For charities and non-profit organizations, receiving a shipment from a trucking company might be a new experience. The following guidelines were developed to assist you in understanding freight shipments coming from HDI Wholesale.
When setting up delivery, your Account Manager will ask you questions to ensure we get you the fastest delivery at the best cost. This helps keep our prices low, so you can serve more people in your community.
These are some common shipping options we will discuss:
| Lift Gate | This is needed if you do not have a freight height dock, and you do not have a forklift that could remove goods from the truck and place them on the ground. The lift gate allows the driver to place the pallet on the ground near where the truck parks. |
| Inside Delivery | Required if the driver is asked to remove the goods from the truck and bring them inside a garage, warehouse or 1st floor of a building. There is an extra charge for an inside delivery. |
| Wanted Date | This is the date we will target for you to receive your shipment, anytime between 8 and 5 (or the hours you state you are open). This is the fastest way to ship, although the exact date and time can not be guaranteed. |
| Call Ahead | The driver can call the contact number you give us to let you know that the shipment is arriving within 30 minutes to an hour. This is great for a location that is not always staffed, but is close enough that you could meet the truck in a short time period. |
| Delivery Appointment | This adds a day (at least) to the ship time. The trucking company will call the contact number you give us at least 24 hours before the delivery, to schedule the best day and time for delivery. This works for organizations that use volunteers to assist with unloading, requiring exact information about delivery. The truck should not deliver without calling you to set it up. If they do arrive with no notice, you can send them away and reschedule the delivery. |
Your products will be arriving on one (or more) pallets. A pallet is a wooden base that is 40 X 48 inches. The product itself will be in boxes or sturdy bags, stacked neatly on the base, and will be wrapped by a layer of protective plastic from top to bottom.
At delivery: Now that your driver has arrived, it is important to handle situations where anything was lost or damaged in transit, to protect all parties involved.
You will be asked to sign the Bill of Lading (BOL) to accept the shipment. Before signing, ensure:
- The address placard on each pallet matches your name/address.
- The pallet is shrink wrapped.
- There is no noticeable damage to the cases.
- The total pallet count matches what is listed on the Bill of Lading. You do not need to count the cases if the shrink wrap is secure.
- Check condition of pallet and note on the delivery receipt/BOL before signing.
| Good |
Sign and accept delivery. |
| Damaged |
Make a note detailing problem, like "shrink wrap not intact" or "received damaged goods". Take photos to send to your HDI Account Manager, so we can replace any damaged product. |
| Very Damaged |
Refuse the shipment Make a note on the delivery receipt or BOL, that you "refused delivery". Take photos to send to your HDI Account Manager. Call us right away to let us know, so we can resend the shipment. |
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That's it! We are always happy to speak with you if you have any questions. With a clear understanding of the process, receiving a freight shipment is easy and efficient.
