle. The only exception is small package deliveries and containers. Supplier cargo deliveries of containers are not possible.
Non-compliance with palletizing the cargo can lead to refusal of delivery and the occurrence of chargebacks. When palletizing boxes for transport, create pallets so that the box labels face outwards so that each barcode on the box can be scanned without having to unwrap the pallet.
Advance Ship Notice (ASN)
An essential part of the delivery process is the Advance Ship Notice (ASN). Every package sent to our fulfillment facilities must have a label or manually written information about the ASN. The ASN is created in our mailship.com platform and contains crucial information about the number of items, SKUs, etc. The ASN helps us efficiently process your goods upon arrival and ensures accurate tracking and inventory management.